Kai snored, and not a cute, comical snore, either. The only fitting description would be the sound a whale would make if it were trying to breathe through a gigantic kazoo with a sore throat. It was made inconceivably worse by Erasmus singing along. Aleah and Elurra slowly trudged up to the noisy cave with despair chiseled into their features. They had found only two gems. They were in high spirits when they split up and located the red and purple ones within twelve hours, but they couldn’t find the last one anywhere. They hadn’t slept for more than a day, and Elurra felt dead on her feet. Erasmus was dancing around his pot, which was glowing blue.

“The time’s up!” he exclaimed happily.

Elurra glanced over to watch the hourglass empty its last grain of sand into its base. Cages of stone immediately formed around the two girls.

“Where was the last stone?” Aleah cried as she grabbed the bars in front of her.

Erasmus giggled with glee and snapped his fingers. The glowing blue jewel floated up from the bubbling kettle in the center of the room and settled in his waiting palm.

“You tricked us!” Elurra exclaimed furiously.

“Did I? I said they were hidden in the caves. My cavern is in the caves, don’t you know?”

Elurra sank to the floor. Weariness flooded over her. They were already trapped; even if they somehow escaped, there was no way out of the labyrinth of dark tunnels. She was hungry, tired, and defeated.

Maybe this is a blessing. Getting eaten by an overzealous troll is better than starving to death in the dark, she told herself as she closed her eyes. She reclined against her stone prison and tuned out Aleah’s heated argument with the troll. Resisting was futile. Their mission was doomed.

What was I thinking? I’m only eleven. What can I do to stop a war? she wondered, tears forming under her eyelids. She felt the weight of all the days since her parents’ deaths consume her. Nothing happened the way she had wanted it to. Grief flooded over her, and her thoughts fixated on Terrin’s death again. Guilt mingled with her grief, and it took all her willpower to dam the oncoming waterfall.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Without me, Terrin would have lived a normal life. I was so selfish, and now he and his father are dead. She couldn’t stop remembering his crooked smile and the way he rubbed the back of his neck when he was embarrassed. It had been less than two weeks since he was taken, but it felt like a lifetime. Despite her best efforts, the tears escaped and slipped down her face in waves.

Not only have I killed Terrin, I have doomed Aleah and Kai. Nitiri might have killed Kai eventually either way, but Aleah never had to come along. If I had left her behind, she would be safe. My kingdom is doomed. Nitiri has unleashed Amora’s vengeance on my people. What can I do to stop all this destruction?

Elurra opened her eyes long enough to see Erasmus throwing seasoning into his kettle. No doubt he was getting ready to make them into a stew. His aimless singing was periodically drowned out by Kai and Aleah’s furious complaints. She sighed and covered her eyes with her hands. She couldn’t do anything to stop what was happening, and she loathed feeling worthless.

“Who is going to be eaten first?” Erasmus asked as he twirled around to face his prisoners. Aleah and Kai started yelling again, but Elurra didn’t even glance up. The troll smiled. “Now that’s what I like to see! Cooperation is appreciated, don’t ya know?”

The stone walls around her sank into the ground, and an invisible hand lifted her up. The action jarred her out of her self-pity. “Put me down, you cave witch!” she screamed as she kicked aimlessly. She was lifted into the air despite her struggles.

Could I use magic? She pushed the idea aside. The troll clearly knew a lot more about magic than she did. Besides, she was so tired and hungry she bet using any magic would drain her remaining energy and kill her immediately. Erasmus started singing over Aleah and Kai’s angry shouts.

“Into the pot the screaming girl goes;

She sure is meatier than those skinny crows!

How tasty will she be? I sure want to know.

Into the pot the pretty lassie goes!”

Elurra looked down at the dizzying drop below. Seconds before, she had been ready to face death, but suddenly she was venomously opposed to the idea.

“Let me go!” she shrieked as she struggled against the invisible force.

Erasmus doubled over laughing. She closed her eyes and whispered a prayer to the creators, begging for a miracle. She peeked down and saw she was almost over the pot. In a ridiculous final attempt, she looked up and shouted, “Please, somebody help us!”

Erasmus’s howls of laughter drowned her out. Just as she gave up, her prayer was answered.