Page 45 of Legacy of the Heirs (The Lost Kingdom Saga #2)

Her hand slipped into Kazaar’s as they raced across the safer, fully formed ice towards the island.

Air whipped at their backs, propelling them onto the frosted grass.

At the same moment, a roar sounded above the surface.

Elisara did not need to turn to know the creature’s head had breached the ice; it was evident by the paling of when Vlad’s face paled and he dropped his sword.

They reached him, yet the sound of splashing water forced Elisara to whirl and face the beast. She was too late to see its entirety.

All Elisara saw was the giant wave its movements had created, heading towards the two remaining guards who stumbled across the vine path.

It submerged them within seconds, taking the splintered remains of the vines with it, hiding any trace of Kazaar’s power.

Elisara, Kazaar, and Vlad all watched and waited silently, but their bodies did not reappear.

Nor did the creature. All that remained before them was the patchwork of ice.

“We cannot leave them,” Vlad said, stepping onto the ice. Kazaar grabbed his shoulder and tugged him back.

“If they have not resurfaced now, they will not at all.”

Vlad sighed but gave a curt nod, and for a moment longer, the three stood in silence, watching the lake.

“How are we going to get back?” Vlad asked. Elisara did not answer. She waited for the creature to reappear.

“We will face that problem later,” Kazaar said gruffly.

Elisara turned, reminded of the task at hand.

Was the creature defending the island? She had never heard of such beasts in the waters of Novisia, but there was never a reason to cross the surface before.

The divide between Vala and Nerida was clear as she surveyed the island, where the snow-capped trees and frosty ground faded into green.

She wondered if the landscape of their realms would remain like this once they moved the talisman.

“Could they have chosen this spot because of the protection offered by the beast?” asked Kazaar.

“It’s a smart place to hide it,” said Vlad, walking forward and squinting at the trees. “Plant it on an island where a beast roams the waters, and build watchtowers under the guise of monitoring the borders.”

“We are positive it is here, then?” asked Elisara, following Vlad through the trees.

“If the beast was not enough of a deterrent, I would say this confirms it.” Vlad held a branch out of the way for Elisara, allowing her to step into a clearing.

“Wow,” she breathed, straightening to take in the sight before them.

From a distance, the island’s trees appeared tightly packed, blocking any view of the land behind it.

Up close, however, it was a carefully planted line of trees: a defence to guard the sparkling ice maze behind it.

The ice was not natural; the towering walls were intricately carved with whirls and patterns, reminding Elisara of the ice mausoleums where her family were buried.

Elisara took slow steps towards the towering wall; it was several feet high but paused below the treetops.

She pulled off her gloves and trailed her hand over the patterns dancing from the base of the wall and stretching upward.

Elisara furrowed her brow at a repeating symbol, one she had traced on Kazaar’s arms. She had seen it alongside three other symbols on the mountain floor in the Unsanctioned Isle.

Did it symbolise Vala? Was that why only one symbol appeared?

Did the other three on Kazaar’s arms symbolise the other three realms?

“Somebody sculpted this purposefully. It must be the place,” Elisara murmured, trying to memorise the shapes.

While she could appreciate the architecture of such work, she saw behind its ruse.

Someone could easily get lost within the maze, freezing or starving to death within it before ever reaching the talisman .

“How far do you think it stretches?” Vlad peered into the entrance that extended like a frozen corridor before splitting off in different directions.

“The island is not much bigger than the Neutral City’s plaza.

It cannot be that large,” Elisara said while wondering how to determine which paths to attempt.

Seeming to have the same thought, Vlad cautiously stepped into the opening of the maze, his feet crunching on the frost-covered grass. Elisara opened her mouth to stop him.

“It is his job,” Kazaar said. A shiver tingled up her spine as he rested his hand lightly on her lower back. Elisara pursed her lips to refrain from calling out to her captain. Instead, the pair watched as Vlad knelt to inspect the first turn into a new corridor.

“While the island may not be large, these walls are thin, and the pathways narrow.” Vlad rose and inspected the other pathway behind him. “There could be multiple paths, turns, or dead ends. Anyone could get lost in here.”

Kazaar frowned, silently assessing the walls.

“I could melt it,” Kazaar offered. Vlad leaned against one wall and crossed his arms.

“All of it?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow in challenge. Elisara rolled her eyes.

“Well, I would not stay within the walls to find out,” Kazaar scoffed. He uncrossed his arms and clenched his fists. Vlad was quick not to test him and exited swiftly, his pale blond hair falling into his eyes as he winked playfully at Elisara. He kept his back to the pair to guard the tree line.

Kazaar stepped into the arched entrance to the maze with his back to Elisara.

He cracked his neck and flexed, keeping his hands by his sides.

Most would expect a great show, perhaps an intricate flourish of his hands or arms, but all Kazaar did was clench his fists and engulf the maze in flames so thick she could not see the ice within.

Elisara was entranced by the flames and moved on instinct towards them, but as she stepped close enough to Kazaar for her hand to graze his, the flames changed, flickering between orange and a white that matched the snow.

She withdrew her hand from Kazaar’s, and his furrowed brow mirrored her own as the flames returned to their normal glow.

She glanced at Vlad, but he continued to guard the tree line.

Kazaar’s fingers felt calloused as she slowly intertwined their hands.

Despite their closeness last night, there was something oddly intimate about the action.

The flames flickered again and changed colour.

The corner of Kazaar’s lip twitched as he looked down at her and their interlaced hands.

She felt like a giddy child as she glanced at her feet to hide her smile, which soon disappeared when she noticed the dark tendrils twisting from below their feet.

She withdrew her hand quickly and stepped back in the same instant Kazaar dropped his flames.

Elisara did not know if he frowned at the shadows or the incomplete effect of his flames on the ice.

While the top quarter of the maze had melted, the frozen walls remained.

Elisara took a cautious step forward away from Kazaar, for fear of the shadows returning, though a more rational side of her concluded that they only appeared on occasion when the pair were connected.

Vlad rushed to her side, almost tripping as he held out an arm to keep Elisara from walking into the maze. She scoffed.

“I think I will be okay, Vlad,” she said.

“Since when have the commander’s flames been unable to melt something?” Vlad asked, his voice hushed. Elisara shook her head. “Maybe we should consider that there is more to this maze than meets the eye.”

Elisara turned over his words. He was right; there was no chance her father’s or even her grandmother’s power was strong enough to build such walls. Something reinforced its power. Elisara glanced sideways at Kazaar.

“He is right,” Kazaar said.

“Did it feel different? Using the flame on it?”

Kazaar shook his head. “I expected it to have melted when I released the control on my power.”

“Could it be the talisman? If we are nearing such a power source, could it be protecting itself?”

“I suppose we will know when we speak to the other rulers and discover if they faced any defences.” Elisara nodded and stepped into the maze behind Vlad.

“How do we decide?” Vlad asked, glancing between the paths on his left and right and the other two options ahead.

Elisara peered down the first path to their left and then the right.

Both were identical: long, thin paths with sharp angles where new openings appeared.

Nothing seemed special about either. Elisara indicated with a nod of her head for Vlad to check the next.

He claimed it was the same as the others.

There was no significance to any of the pathways.

“I suppose we just guess?” Vlad asked. Elisara looked at Kazaar to see if he had any ideas. He strode towards the path on the right and took two steps into the pathway; he hardly fit within the space, given the breadth of his shoulders.

“Kazaar,” Elisara called, though he did not acknowledge her. He tensed and tilted his head. Elisara waved a rush of air to kiss his skin, and he turned back to face them, shaking his head.

“I thought I heard something,” he murmured, furrowing his brow.

“It was probably the wind making noises through the narrow pathways,” suggested Vlad. Kazaar frowned but slowly nodded, glancing behind him into the pathway that darkened the further one travelled.

“You’re probably–” Kazaar did not finish his sentence as a wall of ice shot up from the ground and sealed him within the maze.