The Dragons' Crystal

Chapter Seventeen

TRIGGER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A SCENE THAT SOME READERS MIGHT FIND THEY ARE SENSITIVE TO. IT INVOLVES MANY SICK PEOPLE THAT ARE CLEARLY DEAD/OR DYING. THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THEM  MIGHT BE HARD TO HANDLE. I WILL MARK THE SECTION WHERE IT BEGINS AND ENDS SO YOU CAN STILL ENJOY THE REST OF THE CHAPTER  WITH A ****** . THANK YOU AND ENJOY THE CHAPTER.

Darius and I left the palace in complete silence. 

I couldn't bare to talk to him, afraid my feelings would reveal themselves. I had been the one to invite Darius to join the dance, yet seeing him dance with the servant had made me jealous. It had taken out the fun for me and I hadn't been able to concentrate. No matter how much I tried to deny it, Darius still was the only one I felt this way about. I didn't dare call it love, but definitely an interest. 

"I'm surprised you accepted Fraron's offer." Darius mentioned as we reached the forest we had arrived in. He dropped his pack and moved several paces away. His voice was flat, a tone I didn't quite recognize. Had I done something wrong?

I shrugged. "I wanted to dance. I will admit, I'm disappointed. It wasn't nearly as fun as I thought it would have been."

A smirk came to the corner of his lips. "Fraron wasn't a good dancer?"

"Not that." I held back a sigh and the urge to say, Fraron isn't you. "Must have just been the atmosphere." It was a lie, but one that was needed. Until I figured out what was causing the pain, I couldn't give in to what I was feeling. I had to keep it at bay. 

"Maybe." He glanced to the slowly darkening sky. "The trenches are the last place. Hopefully, Allira will be there."

"Hopefully."

Just as before, flying didn't give me the rush it had the first time. Even with the changing sky and the beautiful colors of a sunset, I felt nothing but an overwhelming sadness that consumed itself with Darius. It was frustrating that no matter how hard I was trying, I couldn't shake these feelings. I couldn't break myself free from them. 

I said a silent prayer, begging that Allira would be at the trenches. The mere idea that she might not be there terrified me. I needed to find her. I needed to figure out what this pain was and how to stop it. Darius was quickly becoming too important to me to be able to deal with this for much longer. I couldn't handle it. What were we supposed to do if we didn't find her? Was it possible there was other locations she could be hiding? Or that someone else had already found her? I didn't want to think about it, instead clinging onto the hope that she would be here. 

My heart tightened as we landed and I could see the trenches. I got off of Darius and stood several feet away as he transformed back, my eyes locked on the dip in the ground that stretched for at least two yards. I could hear the groaning and moaning from where I stood, causing chills to run down my spine. Suddenly, I didn't want to go anymore. Darius had mentioned that the trenches were where they had sent outcasts that were sick or insane, but I hadn't truly thought it over until now. "D-Darius, I don't think if I can do this." I mumbled, already imagining the horrors that faced us. Did those people have proper clothes? Blankets? Did they have food and water? Were they ready for winter? Were the majority of them still alive?

"I can go by myself." Darius said, looking towards me. As I met his eyes, I could tell that he felt the same. Unlike me, he had the ability to power through. This was for the sake of his kingdom and his people. There could be no hesitations. With him feeling the same, I knew I couldn't let him do it alone. 

I sighed, trying to prepare myself to be brave. It would be hard, but Darius couldn't suffer this burden on his own. I needed to share the weight. I had decided to go on this journey with him. I couldn't back out on him. "As long as we don't split up, I think I'll be okay."