Chapter 52
Chapter
Fifty-Two
EVIE
T he convoy thinned with each village we passed, from the adobe homes with flat roofs that peppered the plains, to the houses raised on stilts in the winding hills, up to the dwellings and temples carved directly into the mountain sides, thick, round windows cascading down like raindrops.
The Blood Brotherhood’s territory stretched wider than any of the books mentioned, and this was just the Southern-Northern direction we were roaming through. The Clan’s borders stretched wider from East to West.
We stopped in a new village each night, the locals as enthusiastic to have us there as Verynmoor had been–and just as headstrong in feeding us.
We’d barely made it out of Verynmoor without Eryn and the locals hoisting their best ram into one of the carts, and had to rush out of each settlement before they stuffed more cheese and cured meats in our satchels. The warriors did accept some of their wines, though.
“The Harvest Festival is coming. The people give in this life so they’ll have a place at the gods’ table during feasts in the next one,” Adara said as we rode in the back of the convoy. We’d traded places with The Dragon up front once the hills had turned more unforgiving and the roads narrower.
He and I hadn’t shared a room or a word since Verynmoor.
After I’d gathered my bruised pride off the floor, I’d crawled into bed under the big pelt he’d left for me, and turned my back to him too, lying on the very edge of the straw mattress. He was gone before I’d woken up in the morning, but I swear I felt his embrace engulfing me in the night.
No obvious emotions passed between us, the connection numb and forlorn.
With the war and the advisors breathing down my neck, I’d been too focused on surviving to focus too much on the state of my marriage.
If I was being truly honest, I hadn’t had the guts to, either. But whether I liked it or not, time was ticking and it wasn’t on my side.
I had to do something.
I hadn’t even yet mustered up the courage to face him and he avoided me like the Scarlet Bane. What had those whispers been before the connection had severed?
Who, in their right mind, would call The Dragon weak ?
The journey was filled with stories of his victory, which only grew once we neared a peak from which we could barely make out where the Crimson Dam had been in the distance. Now only an empty lake basin, the sides of the hills barren, marked with nothing but dregs.
“Gods forgive me, but I’d made my peace with death. All I hoped was not to be swallowed by one of those snakes,” one of the warriors said. “But The Dragon saved us all. Bless his strength.”
“Bless, bless,” another said. “I saw death that day and promised to not look back. I’m finally going to go talk to that girl downstream, the one with the sun in her hair. She’d make a good wife.”
“Synygal? She’s engaged, brother, set to marry in the spring. But her twin sister just came back from her apprenticeship on the islands.”
The Dragon had done that. Brought these warriors back in one piece and saved all these people, so they could talk about bread recipes and young women with golden hair.
So they could live their lives.
He was not weak.
I hadn’t even thanked him for alleviating the soreness and somehow preventing my muscles from seizing up again. I suspected he’d also helped Zorin, because the anzdran was as lively as ever, trotting like he owned the entire godsdamned continent.
The cold didn’t seem to bother him either, and it was getting chilly the higher up we went, despite the fur-lined coat I had on over my armor.
By the time we reached the first snow-capped peak and the convoy had dwindled to just our party, the warriors accompanying us, and the carts of supplies meant for Frostfall Reach, my nose was red and my fingers had cracked from the cold. The mountain girl had gotten a bit too used to balmy weather, it seemed. Or maybe my body hadn’t ever accepted the mountains and had just survived them because I didn’t have another option.
“Change of guard,” Adara commanded as we rode down through a narrow, icy gorge.
The warriors grunted as one and slid to the side, allowing us passage to the front.
“How come Frostfall Reach didn’t evacuate?” I asked, keeping my voice low. I didn’t like the look of those massive frozen spikes hanging high above the lip of the cliffs.
“Frostfall Reach never evacuates, it’s considered impenetrable,” she said. “Though that’s a load, because it was seized once and only once–by the Rohen Dynasty. But nobody outside these borders needs to know that. Truth be told, I don’t even know how The Dragon’s ancestors did it.”
Another Blood Brotherhood secret. The whole Clan had been weaved by its mysteries, ancient and new.
I kept staring at the spikes and the menacing mountains beyond. The slopes weren’t empty, as I’d expected, peppered with huge caves. Inside them, I could barely make out the outlines of bulky structures.
“Ruins of the ancient temples.” Adara grimaced. “Some old monks still live there, taking in and teaching the orphans. I always wanted to sweep in and clear them out, but was ordered to stand down.”
I frowned. “Why would you ever want to do that?”
“They’re too stuck in their old ways.”
“They’re taking care of orphans.”
“And teaching them in the same old ways.” She looked at me from the corner of her eye. “You and The Dragon were truly meant for each other. Hearts bigger than your ambition and wisdom, the both of you.”
I rolled my eyes, even as a smile tried to tug at my lips. The two of us were set in our ways. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“Emotions get you killed,” Adara said flatly.
“You’re going to kill me with that constant optimism of yours.”
“Then at least you’ll die with some sense in you.”
My laugh echoed around us, traveling faster than any horse or nazdran could. From the front, I noticed The Dragon tilting his head to the side, listening.
I swallowed thickly as I passed Kaya’s carriage just as Goose and Leesa opened the velvet curtains. Vexa and Owyn were stuck in a staring match, while Kaya and Anya waved my way with the same childish eagerness. Those two must have had a grand time together this whole journey.
I waved back, riding right next to The Dragon. Zorin puffed up his chest as he neared Madrya, neighing at her. They must have gotten into some kind of spat last night, because she refused to look at him.
The Dragon didn’t look my way, either, only acknowledging me with a nod. Adara gave us a curious stare, then fell behind. I wouldn’t want to be near this tension, either.
I nipped at my already chapped lips, munching on the words I couldn’t say.
Could I?
Should I?
By the time Frostfall Reach towered in front of us, I hadn’t decided. I hadn’t seen many places in my lifetime, but, curiously, most of them had been strongholds. This fort wasn’t like Aquila or Phoenix Peak, both wide and unforgiving, with thick, menacing walls.
The archway was an intimidating slab of stone which looked to have been carved by giants striking the steep ridge with jagged knives.
Only one way in and out.
The gates themselves were iced over, guarded from above by frightening stone monsters with open jaws. They were more unnerving than the marble and golden dragons guarding doorways back at the Capital.
The whole place looked menacing and deadly.
No hint of chimney smoke from beyond the gates.
No sounds of children running in the streets or people bargaining in markets.
The air turned colder the closer we got.
“How can anyone survive here?” I found myself asking, words turning to mist.
A corner of The Dragon’s lips quirked up. “Magic.”
On cue, the gates roared open, revealing a blinding light. No matter how hard I blinked, I couldn’t see anything past its powerful luster. Zorin didn’t seem affected, riding forward just as I felt Madrya and The Dragon doing the same next to us.
All of a sudden, the air warmed.
The fresh, tangy scent of spring replaced the crisp, sterile winter winds. The light still felt too harsh, even with my eyes closed. I only dared open them again when Anya began giggling and awing.
Instead of a frozen wasteland, I found myself in a town trapped in perpetual summer. Colorful houses crept up the mountain side, pots brimming with flowers under open windows. The central market was bathed in a warm glow, willow trees blowing softly in the wind. Children ran toward us, toothy grins smeared with berries, their tunics short-sleeved and light.
“The Dragon is here, The Dragon is here,” they chanted excitedly, gathering around us.
Kaya opened the carriage and walked out in all her glory, grinning just as enthusiastically as them.
“Wow.” One of the children stared up at her, mouth open. “You’re pretty.”
Well, he wasn’t wrong. Meanwhile, all the children around me fawned over Zorin, who loved all the attention.
Children did not care about status and titles. One of them was already crawling into The Dragon’s arms, sitting gingerly on Madrya’s back. It was jarring to see him smiling so openly, holding a child.
“Miss,” a little girl with a lisp said. “Can I–can I pet your horse?”
“If he lets you, yes,” I said with a smile.
That’s all Zorin needed to hear before lowering his head and letting the young ones run their hands through his mane and pat his forehead. My gaze wandered up. Instead of a sky, it met a dome weaved out of rays of light, each radiating from a rune etched into the stone disk surrounding the marketplace. The markings looked oddly familiar.
Beyond the dome, the temple ruins looked more frigid and terrible.
“Soryn was right.” The Dragon’s voice snapped my attention back into the courtyard. “Frostfall Reach truly is a marvel.”
A man with a long beard and an even longer fanged necklace approached us. His smile was jovial and his laughter was infectious.
“Welcome, welcome.” He opened his arms. Everything about this place was warm. “We heard The Dragon was coming to celebrate with us, but we didn’t dare believe. Congratulations on your victory, Your Highness.”
“Thank you for opening your gates for us, Meryck.” The Dragon inclined his head. “Together, we have suffered. Together, we will celebrate.”
Meryck guided us up a steep hill, to the remote house we’d be staying in for the next few days, with a gaggle of children following. A glint on the other side of the market caught my eye.
Next to me, The Dragon stilled.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” he muttered.
I gave him the barrest nod, pretending everything was alright, even though my skin was already crawling.
Dozens of Capital guards had beaten us to Frostfall Reach–and they were watching.