Silver: The Lost Royal

| 17.5 |

She twisted to see that the person was Jamie, who kept his eyes trained on something ahead. She could see the reflection in his eyes, but it was only until she saw it for herself that she felt goosebumps down her spine.

Not too far from where they crouched behind a bush that served as their shelter was Emerfield City Hall, engulfed in flames. She found Gema levitating high in the air, with fists surrounded by flames. The shivers Karyn felt when she saw the burning city hall were nothing compared to the ice-cold dread that flooded her when her eyes drifted to Gema's opponent.

The cloak, the hood, and the lack of a face. Even if there was no fire illuminating the surrounding land, even if it was stark darkness, she could recognize the Faceless... Or one of them. Despite the chilling resemblance it had to the one that plagued her dreams for years, she didn't feel the same thread of terror running through her.

"I didn't know it would drop us right in the middle of the street and... What...? Is that...?"

She didn't know if Jamie was asking a question or making a statement out of shock, but she completed his sentence for him.

"The Faceless."

His head whipped toward her, and she didn't have to look at him to sense the shock oozing from him. She heard it in his next words. "How do you know that?"

Aside from the evident shock, there was another emotion present in his tone, but the raging thunder and gushing rain made it difficult for her to decipher what.

"How do you not know what it is?" she asked in return.

His eyes lingered on her for a while before he trained them back ahead. "I know what it is. I'm just wondering what it's doing here."

"Well, now is not the time for you to wonder or for you to explain to me why it's strange that they're here. Now, we need to communicate with Gema so she can tell us what the situation is like."

"I'm sure it's obvious what the situation is like," he deadpanned.

"Yes, but we need to know what it's like inside, and if anyone is inside. What of Marcela? Can you reach her 'cause all I'm seeing now is Gema fighting a Faceless outside a burning City Hall and that doesn't tell us much about Elowen or my sister?"

In the next moment, Gema's eyes that shone with fire flashed toward them and she felt Gema knew at once. But that was enough opportunity for the Faceless to sneak a blast of darkness at Gema, who swerved just in time to miss it by a narrow margin.

"Marcela's underground, she's fighting," Jamie said with two fingers on his temples and eyes closed.

"And Zack?"

"There's no way I can communicate with him... and he's not with Marcela, either."

"Then we need to get to where Marcela is," she said, as her eyes darted around in a wild search for a possible entrance to the burning building.

"We obviously can't..."

She didn't catch the rest of Jamie's words as a force tugged at her mind. It was Her Sense, and it was trying to tell her something. She closed her eyes and tuned out Jamie's rants, focusing on the message that hummed within her. When her eyes opened, the first thing they caught was a silver rope suspended in midair that stretched further down their left.

"Jamie, do you see that?" she asked, and he stopped talking.

"See what?"

"That," she said, pointing to where the rope had started.

Jamie's eyes flashed between her and where she pointed before resting back on her. "Has the rain finally gotten to your senses?" he asked dryly.

"Just follow me. I think I've seen our way in."