Chapter 17
The flame in my orb is about to run out. Night is nearly upon us.
“It’s just over that hill,” Daegan hollers, leading the way as we ride as fast as we can. The world is quickly shifting from gray to black. We did not make it back to the castle, but we’re very close to the inn.
At the top of the hill, the darkness fully sets in. Luckily, we can see a light in the distance not far from the bottom.
We ride harder.
As we descend the hill with haste, I hear a horrible roar at my back. Something is behind us, giving chase. I don’t dare look back and shine a light. It will only slow me down. But I can hear them. There are several of them, and they’re moving faster than our horses. They’re gaining on us.
Another roar.
The three of us now ride side by side. I shoot a powerful spray of scalding water behind me blindly, and it’s met with the sound of a few growls. Whatever it is didn’t like it, and it slowed them for a second, I think.
“Go!” Daegan yells, then turns so fast I don’t have time to argue.
Not a moment later, I feel an intense heat, and I sense the orange light of flames behind me. But I don’t stop. We’re almost there.
We don’t waste a moment as we push through the gate in the wall which is unmanned and luckily unlocked.
We can’t tie the horses up out front like this morning, but there’s a barn next to the inn with a short hall that connects to the main building. We should be safe inside.
As we reach the front, though, I realize we don’t have to worry about that. The mysterious beasts are no longer chasing us.
Raef reaches down to open the door, and we ride inside the torchlit barn. But looking back, we can’t see Daegan. He’s been swallowed by the darkness. The silence out there makes my stomach feel like an empty pit. It’s eerie.
Then suddenly, the sound of hooves on dirt echo from somewhere out beyond us in the dark, and the wave of relief from both of us is evident as we hold the door open to the barn and wait for him to come through the gate.
I hope he’s not hurt. I never even caught a glimpse of what horror was chasing us.
A moment later, Daegan emerges through the opening in the wall, his eyes instantly landing on us, and he rushes to slam the heavy gate door shut before meeting us in the barn.
The only noise that fills the room is the sound of heavy breathing. From all of us. I dismount, and then Daegan follows. His feet slam on the ground much louder than mine did.
“Well,” Raef begins, a bead of sweat dripping down his brow, his gaze flicking between us, “I hope those weren’t the ‘two travelers’ we’re supposed to befriend.”
I can’t help myself. I look at both of my sweaty, mud-covered new allies, the smirk on Raef’s face, and I release a loud, boisterous laugh.
I hear the deep rumble of Raef’s laugh join mine as Daegan runs a hand over his face, shaking his head.
It brings tears to my eyes, and I have to turn away to wipe at my cheeks.
I can’t remember the last time I laughed like this. I think I’m delirious.
I release a few more giggles, trying to suppress them and compose myself as I walk toward my horse to gather my things. When I grab my bag and then turn back around to face them, Daegan and Raef have already collected their gear and they’re busy tying up the horses.
When we step inside the inn, we’re greeted with the sounds of string instruments and lively chatter.
“Cuttin’ it close, aren’t ya?” A rather burly syloc is watching us from behind the large wooden bar. I can’t see his hooved feet, but his unique ears and horns peeking out through his wild brown hair clue me in enough.
My lovely allies say nothing, so I approach the bar. “Do you have a couple rooms for the night?”
“I’ve got one,” he replies.
I look back at Raef and Daegan with my face scrunched and my teeth clenched.
“Actually…” I turn my head back around toward the inn keeper. “Never mind. I have two.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. I had already begun debating in my head if I’d rather travel the rest of the way home blind, facing all manner of roaring beasts, rather than bunk with a couple of temperamental dragons caked in travel-grime.
“Great. We’ll take them,” Raef interjects, handing him some coins before I have a chance to.
The syloc eyes him, then nods his head. He’s probably wondering what kind of being they are.
Even as an innkeeper who sees all manner of species traveling through here, it’s possible he has never actually seen a dragon shifter.
But there aren’t many species who resemble elves so closely.
The only visible difference is the ears, the slight size difference, and the mesmerizing eyes, so he must be figuring it out.
There once lived a species called humans who looked like us, minus our distinct pointed ears.
They lived short life spans and had no magic.
They were the first to go mad and eventually die off completely a hundred or so years after the curse.
The lack of magic in their blood and sunlight made them extremely vulnerable to the curse, scholars guessed.
The sylocs are our closest neighbors. Their region, Sylo, is a day’s ride away, so we do business with them often.
But they still tend to stick with their own kind, as do most regions on the continent.
I sometimes wonder if it was always this way, or if the curse slowly made us this way over time.
They’re in survival mode, and they protect themselves.
Many regions depend on the elves though.
Most of them struggle to grow crops of any kind, so we send terramancers every so often to provide them with their own supply of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and more.
But I’ve long suspected the king doesn’t do it out of the kindness of his heart.
There is always something in it for him.
“I heard the shifters were visiting Ellyar,” he says, still staring in wonder.
“Never thought I’d see the day…” he mumbles as he hands us two keys.
To everyone’s knowledge, the dragon shifters are basically the same as humans at this point.
They hold no magic anymore besides their healing, and there’s not much danger there.
But I’ve noticed over these past few weeks that people are still afraid of them.
Like they’re aware of the beast that lies beneath their skin.
Yes, the beast has been suppressed for a thousand years, but who knows when they might emerge again. Magic is unpredictable.
“You folks joining us for dinner? Perhaps a flagon of ale? We’ve got the best hazeberry pie in the region.”
Raef looks at me with his eyebrows raised. I nod. “It’s true.”
He turns toward the innkeeper. “Three ales to start, please.” The innkeeper nods, then gestures to the dining room for us to have a seat. “A bath can wait,” Raef mumbles as he brushes past us excitedly.
He simply didn’t wait for anyone’s response before he bounded over toward a small wooden table in the darkest corner of the room, and I can’t help but glance at Daegan, curious to his reaction.
He looks at me, and I can immediately tell he’s feeling uneasy in this crowded, raucous room, but he shrugs and takes off after his friend.
Daegan pulls a chair out across from Raef, then rounds the table and sits next to him.
He just… pulled that chair out for me?
He doesn’t make eye contact as I look at him with bewilderment. I don’t know what to make of him anymore.
He’s still an ass, that’s for sure.
No one speaks for a bit. We’re all too busy looking around, taking in the lively scene.
I don’t get out of the castle grounds much, so any time I can go somewhere different it’s an exciting event for me. Seeing different people, different ways of life. Even if this particular spot is incredibly close to home.
For Raef and Daegan, it seems they’re more on edge, assessing the area for threats rather than enjoying the revelry.
Actually, that’s mostly Daegan. Raef is a little tense, but also poorly masking looks of curiosity and interest. I again find myself wondering how often they actually leave Torrynth. I know very little about the two strangers sitting across from me.
The innkeeper interrupts our quiet observations, dropping three large ales on the table.
The foam sloshes over the edge of all three wooden flagons as he does so.
He recites the dinner menu with pride, and both of my companions order the meat pie, which is a rare delicacy.
I order the vegetable one. Only Raef and I order the hazeberry pie for after dinner.
Not far from Ellyar, there’s a large enclosure where elk, cows, and a few more animals were rounded up not long after the curse.
Fruits and vegetables became much too difficult to grow in the wild, and our usual prey was disappearing at an alarming rate.
The walls surrounding the massive chunk of land are taller than any other on the continent, and outside of that is an elven-made river completely encircling it.
The animals roam freely in there with hardly any predators and plenty of elf-grown grass and vegetables, until their time comes to be bought for meat.
It’s expensive. And the elves own the operation, of course.
It’s not completely safe in there, with unknown prey taking out a large chunk of the animals every so often, but they fare much better in there than in the wild.
Raef grabs his drink then holds it out in the air expectantly. Disappointment washes over him when neither of us respond. “Oh, come on. You’re both drinking with me. Daegan, don’t act like you’re too tough to have a flagon of ale. I’ve seen you do much worse.”
Daegan side-eyes him, arms crossed, then resumes watching the room with a flat expression.
“Grab your damn drinks. We just survived some shit tonight. I was practically dead and brought back to life.”