Page 51 of Cursed Dreams (Shadow and Dreams #1)
The parchment was heavy and old. And when she unrolled it across the desk, her heart nearly stopped.
It was a map. An incredibly old map. She traced her fingers along the borders, noting cities and kingdoms that no longer existed, entire regions that had been swallowed by time or war.
There, on the far northern edge of the fae lands, where no current maps dared tread, was a shaded outline of forest. There was no label.
No name. For some unexplainable reason she knew, this was the Forest she was looking for.
As if to reassure her, a small white beacon of light emanated from her chest. She gasped in shock, as quickly as it had appeared it faded again.
“I think this is it,” she whispered, afraid to breath
Marand came up beside her, eyes wide. “That… isn’t on any current maps.”
Cellen whistled low. “Gods below. You actually found it.”
Before Thalia could arrange her thoughts, a sound from the hallway made all three of them freeze. Slow, meticulous footsteps heading in their direction.
There was no time to argue. Cellen grabbed the map, rolled it tight, and shoved it under his cloak. Marand tugged Thalia toward a tall cabinet in the far corner, barely wide enough for two of them.
“Get in!” Cellen whispered urgently. “Hide!”
Thalia and Marand slipped inside, the wooden door closing with a soft click just as the footsteps paused outside the study.
The door creaked open. Footsteps padded softly across the floor.
Please don’t be him, please don’t be him, the thought became a plea to any of the Gods who would listen.
Thalia held her breath. Every inch of her body was tense. A soft female voice murmured,
“Lord Vaelith, Lord Vaelith, ?” a soft feminine voice echoed through the room.
Thalia recognised that voice, it was Miryanne. What was she doing here ? Peeking through the tiny crack in the door, Thalia clenched her jaw as Miryanne walked around the study, clearly looking for something. A breeze from the now open window rustled the papers strewn across the desk.
“Hmm,” the priestess muttered, she wandered towards the desk arranging papers and setting them aside before heading to the window and slamming it closed.
She paused on her way back towards the door, picking up Vaelith’s discarded jacket and scenting it .
Thalia tried not to snort. She had known the priestess was besotted with Vaelith from the first time she had saw them interact, but hadn’t quite realised just how besotted.
Miryanne lingered for a few heartbeats longer, then finally, mercifully, left the room, closing the door behind her.
Inside the cabinet, Thalia and Marand exchanged a look, listening for any signs of the priestess returning.
After a few moments, the opened the door fully and climbed out.
Marand looked around the room, “Cellen” she whisper shouted.
There was no answer. Suddenly Thalia remembered the open window, rushing over she threw it open and look out to find Cellen balancing rather precariously on the ledge to the side.
Grabbing his arms the two women helped him climb back inside.
“I think I just lost ten years of my life.” he held his hand over his heart, breathing heavy.
“Do you still have it ?” Thalia asked
“Yes! Lets get the Hel out of here !”
No agreement was needed as they al headed out of the room as fast as their creeping silent steps allowed, back down the stairs along the corridor and finally out the tiny servant entrance.
Thalia continuously checking behind them half expecting to see Vaelith materialise from the looming shadows and catch them.
Cellen let out a small burst of light to signal to Nyla they were out as they turned down a side alley and waiting for her to join them.
“Did you find it” she asked eyes wide as she finally caught up to them.
Thalia nodded quickly desperate to get back to the temple and off the streets.
“You’re an awful lookout , by the way,” Cellen murmured to her as they made their way through the quiet deserted streets. “A little heads up that MIryanne was on her way up would have been helpful!”
“Miryanne?” “I didn't see her enter?”
“Yeah, I gathered that while I was standing on a window ledge praying to Amara that I didn’t fall to my death!” “I know I'd make a beautiful corpse and all but I'm all for living a little longer! Next time we decided to break into somewhere I'm the lookout ! “
Thalia couldn’t help the bubble of laughter rising in her throat, adrenaline making everything seem absurd and perfect all at once.
The temple gates came into view, pale in the moonlight and shrouded in mist. Thalia’s heart still pounded from the rush of their escape.
They slipped inside the courtyard, silent but giddy with the thrill of success, they had done it !
Thalia’ breath caught as a figure emerged from the steps of the temple itself, tall, imposing, moving with that unmistakable controlled grace that made her blood freeze.
Oh no .. oh no, he knew, he was here to kill them.
Panic grew into a frenzy in her chest, she desperately tried to pull her magic to her, maybe she could blast him with her light again, give her and her friends time to escape.
She looked around quickly, where would they go ?
Where could they hide from this dragon. Fear made her legs wobble with each step.
He descended the final steps with slow, deliberate purpose, his silver eyes sharp but unreadable in the moonlight.
His jaw was clenched, his expression thunderous.
“What,” he said coldly, “are you doing out at this hour?”
Thalia’s pulse spiked. Her mouth went dry. Now she had to strike him now, she could figure out the rest later. She tried to pull her magic but it wouldn’t come.
Cellen quickly threw an arm around her shoulders and beamed. “Celebrating!”
Vaelith stopped a few feet away, clearly not expecting that answer.
“Celebrating what?” he asked, voice dangerously soft.
“Thalia’s glorious return to the single life,” Cellen declared. “You know, after the whole dramatic heartbreak by a brooding asshole thing. We figured a little wine, a little dancing, maybe a few cheeky kisses, was just what she needed, You know casual sex is good for the soul”
Thalia could barely manage to take in what Cellen was saying. Her body was too tense, too alert the danger standing in front of them.
Vaelith’s silver gaze shifted to her, lingering, a look of scepticism on his face “Thalia,” he said, quieter now. “Can I speak with you?”
Before she could answer, Marand stepped to the opposite side where Cellen was still holding her, looped her arm through Thalia’s and tugged her gently but firmly away.
“She doesn’t need to speak to you,” Marand said smoothly. “It’s over Vaelith. We have a great night, but now we are tired so if you don’t mind, she’s coming with me.”
Vaelith’s jaw ticked, he clearly wasn’t used to the blatant disrespect her friends were showing him. Nyla stepped forward, chin high, eyes narrowed. “You had your chance,” she told him bluntly. “Thalia’s over it. And you don’t get to keep turning up like a stalker whenever she tries to move on.”
Vaelith’s eyes narrowed at Nyla, but he said nothing. He looked at Thalia once more , barely retrained anger clearly burning through his eyes, before turning away and stalking off into the night, his cloak sweeping behind him like a dark wave.
They didn’t breathe until the last outline of his silhouette had finally disappeared through the temple gates.
“Holy Hel,” Cellen muttered as they reached the dormitory doors. “That was too close. I thought he was going to breathe fire for a second.”
“He doesn’t know,” Marand whispered. “He would’ve said something if he knew what we had done.”
“Still,” Nyla added, glancing over her shoulder, “he’s suspicious. That’s enough to worry me.”
They headed back to the dormitory and filed into Thalia and Nyla’s shared room. Thalia collapsed into her desk chair, rubbing her face with both hands. Her nerves were shattered with the events of the day. She was drained, exhausted.
“I’ll hold onto the map tonight,” Cellen said, serious now. “Just in case he decides to come snooping. He’s probably got some shadow, creeping, sensing power or whatever scary dragon magic he’s hiding.”
Thalia didn’t argue. Her hands were still shaking.
Her thoughts were a mess. But they’d done it.
They had the map. Somehow against all the odds they had pulled it off.
Tomorrow, they’d study it. Thalia hugged her friends hoping they could see the gratitude in her eyes, before wordlessly climbing fully clothed into her bed and for the first time in what seemed like forever falling quickly into a deep sleep.