the books of hidden worlds

chapter seventeen: Elias

   
    "Let me help you," Kaelion said, offering his hand to Evander.

"Thanks," Evander replied, wincing slightly. "Do you know this place, Evander?"

"No, I’ve never seen it before. And call me Evan," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Can I call you Kael?" Evan asked playfully.

"Sure, Kaelion is a bit of a mouthful anyway," Kaelion smiled in return.

Suddenly, a small voice interrupted them. "Why are you here?" A dwarf approached them, his face serious. "It’s dangerous in this place."

When he looked at Kaelion, his eyes widened in shock. "Prince!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, that’s me," Kaelion responded. "Can you help us? My friend is hurt; he has a wound on his head."

"Follow me," the dwarf said, gesturing for them to come along. They followed closely behind.

"Where are we going?" Evander asked, still groggy.

"To their home," Kaelion explained.

"Their home? Where?" Evander questioned, confused.

When they reached a small door, the dwarf opened it. "Come inside."

"Thank you," Kaelion said as they stepped in. The space was filled with shelves of books and curious items hanging from the ceiling.

"Call me Swartz," the dwarf said. "Swartz?" Evander repeated.

Swartz handed Kaelion a small bottle filled with clear liquid. "Give him this to drink."

"Water?" Kaelion asked, doubtful.

"It’s not just water," Swartz replied with a knowing smile.

Kaelion gently helped Evander drink the liquid, and to his astonishment, the wound on Evander’s head began to heal instantly.

"Thank you," Kaelion breathed in relief.

"As I said, there’s nothing to worry about," Swartz responded. "He’ll need some rest now. Move him to the bed."

Kaelion carefully lifted Evander and placed him on the bed, covering him with a blanket. "Get well soon," he whispered.
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Cassian, Elias, Salem, Alden, Dorian, and I were discussing what happened. "Will he be alright?" I asked Dorian.

"Yes, he just needs to regain his strength. But I need to rest for now."

"Alright, we’ll talk tomorrow," I said, heading to my own bed. The darkness of the forest was overwhelming, filling the air with a strange stillness. As I walked, I suddenly saw a child running ahead of me. I followed.

I had run quite far when I nearly fell off a cliff. My heart raced as I steadied myself at the edge.

"Elias!" A woman’s voice called out, but I couldn’t see her face.

"Who are you?" I shouted back.

She ran toward me and pushed me off the cliff. I woke with a start, drenched in sweat. Before I could catch my breath, I saw her standing before me, her hands around my throat, choking me until I could no longer breathe.

I awoke again, gasping for air, and realized it had been a nightmare. But I still felt the lingering fear from the dream.

Suddenly, I heard a strange sound coming from outside. I opened the door and there she was again—the woman from my dream, standing in front of me. I screamed in terror.

Someone splashed water on my face, waking me from the nightmare. "Are you alright?" Alden asked, his face full of concern.

"Why did you throw water on me?" I asked, annoyed.

"I’ve been trying to wake you for ages! You wouldn’t budge, so I thought water would do the trick. And it worked, didn’t it?" Alden replied with a smirk.

"Thanks," I muttered, irritated.

I stood up, still drenched, and opened the door. Dorian saw me and immediately asked, "What happened to you? You’re soaked!"

"Take off your wet clothes before you catch a cold," Dorian added, handing me a dry shirt.

I did as he said, stripping off my wet clothes. "So, what really happened?" Dorian asked again. "Did someone do this to you? You look like you’ve just woken up."

"It was Alden," I said, rolling my eyes. "He’s the one who drenched me."

"And why did he do that?"

"Because I had three nightmares in a row," I explained.

"Nightmares? What were they about?" Dorian asked, intrigued.

"In the first one, I was walking through a dark forest that looked like it had been burned down. I saw a child running, so I followed him. Then, I came to a cliff and nearly fell off."

"Then what happened?" Dorian asked, leaning in.

"Then, a woman called my name. She knew who I was. I couldn’t see her face, but she pushed me off the cliff. That’s when I woke up."

"Did you see her face?" Dorian asked.

"No," I replied. "After that, I woke up again, but it wasn’t over. She appeared again and started choking me until I couldn’t breathe. I thought I had woken up, but I was still in the dream."

"And then?" Dorian asked.

"I heard a sound, opened the door, and saw her again. That’s when I screamed, and Alden woke me up by throwing water on me."

"Sounds terrifying," Dorian said, shaking his head.

"Why water though?" I said, frowning. "Couldn’t he have just slapped me awake?"

"If he had slapped you, you might not have woken up. So he figured water would do the trick," Dorian said with a laugh.

"Why are you shirtless?" Cassian asked as he entered the room.

"I’m drenched," I replied flatly.

"Put something on," Cassian said, shaking his head.

"Why don’t you all eat something first?" Salem suggested.

As we gathered around the table, Alden joined us. "Good morning," he greeted Salem.

"There’s nothing good about this morning, Den," Salem grumbled.

"Den? What did he just call him?" I whispered to Dorian.

"I didn’t catch it either," Dorian shrugged.

"Oh well, let’s eat," I said, and we all began to eat together.

Meanwhile, back with Evander and Kaelion, Swartz approached them. "How did you sleep, Kaelion?"

"I’m fine, thank you. How is Evander doing?" Swartz asked.

"He’s recovering, but still asleep," kaelion replied.

"My body aches," Evander groaned, slowly waking up.

"Evan! You’re awake!" Kaelion exclaimed, embracing him.

"Ow, that hurts!" Evander grimaced.

"Sorry, I was just worried about you," Kaelion said, releasing him quickly. "Are you alright?"

"I’m fine," Evander assured him.

"Why don’t you both eat something first?" Swartz offered. "Can you stand, Evan?"

"Of course I can."

"After you’ve eaten, will you be leaving?" Swartz asked.

"Yes, and thank you again for your help," Kaelion said gratefully.

"Anything for you, my Prince," Swartz replied with a respectful bow.

Meanwhile, Rowan, Peter, Kevin, and Lucan were searching frantically for them.

"Van!" Lucan called out, his voice echoing through the woods.

"We should go," Rowan said. "We’ve been searching for hours."