Chapter 14
Veridas
Elizabeth met Fiza and Maud in front of the castle. They were standing beside the same dark carriage she had arrived in.
A disgruntled Finnigan arrived, appearing unenthused at the idea of playing chaperone.
Asmodeus strolled over soon after, but he had been somewhat transformed into the first form she’d seen him in.
His wings had been shoved into a cloak, making him appear oddly hunchbacked, and his hood hung low over his face so she could only see his cheery grin.
Offering his hand, Asmodeus helped her into the carriage, and Elizabeth itched to peek under his cloak.
Was it a type of magic that hid the tips of his wings?
Or had he bound them tightly, wrenching them together and stuffing them underneath?
He still looked imposing, but at least now, she wouldn’t have been able to tell that he was a demon simply by looking at him.
She was relieved to have Fiza and Maud with her today. The two sisters shared mousy brown hair and inconspicuous faces—excellent companions for her to walk around the city with.
Someone cried “Hyah!” from the front of the carriage, and they were off, headed down the castle drive and towards the dirt road that cut through the trees.
Fog blanketed the forest floor, shrouding the trees and the road up ahead.
Elizabeth pressed her face to the window, marking each fork in the road and each distinctive tree, trying to memorize the path from Caspian’s castle to Veridas, the nearest city.
Several hours of travel later, the trees became thicker, some of them becoming as wide as she was tall, and the air grew thick with the smell of pine, like they were venturing into the heart of the forest.
They came to a spindly black gate, and her heartbeat quickened as the gates creaked open ominously.
She fiddled nervously with her bracelets and wondered if Fiza had remarked that she had opted to wear more jewels than usual today, partially hidden by long sleeves.
She rehearsed her plan and worried that if she were caught trying to escape her chaperones, Caspian would be angry with her.
But selling her old things was paramount—it was the only way she could see herself making enough gold to make her own way. She knew that by leaving, she’d severed ties with her family’s wealth forever, and unless she were smart now, she’d wind up destitute.
The muddy forest road smoothed out into cobblestone streets, slick from the rain sprinkling overhead. The buildings they passed were made of black stone and were half-covered in ivy and moss.
Fiza murmured from beside her, “We are here.”
Her first impression of Veridas was that it was very green.
Ivy crawled up the houses and shops, making the city look like a part of the forest that surrounded it.
Veridas did not have large sprawling manors with fields and yards; instead, it was crammed with black, spindly buildings, with various windows and shops on the ground floor.
Intricately wrought iron balconies peered out at her from the upper levels of townhouses.
“It’s pretty, but in an eerie kind of way,” Elizabeth commented. “Why do they call it Veridas? It seems like a strange name for a city.”
It was Fiza who replied, “‘Veridas is the word for green in our tongue. So, this is the green city.”
Her brow furrowed in confusion. “Your tongue?”
“The old tongue, spoken by angels, demons, and a select few scholars now. The language that came before all others. The language of the gods.”
At least now she had an answer for the strange language in the library.
Soon, the carriage slowed to a stop, and the door beside Maud flung open. Finnigan glared inside, thrusting out his hand. With a tilt of his head, he locked eyes with Maud before she stepped down. Something must’ve passed between them, for Maud shrugged and gave a noncommittal jerk of her head.
Before she could wonder at their exchange, Finnigan shoved an impatient hand towards her next. Glancing at Fiza, who smiled encouragingly, she allowed Finnigan to help her step out of the carriage.
As the male demons tended the horses, she, Fiza, and Maud ventured into Veridas.
Elizabeth looked back at Asmodeus, who gave her a cheerful wave, and wondered if Veridas was a safe city or if—as demons—Fiza and Maud were deemed more than capable protectors.
Elizabeth recalled Fiza’s terrifying demon form and suppressed a shudder. Probably the latter.
Plenty of commoners milled about, but it was surprisingly quiet. Most of the Arborians they passed were pale with dark hair and appeared solemn, a stark contrast to the loud, energetic streets of Calyx and Briarton.
They wandered into a marketplace bustling with stalls brimming with everything imaginable—trinkets, clothing, vegetables. They stopped at a confectionery stand and bought sweets, which they ate happily while wandering through the rest of the shops.
The sweets were a deep, amber colour and made of a chewy substance she had never tried before. It was delicious—like honey, but with more of an amber, woodsy taste.
Fiza and Maud wandered painfully slowly, peering at every little thing. Normally, she wouldn’t have minded, but Elizabeth had another agenda today and needed to lose her tail.
“Come on, let’s explore the city streets,” Elizabeth said, steering them towards a bookshop.
She remembered how her guards back home always wandered off when she spent too long perusing shelves.
Maud snorted when she saw Elizabeth excitedly crouched to stare at the titles on the lowest shelf of the shop.
Inside, Elizabeth made a show of gathering armfuls of books, asking the shopkeeper endless questions about what books and authors he carried.
After what must’ve been thirty minutes of watching her peer at every single spine, Maud began tapping her foot impatiently.
From the corner of her eye, Elizabeth saw Maud exchange an impatient glance with her sister.
“Oh, sorry, you must be bored,” Elizabeth said, giving them a sheepish smile.
“Not at all, miss,” Fiza said, covering a yawn with her hand.
“Ooh! I didn’t see these,” Elizabeth exclaimed, crouching at the lowest shelf. “Look at that, an encyclopedia of the different types of pine trees in Arboras. That sounds fascinating.”
Maud shot her sister a pleading expression.
“You can go if you like,” Elizabeth murmured, not looking up from her book. “I’ll probably be a while. I think I’m safe here.”
The two demons exchanged a glance.
Elizabeth propped open a book and began to read, feigning interest. “I’d love to make sure I have enough books to keep my interest for the next few weeks. I’ve only found two so far, I’d like to find at least six.”
Fiza looked concerned, but Maud intercepted, already heading for the door. “Right. Two hours. We will meet you back here.” Fiza chewed her lip and darted between them, and Maud rolled her eyes. “It’s a bookstore. Every other customer is old and frail-looking. The girl is not in any danger.”
Elizabeth made sure to keep her nose buried in her book for a few extra minutes until the two demons had long passed out of sight.
Reading, not dangerous? She snorted. A well-read woman was the most dangerous creature there was. An independent thinker with well-formed opinions was much more difficult to control.
Priding herself on her own cunning, Elizabeth quickly made her purchases and slipped out into the city.
Elizabeth walked along the city’s main streets, hunting for a particular type of shop.
She spotted a group of commoners with expensive-looking cloaks and followed them, hoping they would lead her into the wealthier part of the city.
Perhaps Caspian wouldn’t have cared if he knew she was trying to sell her belongings.
However, he seemed to crave control and fear in his servants and enjoy the idea of having her in his power.
His expression of victory as she had signed the contract flashed in her mind, and she had a feeling it was best to keep her attempts at selling her possessions a secret.
She kept her hood up, walking briskly. At any moment, she could run into Fiza or Maud, and her excursion would be over.
Finding a shop with jewels and necklaces displayed in the window, she took a deep breath and thought of her mother haggling briskly with merchants.
She was naturally quiet and soft spoken, but that girl would not do here.
Her mother had firmly told her that a woman trying to bargain had to be curt and firm, or she wouldn’t be dealt with fairly.
So, she tried to embody her mother and went into the jewelry store, tapping long, manicured fingers on the display case, waiting.
“Hello! Hello and welcome!” crowed a portly man from behind the counter, displaying a necklace on the counter for her to admire. “Care to have a look?”
“Hello.” Elizabeth gave him a winning smile and lifted her sleeve to showcase a heavily jewelled bracelet. “I have several pieces like this I would love to sell. Do you know where in Veridas I could do that?” She added in a gentler voice, “I’m new here. Buying and selling jewellery is my hobby.”
The jeweller’s eyes sharpened and settled on her wrist. “May I?”
She held out her wrist to showcase the pink sparkling gems hanging off the gold chain.
“You can harvest the gems and melt down the gold, if you like. Or sell them as is.” She spoke as if the bracelet with pink gems was a bit of junk, a dress worn once and discarded, and not one of her favourites that she had worn for years.
“Reason for selling?” His question was directed at her wrist, his gaze transfixed by the sparkling gems.
“I’m about to be married. I don’t need them anymore,” she said offhandedly. The lies fell smoothly from her tongue. “I have riches enough where I’m going and would like to have more of my own gold.”
He nodded and examined the bracelet, lost in thought. After a moment, he brought out a small tool, tapped the surface, and whistled. As he should. The bracelet was made of extremely rare pink sapphires.
“How much do you think this would sell for?”
Flustered, the portly jeweller examined the jewelry with a critical eye. “Twenty gold nobles.”
“It cost over eighty gold nobles and was a gift to me from my father,” she replied, smiling brightly.
“Twenty is fair. It is used,” the jeweller countered, offering her an oily smile. “Anything over fifty is far too much for a bracelet. I fear your father was robbed.”
“Oh. I had really thought these would fetch more. I’ll have to ask another jeweller to make sure that’s all it’s worth.” She turned to leave.
He turned a bit green. “Fifty.”
She straightened her sleeve, covering the bracelet once more, and smiled. “Fifty sounds fair. I’ll consider it. Thanks.”
The jeweller gaped slightly, and she tried not to smile, knowing he would deal with her more fairly next time.
Leaving the shop, she visited another jeweller—a cramped shop a block over. A bell jangled as she pushed the door open.
After exchanging pleasantries with the squat woman behind the counter, she learned her husband owned the shop. The jeweller’s wife didn’t try to swindle her when she showed her the bracelets, immediately offering her sixty for the pink bracelet and buying two more off her.
Giddy, Elizabeth parted with the bracelets, leaving with pockets bulging from the weight of gold.
It might prove to be far simpler to finance her escape than she had anticipated. In a good mood, she headed back towards the bookshop.
Elizabeth took a wrong turn somewhere and came across a small, ramshackle shop with plants and colourful rocks on every surface. She had no reason to step inside, but her curiosity was piqued. Crystal balls dotted the shelves, and the air outside the shop smelled strongly of sage and eucalyptus.
It couldn’t be.
The sign read “Apothecary,” but she saw more crystals and dried herbs hanging from garlands and knew exactly what this place was, and exactly the kind of being who owned it.
One summer, Charlotte had dragged Elizabeth on a desperate hunt to find a witch to tell them their fortunes.
“Just imagine,” Charlotte had whispered, eyes bright with mischief, “knowing if we’ll ever escape these boring drawing rooms for a real adventure!” She had pretended to swoon and added with a conspiratorial grin, “Or if we’ll marry handsome lords!”
They had searched every market and back alley but had never found a witch who could read them their fortunes.
Her chest tightened. Charlotte was probably still trapped in those same drawing rooms, while Elizabeth was living the adventure in the far-off land they both dreamt of—albeit a much more dangerous one than they envisioned when they were younger.
What would Charlotte say if she knew Elizabeth had stumbled across the very thing they’d spent countless hours searching for?
Feeling like Charlotte would never forgive her if she didn’t at least have a look, Elizabeth stepped into the shop.