CHAPTER SIXTEEN
I was free.
A bright morning greeted me as Arian and I walked toward the archway. It was the day after my harrowing trial and my entire body trembled with excitement as we approached the entrance. I stopped at the border between nearly all I had known these last two weeks and a bright new world.
Arian looped an arm around mine and gave me an encouraging smile. “You will not be lost with me at your side.”
I nodded and took a deep breath before I stepped out onto the walkway. There was no evil monster or savage guard to greet me, only a fresh breeze that blew past. I inhaled deeply and smelled the sweet scents of foreign flowers and trees mixed with fresh water.
“Where would you like to go first?” Arian asked me.
I grinned back at her. “What about the kitchen?”
S
