Chapter 17
Amelia
“Then we have no need for you anymore.”
The words drained all the blood from her body. She’d stupidly thought there might have been some part of him that still felt something for her.
She leaped back as he drew his sword. It barely missed her stomach.
She was weaponless. Defenceless.
He stood blocking the exit, sword raised. She bolted in the opposite direction, deeper into the mines. His footsteps echoed through the tunnel close behind her.
Skidding on the dusty floor, she twisted into a passageway. It was a dead end.
A discarded pickaxe lay on the floor. She grabbed it and made her stand, knowing it wouldn’t be enough.
He rounded the corner and halted as she stood there in his path, ready to face him.
He came within striking distance.
She swung the axe. He stayed back, wary of her. The handle shook in her grasp.
He advanced. The weapons clanged as his sword met her axe. The metal scraped as she pushed it away.
She caught his next blow with the wooden handle of the axe. It snapped. He was too strong. She had no chance, even with all her training.
He swung again, and she lashed out at him desperately, throwing all her strength and power at him, hoping to block something, to slow him down.
He dropped his sword. It clattered to the rocky ground, echoing through the mine.
She looked up at him, shocked.
His eyes closed, and pain contorted his face. Sweat ran from his forehead, and when his eyes opened, they shone with the glow that had been missing.
“Run, Amelia!” he shouted.
What just happened?
She ran through the mine towards the exit without a thought for the guards waiting outside. She skidded to a halt when she reached the surface. The guards sat shackled together, with Tharos, Ruven, and Danae standing over them.
“Where is he?” Tharos asked.
“He’s still in there. He was going to kill me, but he told me to run.”
“Let’s go quickly,” Danae said.
“What’s happening?”
“No time. We need to go now.”
They mounted, taking one of the guard’s horses for Amelia, and they galloped hard.
Why had he stopped? She’d tried to block his strength, hoping to slow his movements, but he’d completely stopped. She almost didn’t want to leave him there. He looked so broken.
“Where are we going?” Amelia asked.
“Back,” Tharos said.
Amelia went stiff. What did he mean, back? She thought they’d come to rescue her.
He noticed her stiffen.
“I’m going back. I’m staying with the army. I can help from there. I can’t just leave Casyl. Danae and Ruven are going to take you back to Elderarth. It’s safer there for you right now,” he said.
She suppressed a laugh. The dangerous world she’d wanted to escape had become the safest place for her to be.
They split up as Tharos headed back to the army, while the others travelled an indirect route towards the mountains, taking care not to be seen now that Tharos wasn’t with them.
They rode in silence until they stopped to let the horses rest.
Danae passed her a skin of water. She gulped it down. The water soothed her throat, sore from all the dust kicked up from the road.
“Why did you save me?” she asked Danae.
“The fae were once united, but something happened, something awful that no one seems to remember. The kingdom separated into two, and those who followed Tiryn were banished to the Wildlands.” She touched her antlers.
“God-cursed, they call us. King Elthar said he was delusional, that he was mad with power, that there was no way back to the past. We’ve spent centuries chained to this cruel leader who’d promised us he would lead us back to what was rightfully ours.
Many of us cheered at the prospect. Our land is harsh, and with so many born without their abilities, it seemed like part of the punishment.
He told us it could be different, that he could make it the way it should be, that we’d live how our ancestors lived.
We believed him. Although he didn’t tell us what it would cost us. ”
Amelia had wondered about the war between the two fae factions. After fighting for her life against the other fae, she hadn’t considered that they would be the rational ones.
Were they right? Should they have killed her?
“What was the cost?” Amelia asked.
Danae looked at her. Her face was lined with worry. “Our souls. I don’t think there is any redemption for what we’ve done.”
“Let’s ride,” Ruven said, looking wary.
Mount Ryjul loomed in the distance. They rode towards it cautiously, scanning the surroundings for any sign of the army. The rift had been left unguarded.
It shimmered on the mountainside like a mirror, but the reflection was all wrong. Where there should have been snow, there were trees. It was more like a window into another world built into the mountain. It was so unnatural.
When they reached the bottom, they dismounted and started their ascent, passing the tracks that the army had left.
There, near the portal, was the cave where she’d first seen the markings. Danae and Ruven followed her as she hiked towards it.
“Do you recognise these?” Amelia asked them.
Danae walked over and traced them with her hand. “These are ancient. We don’t use this script anymore.”
“Can you read it?” she asked.
She shook her head. “No.”
These markings had caused all of this, although they seemed a little inconsequential right now. Did they really have no meaning?
They frequently scanned the distant horizon for pursuers but found none. With Tharos now allied with them, Amelia was certain that no hidden army was following.
The mountain grew steeper. Her fingers grew stiff with cold. She was sweating despite the snow and chilly wind that howled around the mountain.
When they reached the rift, they paused.
The ancient forest was quiet. Branches swayed gently in the breeze, their rustling leaves the only sound. There was no sign of guards or enemies.
“Do we just walk through?” she asked.
“I guess so. Let’s find out,” Ruven said and walked through, leading his horse.
She held her breath as the rift absorbed them.
He turned back to signal that it was safe. They followed him through. The sensation of the rift vibrated against Amelia’s senses, making her skin tingle. For a moment, it felt as though she were part of it.
They were back in the ancient forest, and although danger surrounded them, her breath came easier. She looked at Ruven and Danae as they inspected themselves. She hadn’t realised how different they had appeared in the human world until they returned.
“Do you think it worked?” Danae asked Ruven.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
Amelia considered them, frowning. What did they mean?
“What worked?” Amelia asked. Why were they acting so strange?
“It doesn’t matter.” Danae dismissed the question. “We need to move fast.”
“Where are we going?”
“To the High City.”
Were they going to give her over? Had they realised that they should have let the High King have her? She had no other option but to go with them. She wouldn’t survive in either world for long on her own.
“Why?”
“We need their help if we have any chance of fixing this. Elthar warned us. He tried to stop us. That’s why they wanted you. Killing you would have prevented this. They were right.”
Danae’s eyes met hers. “We should have listened.”
There was no malice beneath her words, only regret.
“Do you really think that we could have stopped Tiryn even if we had listened?” Ruven asked her.
“Are you going to let them kill me?” Amelia asked.
“No, it’s too late for that now. We need their help to kill Tiryn.”
“What about Casyl? Will they kill him too?” she asked.
They were quiet for a moment. “Tharos is handling that one,” Ruven said.
“But what happened to him? He changed. He tried to kill me,” Amelia said, fighting back tears. “I don’t understand what happened.”
“We’ll explain, but we need to get to the High City as soon as possible.”
They left the forest, scanning the trees for creatures lurking. A shriek from the distance urged them to ride faster. The rolling hills of green signalled that they were at the border. They were such a stark contrast to the barren lands near the fortress.
“Why is it so different?” she shouted as they galloped.
“The priests say that the High City and the High King’s people are blessed by the gods and that Tiryn and everyone who follows him is being punished. It’s part of the curse,” Danae replied.
Instead of keeping to the wild country, they followed the main high road.
What would happen if they were caught?
She soon found out.
A small band of warriors met them on the road ahead. They looked as if they’d been waiting for them.
“A messenger must have gone ahead with a report of our sighting,” Ruven said.
“Halt!” one guard shouted.
They slowed their horses to a walk but continued towards them.
“We come with news for the High King,” Ruven announced.
“Stop!” the guard repeated.
They stopped. Ruven shifted slightly in his saddle. She sensed he was subtly preparing to pull out his weapons if need be.
“I’ve told you,” Ruven snarled through gritted teeth. “We have news for the High King. We’ve come from Tiryn’s army. I think he’ll want to hear what we’ve got to say. Now, you can escort us to him, or we can cut you down and continue on our way.”
She could see the guard thinking it through. “What are your names?” he asked.
“I’m Ruven, and this is Danae. I’m sure you’ve heard of us.”
Amelia looked at the guard, who paled slightly. He nodded his assent to his men. She needed no introduction; her round ears gave her away.
“We’ll escort you.”
They didn’t speak on the way to the city. The guards eyed Amelia, and she wondered whether they’d try to kill her before they got there.
The road wound through mountains and climbed higher. As they crested the road and began their descent, the view before them stole her breath.
Perched between mountains that towered into the clouds was the city.