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He was going to protect me.

The Scalebound disappeared beneath the gap in the trees as we crossed it; the space filled up with more branches and leaves as if they were never beneath it in the first place.

A sharp inhale filled my lungs as the gravity of what we were doing sank in. We were seeking the Deathlies, a realization that hung heavy in the air, the possibility of death dancing in front of my eyes.

We had an idea of where they were. The land became ombre with color, starting to turn gray in the direction of the nest, where it blackened to a deep onyx, the color of death itself.

The nest had to be close to the castle, if that was where the connection originated. We knew it had to be around here somewhere.

The sky turned the same color as the charred earth with plague beneath us. Celestials sprinkled some light throughout it, companions to the somber moon above.

“Remember not to touch anything. The plague is easily transferable,”Clemmy said through the Scaleborne connection. I repeated it back to Damian so that he understood as well. Anything, even as small as a touch, could kill us.

The trees beneath us grew darker, blistered with the sickness of the Deathlies. The flowers and plants were parched and wrinkled into roots of nothingness. Their leaves disappeared in the wind, contracted, and fell into themselves, making them sadder and smaller than their worth.

The smokiness in the air, blurring the objects, made me think we were getting closer. I had never been outside my tower, so I was unsure what area we were in compared to the kingdom.

I knew Clemmy was a part of the Clandike Kingdom, but I didn’t know her story.“Clemmy, what part of the Clandike Kingdom were you born in?”I asked, only to her.

“I was a part of the Shamla community.”I recognized the name.

“Is that the community tucked into the mountains?”

“Yes. It is.”I knew they were taught all about the Old Religion and everything ancient. They were the one community in the kingdom I knew that did this without being burned at the stake. I remembered my father talking about it with my mother one day. That would make sense as to why Clemmy knew so much about everything to do with dragons and the Old Religion.“Do you, by chance, know what city we are in right now? Or the name of this area?”she asked.

Taking in the surroundings, I tried to recollect the names of the cities. Noticing the large farmlands that we passed, I knew that it must be—

“Leveland,” I breathed out, remembering why the familiarity of the name had struck me hard.“Our winner is… Tobias Maxwell from Leveland!”I could hear my father’s voice on the day thatLaneux5 was killed. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the Deathlies' nest was right next to the castle that Tobias was living in and was only minutes from his original hometown. Something didn’t feel right.

Clemmy interrupted my thoughts by saying,“He’s not so bad, ya know?”

“Who?”

“Abner.”

“What about him?”I asked.

“I know that he is hard on you and that Damian doesn’t like him,”she nudged her head to Damian sitting behind me,“but he’s not that bad. He protects us really well. We wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for him.”

“What’s his story?”I asked, curious about his background.

“Not sure if you knew, but he was the bastard child of the Sardanian King. His mother had to prove herself to be one of the king’s mistresses and had to kill a dragon. The curse she obtained was her first and only child being one of us. Obviously, however, there’s a reason that we’re the result of the curse. We create havoc wherever we go, unable to fit in anywhere. She had to run away into the Forbidden Forest to be safe. Everyone was looking for him and wanted his golden blood. His mother died soon after. I am not sure how. After that, he’s been raised with dragons. Waimanimet has been his companion ever since he was a child.”

Thinking of her words, I found some empathy for Abner. I couldn’t imagine having to live out in the Forbidden Forest by myself, losing my grandmother and everything I had in my life. The thought of his story made me feel a little more grateful for my situation. I hated being in my tower, but at least I had been safe, and no one ever knew about me to kill or hunt me. Maybe my parents did have a reason to keep me in my tower for all of those years.

I immediately knew we reached the nest when I saw the black, lifeless creatures circling the air, watching over their home.

“Down!”Abner’s voice broke the silence. We followed his call, and Belle swooped down withWaimanimet.

We hovered over the cindery trees, not touching them, but not being high enough in the air to be seen.

The Deathlies were up in the sky, their holey battered wings flapping with struggle and tension as they shrieked, the sound vibrating in my eardrums.

Waimanimetmade his way toward the nest, pestering closer and closer to the Deathlies. I started to feel less and less comfortable. The darkness and umbrage presented in the atmosphere as we inched closer to what felt like our doom.

As we reached closer, Belle andWaimanimetcontinued to beat up and down, unceasing to contact the thicket. “Is that a…” Damian stuttered.

“A gaping hole,” I finished his sentence. In the heart of the forest stood a vast expanse of darkness, a gaping void amidst the towering trees, swallowing the light and seemingly leading to oblivion. “What does it lead to?” I whispered.