"So what do we do at this point?" Islinda was curious to know about Maxi’s plan.
"Not what ’we’ will do, but ’you’ will do." She emphasized. "I am not going with you, Islinda. Soone has to be here to stop anyone else from checking up on you at least until you’re back. You have to reach Aldric tonight."
"What?! Tell you’re kidding, right?" Islinda stared at Maxi expectantly, but the expressionless look on the horse shifter’s face was all the answer she needed.
"No, no, no, this is not happening," Islinda shook her head stubbornly. "You expect to leave the palace, alone? I don’t even know the way to Aldric’s castle!"
"You don’t need to walk all the way there. All you need to do is get outside the palace... " Maxi said to her while fumbling inside her pocket for sothing, " And here it is ," She pulled out the dallion. "Aldric gave this just in case and I’ve never been grateful for such an amount of luck."
Islinda was still a bit out of it, as if unable to believe that this was happening when Maxi took her hand, opened it and put the dallion in there. "The dallion cannot work while in the palace, it is warded against such, to prevent the enemies from taking advantage of such a dium to launch sneak attack on the king or any mber of the family."
Islinda stared at the dallion in her hand with a dumbfounded expression. This was really happening. She was really going to escape the king’s palace. Alone. How worse could this get?
The dallion was just like any other common dallion. An exquisite piece of craftsmanship made from polished bronze that gleams warmly in the light. At the center of the dallion is a raised emblem: a majestic phoenix rising from flas, its wings outstretched as if in mid-flight.
Around the edge of the dallion was a detailed border of intertwined vines and leaves that frad the central design of the Phoenix, completing the piece with a sense of natural beauty and tiless artistry.
The back of the dallion is smooth, save for a Fae inscription in an elegant script that Islinda could strangely now read. It was a piece of date or perhaps a serial number. Aldric had once hinted that his location could be pinpointed with the help of the dallion when investigated. It was traceable. Which was perhaps the king’s way of control since he had been the one to give it to him and there were a record few dallions in circulation. A rare commodity that every Fae could kill to get one in their hands.
The dallion was cold to the touch and looked ordinary except Islinda gasped suddenly as she felt what was like an endless stream of energy. It was wild, exciting, vibrating like a violent steak of electricity that couldn’t wait to whisk her out of here. Islinda was shocked. She had not felt this the first ti she had stolen the dallion from Aldric and touched it.
"Did you feel —" She was about to ask only for Maxi to nod her head.
"They are made from the energy of the Phoenix, but the creatures are so rare and live hidden even in their realm. The witches know how they do it but there’s so much risk involved in the process which is why there’s only a handful of them in circulation." Maxi smiled at her. "I told you, didn’t I? Human might have eyes, but they can’t see. They might have noses but they can’t breathe. They can’t feel either. But now, you do."
Islinda could indeed feel everything. The air felt lighter, each breath filling her lungs with clarity and vigor. The world around her seed sharper, every detail more vivid and precise. Almost like the dallion, there was this restless energy inside of her that wanted her to do sothing and not cower like a coward. As if she could jump from the highest point of this castle and not die. It should be a scary thought but it felt exciting. Try as much as she could to ignore it, but Islinda knew it, she had been forever changed in a sort of way.
Maxi said, "It seems Azula might have a teleportation ability, but that’s the last power I would ask you to tap into. We just got you back; you cannot risk it and give that demon a chance to possess your body again. Not to ntion you couldn’t use it properly even if you tried. So, we’ll stick to the dallion."
Maxi headed over to the previously closed mirror and opened it, peering outside into the night. She turned back to whisper, "Just as I thought, the outside is heavily patrolled. You’d be caught before even making a step. But don’t worry, I have a plan." Maxi gave her a reassuring smile.
Islinda watched as Maxi made a strange animal sound at the back of her throat. "What are you doing?" she asked, puzzled.
"Watch and learn," Maxi said without looking at her, resuming the strange sound again.
Maxi continued the strange animal sound, her throat producing guttural, rhythmic calls, the sound resonating through the night. Islinda watched in astonishnt as a raven swooped into the room, landing gracefully on Maxi’s outstretched arm. The bird’s black feathers glistened in the dim light, its beady eyes reflecting intelligence. Islinda recognized it imdiately as one of Aldric’s spies.
Maxi gently petted the raven’s head, her fingers running smoothly over its sleek feathers. "You know what to do, right?" she whispered to the bird. The raven cawed in response, a sharp, clear sound, and then it took off, disappearing back into the night.
"So that’s it, the distraction?" Islinda asked, her voice tinged with disappointnt.
"Patience, Islinda. Patience," Maxi said, her tone calm but firm, like a teacher instructing an impatient student.
Intrigued despite her skepticism, Islinda stepped closer to the window. She peered out into the night, watching the raven’s dark silhouette vanish into the distance. She waited, her breath held in anticipation.
And then, in the twinkle of an eye, they appeared.
"By the gods," Islinda breathed, her eyes widening to the size of the moon at the sight before her.
Approaching the palace was what seed to be hundreds of ravens, their black forms rging together to create a massive, undulating storm cloud. Even in the dark, their sheer numbers made them appear as a shadowy, moving mass. The birds flew in perfect coordination, a silent, ominous force until they reached the palace grounds.
Then chaos erupted.
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