Burning Key

Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Corliss walked slowly back through the streets of Palrion after having spent all afternoon with Talib in the Archive. She was finalizing some of their plans in where they were going to stop on their journey through Ethran as they made their way east toward the Wilds. Meron had been with her for a few hours, but he left to meet up with Kalla, Faraine, Allel, and Mik to gather more of their supplies they'd be needing.

Since the four were coming along with them, they were going to need more than originally planned, which meant their timeline had changed as well. Instead of leaving when they wanted to, they pushed it off for three more weeks. Of course, Corliss didn't mind this change at all, not when she'd fallen in love with Palrion and it gave her more time at the Archive. She still had to write a letter to Bridget, though, one she couldn't seem to get right enough to want to finally send it off.

Adjusting her bag's strap on her shoulder, she made her way up the front steps of the inn, almost immediately hearing the chatter from Meron and the others in the library room down the left hallway. It was close to the kitchens, which meant they'd raided the space for snacks, much to the chagrin of Cyra.

"What's going on here?" Corliss smiled when she saw the scene in front of her.

Kalla was sitting cross-legged on top of the ornately carved study table in the center of the library, a large piece of parchment sprawled out in front of her. Faraine was sitting in a chair to her right, grinning up at her wife as she meticulously planned out something that was drawn on it, while Meron, Allel, and Mik were shaking their heads and rolling their eyes at her descriptions.

Kalla turned her sly grin to her. "I'm trying to explain the reasoning behind the layout for the tent. You said you wanted to rework the inside since we're all going, right? Well, we have to have space for that and that space needs to be thoughtfully planned out."

"A wine cellar, though? Honestly, Kalla..."

"Oh, shut up, Mik. You can't tell me it doesn't sound fun getting drunk in the desert and dancing under the stars."

"The last time that happened with you, I practically had to force you to put some clothes back on so passersby wouldn't think you were a heathen worshiping some god none of us have heard of."

"Well...I was having fun. Naked fun of another variety other than my first choice of it," Kalla grinned, winking at Faraine.

"Go on, love," she said to her, nodding down to the drawn out plans as she stood and kissed her temple. "Tell Corliss all about your plans since she's the one who's going to have to create it with magic."

"Right, so this is how it's going to go..."

Corliss tried to listen. She really did.

She watched as Faraine made her way over to the arched window that looked out at the back gardens of the inn. The sun was bright as it began its slow descent the west.

Then it got darker than she'd ever seen before.

Just as she started slowly walking toward Faraine to stand by her at the window, thunderclouds came into view, which was why the sun was disappearing faster than normal. In the weeks they'd been in Palrion, not once had it rained for more than ten minutes. The eastern continent was mostly desert for a reason. But this...this was something else entirely.

Fat raindrops pelted against the glass, growing louder and harder with every passing second. A low rumble of thunder shook the inn around them, followed by a bright bolt of lightning that had Faraine yelping as she jumped and knocked into Corliss. Over and over again, the lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. Meron was shouting at her and Faraine to get away from the window just as another bolt struck just a short distance away.