I told Eris that I would sleep on the floor if she would just give me a blanket, but she refused and instigated on sleeping on the floor herself while I took the bed. There's plenty of room for two even though she said otherwise; she said she wanted to make sure I had enough space, but I'm pretty sure it's because she saw what happened when I had a nightmare earlier.

So now I'm in her bed again.

I stare up at the ceiling, eyes wide. Eris is on the floor, covered in a mass of blankets and laying on another pile. I can hear her breathing starting to slow.

I sigh heavily, remembering that I never got to hear Eris's explanation for her removal from the city. I guess I'll have to ask her tomorrow; I can tell she's already asleep and I don't want to wake her.

I realize suddenly that I've been fiddling with my necklace for a while now. I never remove it, even when I'm sleeping. It makes me feel safer to have it around. I'll have to ask Eris about hers tomorrow too.

I let my eyelids be weighed down by sleep, and in a few moments, I drift off.

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Once again, I am woken by shaking. I open my eyes groggily to find Eris shaking my shoulders. Even though there are no windows in this room, the air tells me it is early morning.

"Ugh, Eris, what time is it?" I ask, my words slurring together with fatigue.

"Maybe half past five right now, but this is important," she responds. "They came back."

"They?" I sit up quickly. "Who's they? Is something wrong?"

"That group of dryads I told you were here a little over a day ago. They came back for some reason. They may be in danger. This is your chance to speak to one of them, if you wish."

I nod and get out of bed, dressing quickly and running Eris's brush through my hair to smooth it. She must have forgotten to get me my own last night.

I follow her out the door and through the maze of hallways. As we rise through the levels, I can see out of the hall windows that the sun hasn't risen yet, but a thin glow is creeping over the east horizon.

We finally reach the entrance after a few minutes, and there seems to be some sort of situation. A group of monks is standing in front of the door, but through them I can see a few frightened faces of the dryads. I don't see any way through at the moment. So much for being able to talk to them.

A low female voice rises above the mutterings of the crowd. "I am going to ask that all of you remain calm. There is no guarantee that someone started this fire, even though many of you believe it came from the nearest city. However, if there does happen to be someone behind this, I assure you all that we will find them and bring them to justice." I stand up on my toes as high as I can, but I can't seem to find the source of the voice. Suddenly, the crowd parts, and a girl looking no older than I am walks through the space that is made. I find myself staring as she saunters by. She is absolutely beautiful, dressed in all black clothing that matches her hair. Eris elbows me in the ribs and motions for me to look down before she sees me. I look down at my feet quickly, trying to look as innocuous as possible, but I sneak a glance up as she enters the building with most of the monks following behind her.

After they leave, I lean over to Eris. "Who in the name of the Goddess was that?" I whisper.

"Kiara," she whispers back. "She runs this whole place. Don't worry," she says, noting my expression. "She knows you're here. I spoke with her yesterday. It's just seen as disrespectful to make eye contact with her in front of so many other people."

"Oh," I exhale in relief. I shake my head to clear my mind and bring my thoughts back to the present. Everyone soon turns their head to the east; the first rays of sunlight are casting themselves over the hills. I turn back to my sister. "I guess this is as good a time as any to talk to them."

Many of the dryads are now sitting down on the grass, most of them looking completely confused and talking amongst themselves in a foreign language. When I start to approach them, they stop talking and stare at me. I can feel a creeping sensation down the back of my neck. Do they recognize me? Do they know what I've done?

I can feel the tension hanging in the air. Eris stayed back, so I don't really have her support. One of the tree-spirits rises and walks towards me, if you can even call it walking. It seems more like dancing, and even the grass beneath her feet seems to move along with her. She is the leader that I saw when I was hiding in the trees. If any of them saw me, it would have to be her.

My legs feel like they're going to give out underneath me, but I try to stay strong, at least on the outside. The leader of the dryads stands in front of me, her gaze examining my face. Maybe if I just confess now, she'll go easy on me. It might be better than her finding out from the expression on my face.

I'm about to open my mouth to speak when she breaks out into a smile. "Thank you," she says in the common tongue, but her voice isn't common at all, instead adding a lilt that reminds me of running water. "Your people have been very helpful, and we are grateful to have a refuge in this time of calamity for our species."

I bow respectfully in reply, even though I had no say in this whatsoever and have very little information on what's going on. "I am glad that we were able to be of assistance..." I say as I bow, then look up questioningly.

"I am Viridis, Guardian of the Tree-Spirits. You may call me by that name."

I nod. "Do you have any more details about the fire itself, Viridis? Perhaps we would be able to help further on that front if we had more information."

She nods. "Of course, we are happy to provide any information necessary," she says, partially to me, but she directs it more at her people, almost as a warning. Looking back at me, she motions for us to move away from the group. I glance over my shoulder to find that Eris has disappeared, likely inside. That's just great.

"Shall we sit? After all of this fleeing, I find my feet weary." She takes a seat on the grass, and I follow suit, crossing my legs beneath me.

Viridis takes a deep breath before she begins to speak. "As I am sure you heard, we believe that the fire is sourced from the city. We all heard and saw many people fleeing, but none of them made it, at least that we witnessed. The city itself is completely destroyed. The real danger is that the surrounding forest is now on fire. Thousands of trees, even those without spirits, are being burned."

"What about the fire itself, though?" I ask. "Does it look normal? Or is it a specific color?"

I hold my breath even though I know the answer before it is spoken.

"The flames are white."

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Thank you so much for reading guys! I really enjoyed writing this chapter! We're over halfway to 500 reads and so close to 100 votes! Once Selenite reaches 500 reads, I have a little surprise. (Different from the announcement at 1000 :) )

Also, be sure to check out Chris Kelly's Mate to the Dragon series! I absolutely love the books, and I recently designed new covers for the series. If you like the covers and would like me to make a cover for your book, dm me and we can work out the details!