Chapter 32 Crossing the Rift #3
A large, black-barred gate loomed ahead. On the pillars flanking the gate stood two towering stone statues—one a raven mid-screech, the other a rearing Pegasus with flared wings. Their size and craftsmanship were remarkable, but it was the gate itself that held me frozen.
Forged into the iron was a massive dragon—scaled, coiled, and poised with its wings stretched wide, ready to strike.
A chill crept into my bones. Every joint was taut, like the tension in the metal had seeped into me.
“What is this place?” I asked.
The gates loomed ahead as Blake slowed Sadrina to a trot.
Holding his hand out, his everi flashed through the air like a bolt of lightning. My lips parted in awe. The physical manifestation of his everi was mesmerizing. I knew it was possible, but I’d never seen it before. It didn’t seem possible that I’d ever be that powerful.
The dragon split in two as the lightning struck it, opening as Sadrina sped up and crossed the threshold.
“It is called the Tower of Angalor,” Blake shouted over the rhythmic staccato of Sadrina’s stride. “It is where the Alliance gathers. All three kingdoms in Valyria meet here in peace. Even in times of war, it exists as a demilitarized zone.”
The mere inkling of mages that wielded the power of this realm raised the hair on my arms. What kind of destruction was wrought in a battle between two mage kingdoms?
I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand.
The courtyard was dense with twisting trees with exposed roots. Statues were overgrown with moss. Vine twisted around them, thorns lining them like fangs.
The trees’ leaves were broad with veins of silver. Flowers gleaming with bright luminescence flickered in the darkness. It was so startling that I couldn’t take it in fast enough. My senses were heightened, draining my everi, and even with Blake’s everi, I was quickly losing energy.
A tingling sensation was spreading from my fingertips to my chest.
It wasn’t long before every part of my body was numb and too heavy to hold myself up.
I knew I should say something—tell Blake, but I couldn’t. I was too tired, and began to drift, my body leaning into Sadrina’s gallop, but Blake’s everi grasped me, jarring me awake as it pulsed through my veins like electricity, and Sadrina came skidding to a halt, rising on her hind legs.
She whinnied as she did, her hooves striking the dirt when she landed, flecks spattering my face.
Blake’s everi never let go of me—it flowed in warm waves, and I took a sharp breath. My fingers and limbs were tingling again, my heart beating rapidly.
“We need to get you inside,” he muttered urgently.
Everything was swimming as his weight shifted, then my own was relieving Sadrina of her burden as he slid me from her back. I didn’t bother to try to speak.
He carried me against his chest, one arm behind my back, the other under my knees.
Thick, polished wooden doors awaited us at the tower's base. They were reinforced with black iron, etched with curling runes I didn’t recognize.
The moment his palm met the surface, the doors opened on their own, revealing a space within that rivaled everything I’d seen at Nightfall.
Gently, Blake set me on my feet, letting me regain my composure.
Within the walls of the tower, the weight was lifted.
The door shut with a thud behind us and a sense of relief flooded me. Though exhausted, I could stand, but Blake still hovered beside me, his everi continuously coursing through me.
Torchlight flickered to life in rapid succession, the flames burning with a golden glow upon our entry.
They lit an enormous foyer with pristine stone walls, unmarred by time or neglect.
It opened into a hall with ornately threaded rugs and armchairs I longed to sink into.
The ceiling rose several floors, resembling an atrium in a hotel, with viewing ledges on the upper levels.
Hanging from the towering walls on the lower portions of the hall were rich tapestries depicting creatures with hollow sockets and vicious claws. They showcased fierce battles or embattled mages wielding long wooden staves. The scenes varied but most were set amidst dark forests and flames.
I could smell the smoke before my gaze snapped to Blake’s as he touched my waist.
“Battles from long ago,” he said. “Do not look for too long. They are enchanted.”
Fascination tinged with fear crept over me as I glanced at the other paintings.
“Enchanted how?” I asked.
Blake led me away, his hand firmly at the small of my back.
“Mages have been known to become lost in them, their minds never the same,” he said.
“It is rare, but some mages can embed their everi into inanimate objects—such as paint. If it is powerful enough, the painting itself can display like a memory for some. The more susceptible the viewer is to what is depicted, the more likely they are to experience it. Best not to observe for too long.”
I tensed and looked forward.
Everi embedded paint?
What else could be laden with everi that I wasn’t expecting?
Now that I was on guard, I felt the myriad of energies in the air.
Everi was all intertwined in such a way that I couldn’t separate one mage from another’s.
“Are you okay?” Blake asked.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “I guess I’m realizing how much I have to learn.”
Blake smiled gently. “Do not worry too much. It will come to you to sense these things on your own, eventually.”
As long as I live that long.
We moved further into the hall when a wondrous scent flooded me with delight. It was somewhere between cinnamon and roses.
“What’s that smell?” I asked, entranced by it.
“It is the timber used for the fire—it is called ‘Haneitari Eru’—it means sweet flowering tree,” he said. “It is a tough species to cultivate but the scent has kept it popular. They usually only grow now when maintained in an arboretum which makes their timber valuable.”
I took a deep breath of the sweet smell. I could understand why. I’d never smelled something so wonderful in my life.
It was disarming.
An odd sensation of worry struck.
“Is Sadrina alright?” I asked, glancing around for a nonexistent window.
“She knows her way to the stables,” Blake said.
The interior was reminiscent of Nightfall. Rich and stately elegance filled the hall with dark woods and chiseled stone walls. It was remarkable how there was no sign of decay, no dust—nothing.
“Ah, Prince Rykiren. We weren’t expecting you.”
I looked behind us and found a small, older man in a pristine and formal uniform. The symbol of the alliance was on his coats breast pocket. He wore a pair of circular spectacles that sat low on his nose and his gray hair was so thin on the top of his head, the glow made it shine.
“Sir Ganforth,” Blake said, lowering his head respectfully.
“Should I ready a room for you and uh…”
“This is Anna,” Blake said. “She is a guest of the alliance. And yes, please. Ready two rooms for the night. We will be leaving at first light.”
“We’ll have dinner delivered to each as well,” he said, inclining his head and disappearing down a corridor.
“Sir Ganforth is the caretaker,” Blake said. “He manages the staff. They are much busier when the alliance is in session.”
I thought about chiding Blake for asking for two rooms but I was too fascinated. It was as if this place had a life of its own. My everi was humming again, no doubt responding to the veins of everi flowing within this tower.
“Is it normal for this place to be so empty?” I whispered, nervous to speak too loudly.
“This place is a haven for mages traveling from the rift,” Blake said. “It is equipped by all three kingdoms of the alliance to provide ample protection and recovery. There are more staff here than you will see. Come. We must rest if we are to go south tomorrow.”
I continued to absorb the rich warmth of the hall as Blake led us to a grand stairway. "Shall we?"
I breathed in a final breath of the fragrantly burning logs and followed him up.
We reached a darkened corridor where the torches burst to life, pair by pair, down its length. Apprehension danced on my skin. The gravity of where I was, and what it meant, was beginning to form roots in my mind.
I was in another world.
Somewhere, far, far away from Earth, my home, and everything that I knew. I was on another planet, in a different galaxy and completely and utterly dependent on the man who was holding me upright with his power.
Was this a dream? It was so vivid. My body shook with fear, or excitement, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was that I was most terrified of waking up, because whatever this was, I never wanted it to end.
I wanted to stay wrapped in his warmth forever.
With every step, I feared that moment when I would no longer have his presence nearby.
I swallowed.
Stop it.
This wasn’t a dream and Blake wasn’t going anywhere.
I shoved down the distracting thought.
I squeezed his hand and let my everi lace itself into Blake’s. It heated my blood from within, urging me forward until we stopped outside of two large wooden doors.
It opened upon Blake’s presence without him uttering a single word.
“This is where I stay when I am here,” he said.
Of course he had his own room.
Prince…
That was still hard to process.
He led me into a large, rounded room. A hearth was burning within, shadows dancing along candlelit sconces. A curved staircase with wrought-iron railing led to a loft above. I moved toward it, yearning to see what was up there, but a shifting movement drew my gaze.
Silken curtains wafted in a breeze before floor-to-ceiling windows. Beyond them was a view of this foreign land’s beauty draped in the darkness.
Blake was at my side, looking out into the landscape.
“Do not let it fool you,” he murmured. “This land is cursed.”
He shifted and moved away, my gaze trailing after him.
“Cursed? You mean from the Fall of the Great City?” I asked.
The Cursed Realm.
Melanie’s warning sounded in my mind like a forgotten prophecy.
“You will never be what we are because you were brought up here. You would never adjust to the mere weight you will feel in the Realm. It would slowly kill you to be there, and you will lead a short life. That is what the others are not telling you.”
Her words unnerved me still. The journey here had proved her partly right. Without Blake’s everi fused with mine I likely wouldn’t have been able to move at all. What would happen if he stopped? Would I die?
“Yes,” he said. “Now, come. You need to rest.”
I didn’t resist. My mind more exhausted than my body, I pulled myself from the Realm’s view and its breathtakingly cursed beauty.