Chapter 7 Azahara
Azahara
The three of them approached a section of the lake that was narrower and offered an easier crossing.
It was where the rocky formation intersected with the tranquil stream.
On the right side, there was a spacious meadow with clustered trees where the mountain slopes met the flatlands.
It appeared ordinary, as if nothing but the creatures of nature inhabited the area.
Azahara took a deep breath and addressed Kaed. “I’ll guide Moondancer through the wards if you want to ride. No point in both of us getting cold and wet.” She watched him contemplate for a moment and then nod his head.
Once he mounted, she took hold of the reins and led them through the creek, walking alongside Moondancer.
The water wasn’t too deep, reaching about three feet at its deepest point, but it sent a chill through her body.
The stream was fed by melting water from the mountain peaks.
Although uncomfortable, she didn’t complain or make a fuss.
Moondancer trudged through the creek, splashing water up at her. She hadn’t thought that through, but at least the steed kept its calm. It wasn’t only her that had to deal with the freezing temperatures of the water. She patted the horse, silently thanking her for being so well-tempered.
Before they would ascend from the water, she stepped ahead and reached her hand outward. Her fingers brushed against an invisible force, and suddenly the air rippled as if it were a mirror of still water suddenly disturbed at the surface by a fish.
A moment passed before she pulled at the reins, feeling a bit of hesitation from Moondancer. “It’s okay, I’ve got you.” Seemingly calming the beast, they were able to make the next couple of steps up and out of the creek.
The air felt noticeably warmer than just moments ago before they passed through the wards.
A subtle shimmer gathered around them, creating an enchanting ambiance.
Despite the overcast sky obscuring the sun, the surroundings appeared brighter.
A smile formed on her lips as she heard Kaed dismount from Moondancer.
The horse walked away from them, trying to gather itself from the strange shift.
Kaed came to her side, his hand gracefully brushing against hers, capturing her attention. She glanced down and couldn’t help but notice how deliberately his pinky gently grazed against hers, a subtle yet intentional gesture. “It’s beautiful,” he said in awe. “Magic is something, isn’t it?”
Still looking down, she whispered, “Yeah… I’ll never truly understand it.”
“Eyes up, Red.” The tip of his index finger pressed at the bottom of her chin and lifted her to meet his gaze.
“Sorry, yeah—let’s go,” she said sheepishly, her cheeks burning. Did he… give me a nickname? Face hot, she straightened and began leading him towards the open meadow.
“You apologize a lot, you know?” Kaed remarked, catching up with her as she practically sprint walked. He matched her pace and touched her arm, gently slowing her down. “You also,” he continued, “are walking pretty fast.”
Looking over her shoulder, she let out a shameful groan. “I’m s—” You need to stop apologizing.
He laughed, the hearty one she liked. It rumbled deep in his stomach, and she felt the genuine joy behind it.
Releasing her as they settled into a steady pace, he brushed the back of his knuckles gently against her arm before pulling away entirely. That action alone had her stomach fighting butterflies.
“I tend to isolate myself,” she confessed, pressing her lips together and clearing her throat. “I have one friend, if you’d call them that. They aren’t what I’d classify as normal, so it doesn’t help—this.” She gestured to herself.
“This, huh?” he commented.
Exuberantly, she shook her head and drew out the word “Me.” A smile threatened across her lips as she tried to hide it.
“What I mean is, I apologize because I’m not sure what else to say.
I forget to check on you because I’ve not had to check on anyone but myself.
So, you’ll have to excuse me for—to be blunt—being awkward. ”
She looked over at him. “I like it.” His forwardness caught her off guard, and his words momentarily took her aback. “You have an interesting character about you. I can’t put my finger on it, but…” His shoulders shrugged as he peered at her through the corners of his eyes. “It suits you.”
Azahara returned her focus forward, contemplating his words. He… likes it? She relistened to his words repeatedly in her head. I’m overthinking this, I know it.
“So.” Kaed brought her attention back from her thoughts. “Why do you have wards? I think it’s great, but humans do not commonly use Magic. Unless—” He gasped dramatically. “Are you a witch?”
She rolled her eyes and fixed a narrowed stare at him.
“You are!” She could get used to this lively, spirited version of Kaed. “You are luring me to your cottage in the woods so you can make me your man-Elf slave.”
“Ridiculous!” she called out and laughed with her shoulders. Her hand balled into a fist, landing a punch to his shoulder. “Absolutely absurd.” A Cheshire grin crossed her lips. “I’d never be that easy to read.”
He laughed and rubbed at his arm playfully. “In all seriousness, the wards. Can I ask why you have them?”
Azahara sighed, still coming down from the short serotonin shot he had given her. “Yes, you can.” Not sure why, but she appreciated him asking if it was okay. “How much do you know of Fae? I should ask that first.”
“Mmm.” He pondered for a moment. “Not too much, just from what I read in the Academy. I haven’t had too much interaction with them, said for the very few that were scholars with the kingdom’s Holy Monastery.”
“That’s pretty much anyone ever knows about them. While they walk with the rest of the mortal realm, due to their immortality, they tend to stay confined to themselves. I ask because it was a Fae that put them up for me for saving his great-grandson from a Yuul.”
“A Yuul?” he asked, surprise lacing his tone.
“Yeah, I know. Me versus a Yuul. Hard to believe.”
“Impossible.” There wasn’t consternation or rudeness in his tone, just continued surprise.
“Trust me, if I hadn’t lived it, I wouldn’t believe it myself.
” As she gracefully cleared the gathering of rocks on the ground, her foot unintentionally kicked one, sending it skittering into the foot-tall grassy meadow.
To their left, trees embraced the landscape, while an expansive open space lay ahead of them.
She continued, “Illyan, the friend I spoke of earlier, was the Fae I saved. A Yuul had ensnared them, and while Fae at an older age can rival gods, they’re merely three, maybe four hundred years old. That’s equivalent to a sixty-year-old Elf or tween human.”
“Why had the Yuul captured the Fae instead of just killing it?”
“For their wings.” She felt like she was giving a history lesson. “Know about that?”
“Not quite.” Curiosity tugged at him, drawing him closer to her once more. Now, it was mere inches that separated them instead of feet.
“They say…” She dragged the word out, possibly because she was unsure of its truth.
“If you consume the wings of a Fae, you are gifted their Magic and immortality.” She shrugged her shoulders.
“Truth be told, no one really knows. It’s never been known in our history books to have happened.
Possibly before the Reshaping, but there are no known texts from that time.
Suppose the Elder Fae could give us an answer.
I should have asked him for that instead of the wards. ” She hummed softly to herself.
“The Elder Fae…” He lost the remainder of his voice.
“Yeah. Illyan is the great-grandson of the Elder Fae, Helio.” Had I left that part out?
“Wow.” Was all he said.
“To be honest with you, when I stumbled upon them in the woods: Illyan and the Yuul, I contemplated leaving them. I had never come across a creature of the night, a monster that couldn’t be killed, before.
They are as scary, if not scarier than stories make them out to be.
” She remembered her journal entry, and a chill ran down her spine.
“I remember it grabbed hold of Illyan’s wings, and at that moment, I couldn’t just leave them.
I was able to get the drop on it, and while they are strong, if their arms get around you, they can be made prone with obsidian from the Isle of Ilkiz.
A traveler fancied me and gave me one as a gift.
” She chuckled. “Illyan should be thanking him. Without that, we would have both been goners.”
“A mere human killed a—”
“No, I did not kill it. Yuul are unkillable. They have no heart and no vital organs. No one understands their biology. I merely paralyzed it long enough for me to get Illyan unbound, and then they were able to wether us from there.”
“Still, what an incredible feat.” Momentarily pausing. “You are…” She looked up at him, and he met her gaze. His eyes were filled with a myriad of emotions. “Something.”
Something. That was one way to describe her.
“Then what, he put the wards around your home?” Kaed was trying to put the puzzle together, and she couldn’t blame him. It’s even crazy for her to hear. If Illyan weren’t present to witness it, even recounting the events from her perspective would seem unbelievable.
“Fae take death very seriously. While they can live for eternity, they are not immortal in the sense that they cannot die. While hard to kill a Fae, taking their wings will mean death. If—” She cleared her throat.
There weren’t many accounts of Fae savings.
“If you do save one, they and their family lineage are indebted to you and your family. Forever.” She made a point to emphasize the last part.
“I don’t have family, so it was just me.
I’m not interested in riches, marriage, beauty…
Protection was the only thing I could think of that would serve me any good.
As a human woman, in a world like this, I knew I had to go to extremes to keep myself out of harm’s way.
I really never wanted to be—” She trailed off, her gaze drifting towards the majestic mountains on their left.
They appeared more like paintings than tangible objects, beckoning her to reach out and touch their splendor.
“I don’t want to be that damsel in distress.
Here I can be safe without the worry of anyone getting to me.
You are the only person, besides Illyan, to enter beyond the wards.
At least, enter and see what you see.” She focused forward as they came to a gathering of trees that acted as a breaking point to where they’d find her home settled between tree linings.
“Anyone who tries to come through is essentially taken from one side of the wards to another.”
“Fae Magic is… it lacks limits. I can’t imagine how strong the Elder Fae is to keep these up constantly.
” It may have been the first time she heard fear lace his tone.
“I’ve heard that they are quite powerful once they age, but to hold a Warping Ward like this, the amount of power you have to have is… ”
She chuckled playfully as they momentarily paused beside the cluster of trees.
Turning towards him, she leaned against the sturdy trunk and offered him a warm smile.
“He has been around since before the Great Divide, during the War of Ilkiz…” She paused, doing some quick math.
“Thousands of years—I doubt the wards around my home even come close to what he could do.”
There was a grimace on his face as he looked up. The overcast sky casts a mellow mood. “Just seems crazy to think. I suppose I’m glad he is one of the good ones.”
Azahara pondered that for a moment, her eyes trailing to the clouds.
She had never thought about the possibility of the Elder Fae being evil.
They had always been good to her, all but Illyan’s father and grandfather.
Not that she had heard much of the latter, but the former hated his child and her.
She could never understand why, but she chalked it up to allowing Illyan to stay with her and be who they wanted to be.
Unapologetically themselves without the lineage blood running through their veins getting to their head.
“We are here.” She gestured for him to walk forward, and with a smile, he obliged.