Chapter 17 The Witch's Den

• [ELARA]
• I dismount from the horse and land firmly on my feet. Magnus looks at me and nods, signaling for me to follow him. We’re away from the palace, about half a mile away, I presume, as I look back at it from a distance.
• We walk a few steps, surrounded by trees so high that I crane my neck trying to find their crowns. Night is starting to fall, the sky taking on a sinister shade of gray streaked with red.