Chapter 19 Rhianelle #4
Arescaine closes his eyes, and darkness begins to pool around his boots.
It spreads across the ground in a widening circle, swallowing grass, stones, and the last violet light of twilight.
The air above it shimmers before splitting open.
Cold wind rushes through the gap, carrying the scent of snow and dead leaves.
“Ready?” Arescaine asks, his dark eyes finding mine.
I think of Landon trapped beneath the Palace of Bones, suffering alone in the darkness. I think of my people waiting upon the Great Plateau to face an army they cannot possibly defeat. I think of Darstan and Siofra’s son, and of every child in my kingdom whose future depends upon what we do today.
“Ready,” I say.
Arescaine steps into the portal first and reaches back for me. I take his hand. The others follow as the darkness rises around us.
The world drops away.
There is nothing beneath my feet and no air in my lungs. Whispers brush against me from every direction. Behind me I hear Garrett swear under his breath. I tighten my grip on Arescaine’s hand until his fingers close firmly around mine.
Then the darkness releases us.
We stumble onto frozen ground beneath a sky still filled with stars. I nearly fall, but Arescaine steadies me before my knees strike the earth. Behind us, Cedwyn emerges with Garrett at his shoulder, followed by Rainer, Shade, and the wolf. The portal folds inward and vanishes without a sound.
“Where are we?” Garrett gasps, looking around wildly.
“Avalon,” Arescaine answers. “Beyond the outer reach of the palace wards.”
Before us, rising from a valley of black trees, stands the Palace of Bones. It earns its name in every stone, its pale towers curving upward like the ribs of some enormous ancient creature.
I stand there for a moment and just look at it.
Somewhere inside those walls, Landon is waiting for me.
We descend through the trees without speaking. Shade takes the lead, moving so silently that his boots make no sound on the moist cobblestone. The wolf follows close behind him.
Rainer watches our rear while Arescaine guides us toward places where the palace wards feel weakest. The first patrol passes less than twenty paces from us.
Arescaine pulls us into the shadow of a fallen tree, and darkness folds around our bodies like a cloak.
Three guards move along the path without seeing us.
Their armor is made from pale metal etched with twisting runes, and each carries a spear tipped with black crystal.
We wait until their footsteps fade.
Shade rises first. “There will be more near the walls.”
Arescaine leads us toward the northern side of the palace, where dead vines cover part of the outer wall. A narrow passage runs beneath it, half-hidden by thorn bushes. Arescaine pulls them aside with his bare hand.
Garrett crouches beside the opening. “That cannot be our way in. It’s too small and filthy.”
Arescaine’s mouth twitches. “You’ll survive.”
He goes in first. I follow. One by one, we crawl through the channel beneath the wall. The darkness closes around us completely and we move forward into the belly of the Palace of Bones.
Moisture from the moss soaks through my gloves, and the stone presses close around my shoulders. The passage slopes downward before opening into a forgotten chamber beneath the palace.
Bones cover the floor, thousands of polished fragments arranged into spirals. Pale light leaks from between them.
Arescaine raises one finger to his lips.
Voices echo beyond the chamber.
We slip through a narrow archway and into the palace proper. The halls are silent except for the distant movement of guards. Columns carved to resemble intertwined skeletons rise toward vaulted ceilings.
Then something brushes against my mind.
A thread of silk. Jessica.
The palace corridor disappears.
For a heartbeat, I see through her multiple eyes at once.
The Great Plateau stretches beneath a moonless sky.
Blaire sits upon Miss Bernadette’s neck at the front of Aelfheim’s army, surrounded by Darstan, Siofra, and thousands of soldiers packed into defensive lines.
The Fae King’s forces advance across the field in numbers so vast that the earth itself seems to move.
Mammoths tower above the ranks. Demons march between them, carrying hooked blades and banners made from hide.
Our army looks impossibly small.
Jessica waits among the ancient fae, her legs sunk deep into the earth. Around her, Hellios burns and the great worms burrow beneath the plateau.
Blaire raises her sword.
“My people!” Blaire calls out, her voice carrying across the space. “Today we face an army that outnumbers us. An enemy that wants to break us. But they don’t know what we’re made of. We’ve faced worse than anything they can throw at us. We do not break!”
The crowd roars. I see tears on faces, determination in eyes.
“I will stand with you on that battlefield!” Blaire continues, stepping into my role like she was born for it. “I will fight beside you! And together, we will show the Fae King that Aelfheim does not bow. We do not surrender. We will not fall!”
Another roar, louder this time. Weapons raised. Voices chanting. “For the queen! For Aelfheim! For the queen!”
I’m in awe of her.
Jessica’s sight releases me so suddenly that I sway. Arescaine catches my arm.
“What happened?” he whispers.
“Jessica showed me the plateau.” I force myself upright. “The enemy is almost there.”
Shade looks toward the corridor ahead. “Then we have even less time.”
“Let’s go,” I say, though fear twists through me. “We must save my mate and stop this war.”
I’m coming for you, Landon.
I send the thought down the golden thread connecting me to Landon, the one that hasn’t gone quiet no matter what they’ve done to him.
I just hope I’m not too late.