Luminescent (Inheritance Cycle and Beyond)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Iridescent

I rode my horse hard in the direction of the Empire's camp as the fighting commenced around me. I was with an ambush regiment, so it didn't look suspicious that I was out so far. We were making our way to the right of the mass of fighting, trying to get a leg up.

We halted our horses when we reached the area before the plateau we had selected to have an archers volley.

"Do you remember what I told you?" I asked the soldiers around me; they all nodded. Currently, they think I'm a spy that looks like the heir to the throne of Aleagasia. It is our mission to not only ambush but successfully let the Empire capture me. None of them knew that I really was the heir. I was about to speak again when there was a roar, and it wasn't Saphira's. I opened my mind quickly to assess the situation.

"Ancestors, please, no," I whispered to myself as a blood-red dragon descended from the clouds. Of course one of the eggs would hatch for Murtagh. The men looked at me with worried expressions. "Our dragon rider will keep the other dragon rider busy, focus on your job."

Determination flashed across their faces before the soldiers charged up to the plateau. I followed them from behind.

I cantered up to the open space and got a good view of the entire battle. Overhead I saw Saphira and Eragon locked in a fight with Murtagh and his dragon. I need to focus on my task, good thing that my crown reflects light. I charged up to a plateau above the regiment below me and let the horse I was using fidget on the rock.

Overhead the fight continued with roars of pain and aggression. The two dragons broke apart, and for a second, I felt someone's eyes on me, perfect. I whirled the horse around at the two dragons started fighting again. It wasn't Eragon's eyes I felt, which meant that my plan was working so far. I reached the point where the archers were.

"They're onto me, stay strong!" I yelled before turning the horse backward and cantering into the maze of plateaux. As I wound my way through the maze of rock corridor's, I halted when I heard the sound of soldiers heading my way. I pushed my horse forward and headed towards the sound while trying not to expose my plan.

As I turned into another corridor, I yanked my horse to a halt when several of the Empire's soldiers on horses blocked my path. I twirled around and cantered back the way I had come, hoping that they wouldn't try to use an arrow to stop me. I came to a screeching stop as I got cut off by more soldiers in front of me.

I looked back the way I had come. There wasn't anywhere else to go. They'd boxed me in. Excellent. They closed in on me, and one of them took control of my horse.

"If you don't mind your highness, we will be leaving." One of the soldiers said. I was taken out of the maze directed to Empire's camp. They stuck me in a tent with guards surrounding the tent, so I didn't go anywhere. It wasn't long until I was put back on a horse and directed away from the camp, in the direction of Ûru Baen. After an hour of riding, I heard the sound of wings, looking up, I saw the red dragon coasting around above us.

We stopped at a small camp where I sensed several powerful spell-weavers, what exactly are they planning? I was helped off the horse since I clearly stated that I couldn't use my right arm. Dirt and sand covered my clothing and face as I was headed over to the spell weavers.

"What exactly do you plan on doing?" I asked crisply.

"Well your highness, we are going to create a portal to get you back home quicker." I raised an eyebrow and let out a huff. The portal was opened, and I was immediately pushed through. I stumbled out the other side and nearly fell onto my face, hands grabbed me and steadied my feet.