Chapter 23 #2
“When they do make their appearance though…” He trailed off, glancing over at me. “There’s nothing as beautiful in all of Avalea.” He bit his lip then, muttering, “At least among non-living things.”
Even in the dark, a distinct splotch of pink rose in his cheeks. He was…blushing? A strange fluttering feeling filled my stomach at the thought that he might have—possibly—meant me.
But that was crazy, right?
Hardened lava crunched beneath my feet, my gloves already black from touching it as I made my way up the mountain.
Some areas were steeper than others, forcing me to navigate holes and rocks as handholds and footholds, while other areas were much flatter, allowing a much-needed break from the physical exertion.
“Tell me about your home.” Rhydian’s question came out of nowhere, catching me so off guard that my foot slipped from the hole it had been in. Warm hands wrapped around my ankle, halting what would have been a nasty fall.
When I caught my breath, I asked, “Why?”
Rhydian’s eyes glowed in the light from the moons as he glanced over at me. “Because you look like you could use a distraction.”
I managed to pull myself up a little higher, grateful when the mountain didn’t give way beneath me. “I live on a farm back home. My family’s farm,” I grunted.
“A farm?”
“Right,” I huffed out. “I suppose you wouldn’t have those here seeing as Eroth is a giant wasteland of night and death.”
“Ah ah ah, that’s Nefaroth,” he joked, and I rolled my eyes.
“The farm has animals that we use for meat and dairy, and we grow crops to both eat and sell to others,” I explained. “It’s a lot of work. Long days. Summer is our busiest time of the year.”
At the thought, a sharp pang went through my stomach as I wondered how they were getting on without me. Were Lila and Joey having to cover the chores that I used to be responsible for? Or was Mom? Had my father punished all of them in my absence?
Another ache stabbed through me. I missed my family so much. I wished I had a way to contact them or see that they were all right. To at least tell them I was sorry, that I hadn’t purposely abandoned them, that I was trying to get home.
Swallowing back the sudden burning in my throat, I held my coat tighter to my chest as I took a deep breath and pushed on. They were why I was doing this—why I was risking certain death just for a chance to get back to them.
I would fight, I would stay alive—like I always had—and I would get home.
“Siris has something similar,” Rhydian said, tearing me out of my thoughts.
“Though we call them Hollows. They supply much of the food to Avalea, but the curse stopped them from bringing it to Eroth long ago. If it weren’t for the portal to Siris being hidden within a heavily wooded section of the land, Nico likely wouldn’t be able to sneak across the border for supplies a few times a year. ”
The thought of Nico sneaking anywhere made me uneasy.
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
Rhydian hesitated before he reluctantly said, “It can be, but Nico knows how to be careful.”
“Is there a reason you don’t go with him?” I couldn’t help but wonder why he would send Nico on such a dangerous trip.
“The curse prevents me from entering the other kingdoms. Besides, I stopped being welcome near any of our borders long ago. If Nico doesn’t go, there would be no supplies at all.”
“Why aren’t you welcome?”
Rhydian paused, the quiet intake of his breath telling me he did not want to answer my question.
“The curse,” was all he said.
“That’s it? You’re an outcast because of something outside of your control? That seems like an overreaction.”
“That’s because you’re simplifying it too much. It’s a greater danger than you know.” The way he said those words made it sound like he meant that he was the greater danger. But that was absurd. I was imagining the inflection, that was all.
But still…just who was Prince Rhydian? Why was he cursed in the first place? And other than his golden death rays, what made him so dangerous that anyone would want to curse him in the first place?
I wished I could ask him these questions, but he had proven that he was unwilling to answer any of them.
I probably could have gotten the information out of Nico eventually, but instead of being safe in the castle with him, I was freezing my butt off trying to climb a volcano, risking my life for a curse I didn’t even understand—for a man, err—Fae—I didn’t understand.
“You need to focus,” Rhydian said a moment later, bringing my attention back to the mountain, to the cold icing over every inch of me. “We’re almost to the top.”
Glancing up in surprise, I realized he was right.
Between the freezing air and our conversation, I had completely lost track of how many hours had passed and just how far we had hiked.
But now that he called attention to it, I felt it in every movement of my body.
A deep, frozen ache encompassed every bone, every muscle, and I suddenly found it incredibly hard to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
“The moons will set soon. Once we reach the top, we’ll camp for the night and face your task once morning comes again.”
I snorted and muttered, “Morning. Right. Funny.”
Rhydian’s smirk told me he heard my sarcasm, but he didn’t say anything, probably content to watch me squirm when he thrived in the dark.
My heart pounded with the exertion of climbing the steep mountainside, and I could barely get air in my frozen lungs by the time we finally crested the top. Hunched over with hands on my knees, I panted, trying to breathe the too-thin air.
“We made it,” Rhydian commented, glancing around.
In the dark there wasn’t much to see. I expected there to be nothing but lava up here, but so far I saw none, though it appeared we had a lot more walking to do to make it to the center.
My legs wobbled so violently that I had no choice but to sink to the ground, the sharp rocks and pebbles digging into my legs.
“Did you doubt we would?” I asked through labored breaths. ‘Cause I certainly did.
“Of course not, Maren.” His tone was heavy with sarcasm. “I never doubted your ability to climb the largest mountain in Eroth for a second.”
I couldn’t help the scowl that turned my lips down. Something about it must have been funny to Rhydian because he burst out laughing at the sight of it.
Once again, I had the thought that his laugh was…really nice, and I found myself wanting to do more to keep drawing it out of him.
But such thoughts were dangerous so I pushed it from my mind—or at least tried to.
“So how exactly are we supposed to camp here with the cold and biting wind when your tent was destroyed down there?” I pointed to the valley where we nearly died from the Scorching Rivers.
“Without more snuggling,” I added, which elicited a small smile from him.
Why was it suddenly addicting to make him do that?
“Don’t worry, there will be no more snuggling, unless you ask.” He paused to wink at me, and my face grew warm. “Lucky for you, my ancestors built a small cabin up here.” He pointed off to the right. “It’s not far.”
“Why would they build a cabin at the top of a volcano?” I asked.
“Let’s get inside first, then I’ll tell you the story,” he replied, leading the way, seeming as eager to get out of the cold as I was.
Every part of me was numb when we finally made it to the little cabin, which I would have referred to as more of a tiny shack.
It was built of thick logs, but I didn’t know how that was possible when there weren’t many trees here in Eroth.
Had they brought them from one of the other kingdoms? And then lugged them up the mountain?
I’m sure glad that wasn’t my task.
Stopping at the door, Rhydian waved his hand over the doorknob. At first nothing happened. His jaw clenched, and he tried again. Still nothing. It took two more tries before the tiniest flare of golden light appeared for a split second followed by the sound of a latch clicking.
His shoulders were bunched by his ears, frustration radiating off him as he said, “After you.”
I eyed it suspiciously. “When’s the last time anyone was here?”
“A long time.”
“That’s not very specific.”
“I don’t know the exact date, Maren.”
“How do you know the last person here didn’t booby trap it or something?”
Rhydian snorted. “Booby trap? Is that another saying from your world?”
My cheeks heated, and I crossed my arms. “Maybe.”
His smirk was infuriating. “I promise there are no booby traps, Maren. Now go inside before you die from the cold.”
So many retorts waited on the tip of my tongue, but I bit them all back at the reminder that warmth waited on the other side of that door. My boots crunched on the hardened lava beneath my feet, then thunked as I stepped inside onto a rough wood floor.
It really was tiny.
A single cot with threadbare blankets sat in the corner to the left of the door, a small cupboard with a large bowl on top to the right. At the back sat an enormous fireplace, taking up most of the wall, tons of gray ash resting at the bottom.
That was it.
“Um,” I said, staring at the very small cot. “There’s one bed.”
“Yes.”
“Does Avalea have a weird fetish with only having one of something?”
Rhydian shook his head and went to the fireplace, waving his palm over and over, growing increasingly more tense when the golden magic didn’t appear.
I was about to offer to start the fire myself—with my bare hands—when Rhydian let out a curse as he thrust his hands forward and a burst of flame erupted into the center of it.
He knelt there panting for several seconds, the magic clearly taking a lot out of him. Relief swept through me at the sight of that golden light for the first time. His magic must not have been truly gone—only depleted.
“This was only ever meant for one person. Sharing was never intended,” he finally responded.