Chapter 76
Torrynth is beautiful.
Yesterday, I started to notice the change in everything around us, from the dirt we walked on, to the lessening of trees, to the jagged, barren, black and brown mountains. They’re a stark contrast to the tree-dotted mountains in most of the lands I’ve been to before.
Now that we’re here, there’s barely a single tree in sight.
Instead, there’s rolling hills with more reddish dirt and the mountains where once upon a time you could find emberstone if you climbed high enough.
In the distance, I can see the white buildings he once told me about, but his brief description didn’t do them justice.
They’re tall, intricately designed, and the entire town is constructed of the beautiful, rich material.
It looks like a dream.
As I get closer, I can see the swirls of gold mixed in with the white, bringing all of the architecture to life in the most stunning way.
“It’s beautiful,” I whisper to Daegan, who just shifted back moments ago so we can walk into his homeland hand-in-hand.
He smiles at me.
“Where does the material come from?”
“Mined under the mountains.” He nods toward the large black and brown mountains in the distance. The white buildings stand out even more when you look at the full picture, with the dark mountains contrasted behind them.
“I love it already,” I say.
It’s true. Yesterday the air started to feel warmer and it felt incredible. I could easily get used to this.
He smiles at me again, squeezing my hand. There’s something lighter in the way he carries himself since we arrived. It melts my heart, seeing him almost at peace here.
Another important observation we’ve made since we got closer is that there seems to be no Ellyarian army presence anywhere nearby. Not a single soldier.
It seems odd, even if it’s what we hoped for.
“Home at last,” Raef says with a breath of air that seems like it’s been held in for a long, long time. I feel a smile tug at my cheeks as he wraps an arm around Daegan, looking ahead.
Daegan, to my surprise, puts his arm around him in return, and they stand like that for a heartwarming moment, just two boys returning to their home.
“So, where are we going?”
Daegan’s expression falls. “We’ll need to check in with my father.”
“Before we do that…” Raef says, glancing at me with a strange look in his eyes. “I want to show you something.”
“Okay…”
I follow him all the way around the outskirts of the town, taking it all in from a distance. There are so many small, beautiful structures lining the streets, and from the outside looking in, it almost seems like the town is arranged in a circular pattern.
I continue to follow, with Daegan walking closely beside me. They tell me stories about their homeland that aren’t in books I’ve read, things you wouldn’t know unless you grew up here.
When we reach a small hill near the mountainside, we begin to climb. Eventually, we reach the plateau, and Raef guides me toward a cluster of glittering rocks that did not get there naturally.
“In our culture, we burn the bodies of our deceased,” Raef says. I look more closely at the arrangement of stones and see the name carved in the largest one.
“Meela,” I whisper, kneeling to inspect it closer.
“This is where I placed her ashes. She needed a spot to be remembered.” Tears threaten to fall at the sentiment, but I hold them in. I’ve shed enough, and she wouldn’t want that anyway.
I place my hand on the stone then lean forward and feel the cool smoothness of it against my forehead. I take a moment, just breathing in, remembering her adorable, scowling face in my mind.
And then I realize that some of the details are becoming fuzzy. I haven’t seen a portrait or anything since before her death, and so much has happened since then that I’m having trouble conjuring her image.
That’s the moment a tear begins to break free. Just a single one. I guess I still am who I am. Soft. Unable to push everything down and smother it, despite how hard I may try.
I finally stand, wiping my cheek, and face Raef with strong shoulders. “Thank you.”
He nods, but I know he didn’t do it for me. He did it for her.
“Were you guys ever…?”
He shakes his head, his somber mood stealing his smile. “I don’t know. We never got a chance to find out.”
And that tugs at my heart for both of them. They deserved more than this.
We begin to hike back down the hill, and I get a better view of Torrynth from the higher vantage point.
I was right that it’s arranged in a circle.
The roads weave through it in an intricate pattern up to the center.
That’s not where the largest building is though.
Up against the mountainside is a white and gold shining palace, much bigger than any other structure below.
“That’s home,” Daegan explains. I look over and he’s eyeing the grand palace I just had my own eyes on.
“Wow. It’s beautiful. And you guys didn’t even have terra magic to build any of it. Not the palace, not the wall, not the homes…”
He offers me a tight-lipped smile, then leads the way back toward the roads. We weave in and out, getting deeper in the city. A lot of the structures seem to be private homes. By the third road we turn onto, more shops pop up. There’s an armory, a potion shop, a place to buy linens, and more.
“Daegan Vaelor? Welcome back!” A burly old weaponsmith with wild gray hair is sitting in front of his shop, smiling at Daegan like he’s a savior come to rescue everyone. Like he respects him greatly.
“How’ve you been, Taelun?”
Taelun’s smile falls, revealing the horrible truth of what’s become of their people. “Could be better,” Taelun answers honestly. “Brother passed this last year…”
“I’m very sorry to hear that. Salius was an excellent blacksmith, and a kind dragon.”
The weaponsmith nods in appreciation. Then, his fiery-orange gaze shifts, falling on the ancient dragon sword. Taelun squints his eyes with curiosity. “Interesting sword.”
“Yep,” Raef answers.
Taelun doesn’t question any further as we say goodbye and resume our stroll through the streets, but I look back and find him still studying us, that same look of intense curiosity on his face.
It’s strange seeing Daegan like this. So comfortable and well-known and respected by his people.
It’s almost as if people look at him and talk to him like…
he’s their prince. It’s not that I’m not surprised by his kind behavior, but I’m used to seeing him get treated much differently, and him acting a lot more guarded and cautious.
I enjoy this side of him. A few more people say hello as we stroll through the streets, and it warms my heart, seeing him treated as he should be.
Each one of them has their own unique color of eyes with the same illuminated quality to them, and I know now that each set matches the color of their dragon form.
But something is strange about the village...
“There’s barely anyone here,” I murmur in an almost reverent whisper. Sure, we’ve encountered people here and there, but not nearly enough for a village of this size. And I definitely haven’t seen any shifted dragons.
Daegan twists his mouth and keeps his gaze forward. “Yeah… remember how we told you that we were dying off faster and less babies were being born?”
I nod, even though he’s still looking forward.
He sighs, his eyes distant, and then finally, he meets my gaze. “It’s gotten a lot worse over the last one hundred years or so.”
I feel sick. The dragons are on the brink of extinction. And they’re not the first species to be wiped out by the curse. Or the second.
“We need to figure this shit out,” I say. “I won’t let you…”
I can’t even finish the thought, but I don’t think he was going to let me anyway. “We will. And either way, you’re going to live way longer than me with your elf lifespan.”
“Why would you say that?” I whip my head at him in horror. Even if he dies at two hundred, I refuse to go another one hundred without him.
His eyes soften. “Sorry. I just meant… I don’t know. Let’s not think about that right now. No matter what, we’ll make the most of whatever time we have.”
Daegan reaches his arm out and wraps it around me, pulling me close to him as we approach the large palace. I look up in amazement, taking it all in. I wonder if he sleeps in one of the tall spires.
Could this be my future home? I’m certainly not going back to Ellyar, and if we finally break the curse, will Daegan and I simply fall into a quiet life together?
I realize how ridiculous the thought is right after I think it.
Of course our lives will never be quiet.
No feud is going to be magically solved by the veil clearing.
Sure, we’ll hopefully save our lands, the dragons, and whoever else is suffering because of it, but the elves and dragons will still have more than bad blood between them.
Half the people on the continent will probably come for the elves, actually.
There will be more bloodshed and more death, that’s for certain.
No, life is never going to be simple for us, I fear. But as long as I have these guys by my side, I’ll be all right.
As if she’s reading my mind, Kezra flies in from who knows where, reminding me that she’s a part of this too. Of course we couldn’t have done any of it without her, but again, I don’t think she’ll stick around long after the skies clear. She’ll return to her people in the forest.
“I thought I’d see more emberstone here… you don’t really use it for… anything?
He looks around thoughtfully. “No. The Eternal Pit is a sacred spot. We didn’t disturb the stone unless loose shards were found nearby. It’s always been incredibly rare.”
I nod thoughtfully, looking at the grand palace ahead of us with a bit of nerves.
“Okay,” he breathes, stopping just before the grand main entrance that’s lined with lit torches and a perfectly manicured path leading to a white stairway. A large set of double doors waits at the top, standing twice as tall as Daegan. “Let’s do this.”
On the journey here, we discussed finally revealing our plan to a select few more people.
The argument was that they might have some insight that we hadn’t thought of yet.
Maybe even a solution to our main problem now, which is that we don’t know where or how to burn the items. But in the end, we all decided to keep it between the four of us for just a while longer.
Hopefully, while we’re here, we’ll figure it all out.
If we truly run out of ideas, we’ll revisit the discussion again.
Raef lets out a strangled sigh beside me as he looks up at the massive palace. “Finally,” he sighs. “I’m going to have sex with my bed.”
I snort, covering my mouth.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Daegan laughs.
“Fuck you.”
I laugh again, relishing the moment. I look over at Daegan, and he’s actually smiling. Both of them are.