Dyna shook off the ominous feeling the reminder brought. She had no choice but to go through the Forbidden Woods if she was to reach Lykos Peak before nightfall. If she went around it, the detour would deviate her by three days. She wasn’t capable of withstanding so many nights—alone—in the dark. Nor could she stomach it.
Dyna glanced at her father’s enchanted cloak draped on her chair. Among the many runes was the rune for concealment. If the magic was strong, it would hide her well enough from whatever made the Forbidden Woods … forbidden.
Lyra mumbled in her sleep, smiling from what could only be a nice dream. She was so innocent and sweet, without a care in the world. Dyna would march through any darkness to protect that.
She rushed to her wardrobe and chose a simple kirtle dress in the color of sage with long bell sleeves. Pulling it on over her chemise, she cinched the laces in the front that stretched along her bosom to her waist until it hugged her slim frame.
Dyna tossed the journal inside the leather satchel hanging from an iron hook on her bedroom door. She slung it on her shoulder and went for the rucksack hidden beneath her bed. It already carried some food and water. She added a few more articles of clothing before securing it on her shoulders.
The floorboards creaked as she flitted to her desk. She slipped on her cloak and grabbed the sheathed, three-inch knife beside a pile of dried stalks, tucking it into her corset
In a clay bowl set on top a pile of books, lay the five Waning Amulets her father had made. Dyna ran her fingers over the smooth wooden pendants. Four would go with the letter she had addressed to her grandmother.
It explained where she had gone and why. In the case she didn’t return, Grandmother Leyla would need to decide which children would receive the amulets. It was unfair to leave such a burden behind, but it was a last resort.
Dyna placed the fifth amulet in Lyra’s palm and closed her small fingers around it. No matter what happened on this journey, she would leave knowing her sister was safe.
Dyna kissed Lyra’s forehead and whispered a soft prayer to the God of Urn to watch over her. She carefully pushed open the window and slinked out, landing on frost-coated grass that crunched beneath her shoes. Her breath clouded in the air, the early morning chill prickling her cheeks. The darkness above tinged a pale blue and pink as the hint of the sunrise approached.
She took in her home, wanting to memorize its worn stone walls, the thatch roof, and the wooden door with a small round window. She could almost hear her mother humming as she tended to the garden, Thane’s laughter as he ran through the yard, and an echo of her father’s voice. A dull ache filled her chest.
He did all he could to save North Star until the last moment. That duty fell to her now.
With one last glance at her bedroom window, Dyna whispered goodbye. She walked away, forcing herself not to look back as she crossed the rickety fence bordered by the stonewalling surrounding her land. Her direction was due east for the valley gorge and the dark stretch of trees that lay beyond it. With each step taking her further and further away, her apprehension grew.
Dyna laid a shaking hand over the journal in her satchel and its gentle energy responded, filling her with strength.
Chapter 4
Dynalya
Dyna hiked through the day, her steady pace taking her deep into the Forbidden Woods. Nothing slinked out from the trees to confront her. All was still and quiet. Evening had arrived if the low light was any sign. Apprehension crept over her nerves.
The thought of finding herself in the dark terrified her, especially in the forest, and this forest was strange. Zev had not been honest with her.
The trees were peculiar, ancient giants. Their thick, white trunks bore massive indigo leaf canopies that cast a wide blanket of shade. The undergrowth of massive iridescent flowers in vibrant purple, teal, and pink coated her surroundings in an eerie hue. There were no roads or trails of any kind to walk on in the dense woodland.
No other but she dared come here.
Dyna shivered, not sure if the chilly air or the notion caused it. She adjusted her hood against the cold and tightened the cloak around her shoulders, letting its enchantments reassure her. The runes did well to conceal her presence as long as she didn’t make a sound. And she had the strange sense to be quiet.
Hilos. She turned the land’s name in her head, trying to recall where she had heard it. It must have surfaced in her studies.
Her aching feet begged for rest, but Lykos Peak shouldn’t be too far now. Dyna stopped mid-step, hearing a new sound not belonging to nature. She strained to listen past the rustling of the leaves in the breeze.
Music.
It was such a beautiful and heartrending melody that could only come from a flute. Something about the tune was familiar, drawing from her a memory of her mother singing a similar song. The tune became clearer as she followed it, forming a deep calling she had to answer. But then the melody reached its end and faded among the trees.
She paused, waiting for another song but none came. The longer she stood there, the more she wondered if she had truly heard it. Was this a trick of the forest?
Dyna backed up a step at the thought. What would have happened if she had located the minstrel?
She turned to go back the way she came only to realize she didn’t know which way that was. She spun in place, trying to retrace her steps. The forest floor was too thick to leave behind any footprints. Every course looked the same. The identical trees offered no direction. There were no visible hills, rivers, or trails to guide her.
She was lost.
The long shadows grew as the sun lowered. Dyna’s heart raced, her breathing growing erratic. The darkening surroundings spun in a blur. The feeling left her legs. She fell onto her knees and wrapped her shaking arms around herself. Air wouldn’t enter her lungs. The forest closed in around her. She was falling through the cracks of the earth, turning to rubble and dust.
Lyra.
Dyna gasped for air. Her sister’s name was a rope, and she used it to scale up the walls of her panic.
She forced a mouthful of cold air down her throat over and over until she could think. Once the world stopped spinning, Dyna closed her eyes. As her breathing quieted, she heard distant waves beating against what must be the cliffs separating Hilos and Lykos Peak.
She picked herself up off the ground and ran toward it. Her footfalls carried through the forest, the shrubs rattling in her wake as she barreled past.
She stopped in a pocket of buttery light and listened for the sea again. Unnatural silence hung in the air. The wind halted, the birds no longer sang, and every chatter of life disappeared as though the forest itself held its breath. A reminder that she should not have made a sound came too late. Goosebumps raced over her skin at the sensation of being watched. She whirled around, anxiously searching the greenery.
No one was there.
It stirred memories of the past, of molten red eyes hunting her in the darkness. Dyna inhaled several deep breaths and leaned against a tree, reining in her fear. She gazed up at the delicate rays of sunlight slipping in through the tree’s long, swooping branches, shimmering on wide, gossamer leaves, appearing of glass. There was another Hyalus tree in these woods?
Dyna stepped back to admire the tranquil giant. The tree stood taller than the rest, reigning over all in its wake. It was much bigger than the one outside of her village. The girth of the silver trunk was as large as her cottage. The peculiarity of the tree was not the beauty of its transparent leaves, but that they glowed a luminous white once night fell.