Prince Danny's Arc

Chapter 1 of 11

Prince Danny crouched at the mouth of the rocky shelter that had hidden him for twenty-one days. From here he watched Corby Castle, where his wife and four children waited. Every sunrise was another mark on his count. Today, he would move. He spread the glowing map across a flat stone. Soft light traced halls, towers, and stairs he had memorized. But the markings shifted, hiding the one answer he needed. Where inside those walls was his family being kept? A scorched boulder sat in the field below, deep claw gouges raked across its face. The dragon's mark. It coiled around the south tower, smoke curling from its nose. Danny's jaw tightened. Every hour cost him. Then the map shimmered. Tiny painted creatures crawled across the parchment, dragons and frogs and bright butterflies, elves and small rats with twitching tails. They gathered at one point and pointed their painted faces at a single chamber high in the west wing. A fairy fluttered above it, glowing. Danny pressed his finger to the spot. He knew. He rolled the map, tightened his pack, and stepped out of the shelter toward the gate.