A Distant Reverie

Chapter 16

How did this happen?!

Guilt weighed on her conscious as Enya rushed towards the entrance of the grove. Cyrus was right beside her, livid. The shrill, dissonant sound from the elven barrier continued to resonate periodically throughout the grove. The earsplitting noise grew more intense with every step. Whatever lied on the other side of the barrier seemed resolved to break it.

"Enya, what the hell were you doing?!" Cyrus yelled. The dangerous glint in his eyes accused her of negligence.

"I was being vigilant! Don't you dare suggest I wasn't doing my job!"

"Then explain this!" Spittle escaped his mouth as Cyrus screamed with indignation. Enya flinched—for a moment, she thought the male elf would strike her down in anger. He had every right to after all, it had been her job to make sure that they weren't being followed on their way to the grove, and yet somehow the barrier was now being attacked. It was a disaster and a spectacular failure on her end.

I don't understand!

She had nothing to refute Cyrus' words. Instead, Enya clenched her teeth in distress. Her heart felt tight, constricted by her guilty conscious. It should have been impossible for someone to have followed them here undetected. She had deployed an elven magic that allowed her to track any living being in a kilometer wide radius during the trek to the grove. Enya was flawless at it, hence why she was delegated the task of observing their surroundings.

Did I miss them? Did I mess up the magic? How?! Was I affected by the poisoned stew?

The doubts and questions piled on as her mind grew frantic. In the end, she had no excuse for her failure. Exposing the location of the elven grove was a serious offence—one that could see her stripped of her position and imprisoned for incompetence. Her heart sank when she thought about how her disgrace would affect her family.

I need to lessen my punishment, or at the very least make sure my parents aren't burdened. I'll start by making up for this mistake somehow.

Enya steeled her resolve. Cyrus and her eventually reached the foot of the corridor that led to the entrance of the grove. A group of elven warriors were already gathered in the vicinity, staring at the barrier with their mouths agape.

"What's going on?!"

"The barrier—"

The earth violently shook as if a colossal wave had suddenly struck the barrier.

Zzzzt!

The reverberations nearly knocked the elves to their feet. Enya winced, pressing her hands to her sensitive ears as the sharp discordant sound resonated. She felt blood beginning to pour from her ears as the dissonance threatened to make her deaf. Then she saw it. The barrier that hid the grove, normally invisible to the naked eye, suddenly began to vibrate. The transparent space was suddenly visible, beginning to distort as it twisted and bent unnaturally. The distortions rapidly spread, rippling across the barrier's surface.

Zzzzt!

Another wave struck the barrier. Like a pane of glass, cracks suddenly emerged from the transparent surface.

"Stabilize the barrier, dammit! Reinforce it with mana!" Cyrus screamed over the screeching sound of the barrier fracturing. The elves sprung into action. One by one, they clasped their hands together, clenching their teeth as they tried to resist the earsplitting noises. Ambient mana began to accumulate in their hands, swirling as they emitted a viridescent glow. Slowly, the glowing spheres were absorbed by the barrier, stabilizing the local distortions. Yet, contrary to their expectations, the fissures in the barrier only continued to grow.