“We are getting close.”

  Theo startled at the sound of Emberion’s voice. “What?”

  When had he gotten so comfortable on a dragon’s back that he was nodding off? Did he really trust Emberion that much?

  To his surprise, both his brain and his heart gave a resounding ‘yes’ to that question. Huh.

  They had been flying for hours without a break. The sun was beating down on them, Theo’s bare arms taking on an intense red that would most likely soon start hurting. Well, it was just another addition to the hurting arm. What would he hurt next? He was getting hurt more than the other three in the group combined.

  “I can’t see anything,” Freya said from the back.

  “No, you are unlikely to,” Emberion said. “Same thing you cannot feel the fault in the weave, I suspect. But the shield is coming up, I can sense it.”

  “If you say so,” Freya said, doubt in her voice.

  “Since we do not know what the shield will do, I will land and we will do the last bit on foot,” Emberion said.

  “We’re gonna walk?” Bruni asked, something unnameable in his voice.

  “You can stay on my back if you want, dwarf,” Emberion said.

  Bruni didn’t answer.

  They began descending, and Theo tried while they did so to see the shield Emberion had spoken about—but all he saw were empty plains. The name really fit well—after the lush forests, this was just… empty, with hard rocky ground and barely any greenery to speak of. Was it the witch’s doing? Or had it always been this way? Theo really should know more about the world, rather than just hide within the castle walls.

  Would he be able to go back to his castle-bound life after this?

  The ground below was crackled dry, and though there were lonely bushes here and there, they were dry and brown. A single tree reached its spindly arms toward the sky as if begging for relief.

  “This looks… homey,” Freya said.

  “The edge of this is has always been strange, ever since it appeared,” Emberion said. “I would expect such a dry section to start gradually, but it is like someone drew a sharp line. A circle.”He gave them a meaningful glance.

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  “A circle,” Theo said. “With the witch in the middle.”

  Emberion’s expression told Theo he agreed.

  “Excellent,” Bruni said. “Maybe she’ll kill me. Put me out of my misery.”

  “You didn’t have to come,” Theo said, turning to look over his shoulder at him.

  Bruni glared at him. “Sit still, boy, or we’ll both fall off.”

  Theo sighed. “Emberion’s back is wide and his flying is perfectly stable.”

  The glare only deepened.

  “And you didn’t have to come with us,” Theo continued.

  “Where would you have me go?” Bruni asked. “Sit in a cottage, waiting to die?”

  “She could’ve taken you home.”

  “To sit there and wait to die?” Bruni shook his head. The long red hair on the top of his head moved in the wind, parts of it having ripped free of his ponytail. “I’d rather try to do something about it. Not just watch my fate come take me.”

  Theo already had a good deal of grudging respect for Bruni—he was rough and rude, yes, but he was also tenacious and knowledgeable—but he found himself being more impressed with Bruni’s determination to do something about what was happening.

  Theo could learn a thing or two from him. Like, stop whining and just go out and be proactive.

  Emberion landed, soft and soundless, on the ground. He bent and let Theo slip off, Freya following closely behind. The ground beneath their feet was warm, heat rising from the earth itself. It was also hard and dry, nothing like the soil of the forests. Theo stretched, glad to move his muscles.

  They looked up at Bruni, who looked like he was being forced to choose between two horrors.

  “I’ll stay here,” he muttered finally.

  Theo tried to keep his concern off his face—if Bruni was weak enough to admit not being able to walk… But he would hate it if he thought Theo was pitying him, and Theo had more than enough already of Bruni’s vitriol.

  “Stay close to me,” Emberion said to Theo and Freya. “This place reeks of unstable magic.”

  Theo wished he could sense magic the way Emberion could, but all he saw around them was an expanse of dead, dry plains. If the witch really lived here, her castle was hidden.

  They began walking, their soft footsteps against the ground, and each of their breaths in the heat, the only sounds disturbing the eerie silence. The lack of birds in the sky, and the lack of insects on the ground made it feel like they had entered a different world entirely. Theo glanced back over his shoulder, but though it couldn’t have been that long since they came into the Empty Plains, the lush forests and mountains rising towards the sky looked impossibly far away.

  An unpleasant sensation trickled down his spine. Sweat poured down his face and back, the heat of the sun relentless.

  He glanced at Freya. Her cheeks were red, sweat plastering her blonde hair to her forehead.

  She met Theo’s gaze. “How are you doing?”

  ”Good enough,” Theo said, trying to sound lighter than he felt. How far were they supposed to walk here? “You?”

  “A little warm.”

  Theo snorted, letting the humor of her sarcasm lift him up. “Really? You look like you just took a shower.”

  Instead of glaring at him, she gave a brief chuckle. “You look like you’re trying that whole spiky-thing with your hair.”

  “So you’re saying I’m fashionable?” Theo grinned.

  She winked at him. “I said you look like you’re trying to, not that you were succeeding.”

  Theo stuck her tongue out at her. It felt good to jest with her—the heavy silence and dead world around them was less frightening when they laughed.

  Theo tucked his head into his arm to wipe at sweat that rolled down his temple.

  Freya’s laugh cut off sharply.

  When he looked up, she was gone.