Chapter 19
Zara
As we approached Golden Eagle Palace, which loomed as gray and forbidding as the mountainside, I felt impossibly small.
The scale of it took my breath away. The Zephyrians had carved an entire city out of the rock, transforming outcroppings of Crane Mountain into buildings.
It was Naharu, the capital city I’d only heard about.
The city spread out across three wide mountain peaks, and above it all was the palace.
Countless turrets with flags bearing the insignia of the emperor—the golden eagle—flew from the red-tile roofs.
A massive waterfall plunged from within the center palace like a yawning mouth, spilling over the side and down far, far below.
As we came nearer, the water roared and showered us with a cold mist. No doubt it came from a spring in the heart of the mountain.
Neo banked, and I leaned precariously over the edge for a moment before Commander Talon reached forward and steadied me.
The eagle flew toward an enormous opening in the palace, where guards were stationed in regular intervals, carrying spears with golden flags that hung from the base of their sharp tips.
When the guards caught sight of Neo and Commander Talon, they saluted with left arms crossed over their chests.
They wore elaborate golden armor and serious expressions that made something inside me grow cold.
Neo descended, his wings once again buffeting the air painfully into my ears until I couldn’t hear anything at all.
But then it became obvious why he was doing so.
He was hovering to give Shazeera a chance to gain her footing.
I leaned over the side of Neo to see, hand reached out toward Shazeera as if I could help her.
She stumbled once or twice as her hooves met the granite floor, but then she was standing on her own.
Neo landed just behind her, keeping his wings stretched wide so that his back would remain level.
“Neo says he hopes you enjoyed your flight,” Commander Talon said from behind me, and as I looked at him, something danced in his eyes that was almost like mirth.
“Tell him thank you for getting us here safely,” I said, though I couldn’t quite bring myself to smile at him.
My legs quivered unsteadily, and I didn’t think it had to do with the flight as my mind raced with thoughts of what was to come.
What would the emperor be like? What did the Zephyrians expect from marriage?
The concept of agreeing to marry someone for political reasons was so foreign to me it was incomprehensible.
Neo turned his head so one of his huge bright eyes met mine.
“He heard you,” Talon said from behind me. “I’ll get down first, and then I’ll help you, all right?”
I glanced over Neo’s wing. It was a long way to the floor. “Yes, all right.”
Commander Talon swung his leg over Neo’s back and slid down smoothly, landing with a heavy thump. “If you turn to face outward with both legs on the same side, you can just slide down from there.”
Carefully, I did as he said, swinging my left leg over Neo’s neck.
Talon held out his arms to me and caught me easily as I slid down, his large hands spanning nearly my entire waist. I was glad for his help, as it was a much farther drop than I was used to, and my legs felt like jelly after being folded on Neo’s back for so long.
I glanced up at Talon when my feet hit the floor, and for just a moment, our eyes met. “Thank you,” I murmured.
After another breath, he released me and took a step back with a bow of his head. “Of course, Future Empress.”
He turned back to Neo and retrieved the leather bag I had brought with me from the back of Neo’s saddle.
On shaky legs, I ran to Shazeera and untied her blindfold.
She shook out her mane as she took in our surroundings.
We’d flown into a veritable chasm, with a ceiling so far above it could only just be detected.
Guards lined either side of a wide expanse.
It was clearly to give eagles room to land and spread their wings comfortably, but we were lost in the middle of it, like field mice in the midst of a widespread meadow.
Immediately, a heavily armored guard approached Talon and saluted him with one hand over his chest. “Commander, the emperor has requested that you bring the future empress to the throne room.”
I saw Talon’s jaw flex once. “Does the future empress have time to change before her first appearance?”
The guard hesitated. “Briefly, sir. The emperor is waiting.”
Talon nodded, then turned to me. “Come. I’ll show you to your chambers.”
I found my voice suddenly didn’t work, so with my hand on Shazeera’s neck, I followed Commander Talon into the depths of the palace.
Neo stayed behind, though I saw him spread his wings again as if he meant to fly away.
We passed many more silent guards, servants dressed in gray who never met our eyes or even stopped to stare in curiosity, and people who were dressed in fine clothing who did stop and stare, but with guarded expressions that made it impossible to guess how they felt about my arrival.
Finally, we arrived at a suite of rooms carved directly into the mountainside.
The guard opened the door for me and stood aside.
I hesitated on the threshold, thrown by the sheer opulence: polished stone floors, an enormous bed draped in lace and gold, a wide hearth already burning, and windows that opened to the sky.
Everything gleamed with wealth and power—and none of it felt like mine.
“Five minutes,” Commander Talon said quietly as I stepped inside.
I glanced back at Shazeera, who stood patiently beside the commander, and just knowing that she was here steadied me. I was miles from home, but I wasn’t alone.
I dropped my bag just inside the door, peeled off my travel-worn clothes, and changed into my most formal outfit—something I rarely had occasion to wear at home.
I pinned up my hair, secured the headscarf, and fastened the golden diadem in place with trembling fingers.
Then I looked into the polished mirror and saw a stranger: regal, composed, and outwardly unshaken.
No one would know I’d just flown for hours or left almost everything I loved behind.
With a deep breath, I pulled open the door. Commander Talon didn’t say anything when I stepped back into the hall, but his eyes swept over me once, lingering just long enough to make heat rise in my cheeks before he turned away.
“If you would follow me,” Commander Talon said. He turned and began walking, and I fell into step beside Shazeera.
Wide halls yawned before us, the walls uncovered.
I frowned at the cold gray granite everywhere I looked, while the only color came from artifacts on display.
Enormous jade vases sat on marble pedestals beside paintings with such startling detail I found my steps slowing in wonder, and life-size sculptures of animals made entirely from glass filled the space.
Silence reigned, so much so that every hoofbeat from Shazeera rang like drums, and even my slippered feet echoed.
I glanced frequently at Commander Talon, but whatever glimpse of amusement I’d seen in his eyes before was now gone, to be replaced by the guarded expression that seemed to be how everyone’s face here looked.
The alienation hit me so hard I nearly whimpered. I hadn’t been here five minutes, and I desperately missed color, and smiling, and talking, and laughter.
Are you all right? Shazeera asked.
Just homesick already, and we’ve been here approximately twenty seconds.
We passed beneath marble columns wider than two horses, and then we arrived at doors so tall and wide a giant eagle could walk through with its wings outstretched.
The first thing I noticed as I walked into the throne room was the silence.
It was thick and pressing, like the calm after a violent storm.
Emperor Altair sat on a granite stone on a dais facing a cavernous room with regular intervals of columns.
Behind him stood an eagle, smaller and more delicate-looking somehow than Neo.
The cavernous room dwarfed everything in it—even the giant eagle.
When I looked out at the crowd of people, a sea of black, white, and gray gazed back at me, the style so different from my own.
High necklines, long skirts, and wide-cut sleeves covered them in such an austere and modest way that it made me look half naked in contrast. I admired the fabrics, though.
The women wore silks and heavy satin with intricately embroidered robes that fell all the way to the floor.
Extremely impractical, but beautiful. The men wore black leather armor or high-necked tunics with pants, their boots scrupulously clean and shiny.
I stood out like a peacock amongst crows. Even though I was met with haughty looks, it didn’t bother me. I was taught that our bodies were a thing of beauty, and being around mostly women and horses my whole life had made me very unselfconscious.
What did bother me was the fact that the men were in the middle of the room facing the throne, while the women were separated from them and off to the side. A glance at the dais where Altair sat showed a smaller throne slightly behind and to the side of his. I supposed that one was for me.