I rest my head against Westley's shoulder. Escorted by several warriors eyeing me like I'm some kind of stray dog with rabies, we start into the pass, his father and four others ahead and the entire army of Brown Sun Lake behind.
"What's going on?" I ask quietly. "Are you throwing me off a cliff?"
"My father would love to throw you into a pit of despair, but he has a better option."
"Is there really a pit of despair?" I ask.
"No, witch." He glances over his shoulder at me. "'Tis an expression."
Nice, LF. Assuming this is still a book, that is, which I'm starting to doubt. "Then where are we going?"
Westley is quiet for a moment before responding. "The Shadow Knight offered to surrender, in exchange for you."
"He did what?" I nearly shout the words, drawing the attention of everyone around us.
"Quiet!"
My god! The man thinks I have magic. He has no way to know the medallion is gone. "He can't do that!" I hiss.
"Naia, keep quiet!" Westley shifts, eyes on his father. "I do not know what else to do. You are his battle-witch. You can do something or mayhap he knows aught we do not about your magic."
It's hard not to panic and jump down to run screaming for the hills. I hug him harder and press my face to his back. The only thing worse than knowing I've disappointed the Shadow Knight: having to tell him it's my fault his world is about to end.
Tears sting my eyes. I have no idea how to tell him the truth and it crushes me thinking about it.
The ride through the pass is the longest two hours of my life. I can hear the sound of doom - the squeak of horse leathers, ring of hooves on stone and rattling of weapons in their sheathes - coming from behind me and know I'm bringing with me the destruction of Black Moon Draw.
The emerald hills beneath gray skies draw my gaze when we reach the other side of the mountains. Instead of cheering me up with their sweet scent, the knowledge I can't save them sends me tumbling into despair.
All this will be gone tomorrow. The place that feels like home, the man who makes me feel alive.
It's not real. My chant no longer works. All I can think about is how much this is going to hurt. If this is a book, or a dream, I'll never recover.
We ride along the foothills of the mountains on the road leading towards the mile long walls of the city at the heart of Black Moon Draw. The walls soon tower above us, smooth, carved from the stone of the mountains. The sky above the city's center is black.