Chapter 58
Ashley
my submission is hers and all that comes with,
I will follow to any heights, and depths.
I’m strapped into the world’s worst rollercoaster.
One second, we’re on solid ground. The next, the centaurs launch us straight into the bloody sky.
I yelp, grabbing for something and missing Kaed’s massive bicep by about half an inch, sliding right into him.
The King and Aiden already soaring ahead, their own carriage swallowed by clouds.
Even Eira looks a little rattled, which makes me feel better.
If she’s queasy, I’m allowed to be terrified.
From the outside, the carriage is this little pumpkin-shaped thing balanced on two large wheels, but inside, it makes no sense.
Multiple cabins, luggage compartments, bathrooms, even kitchen staff.
We chose the closest cabin to the entrance.
Two long padded benches face each other, a wide table between them.
Eira unwraps the food Cook made her and takes a massive bite, catching my stare around her mouthful. “Stress makes me hungry.”
I snort, gripping the edge of the bench as the carriage dips. “Stress makes me think I’m about to die.”
I got my sword back from Kaed this morning.
He seemed delighted. I swing it onto my back as we file out at the edge of a forest that seems to stretch forever.
It’s beautiful and wild, half woodland, half jungle.
The tangled canopy glows with Corelight, and birds chirp cheerful songs.
In the very centre stands an iron door. It has no walls, no frame.
Like it fell from the sky, the iron engraved with Here lies Checheen and Chakah.
I wonder who they are and if they’re buried somewhere in the forest.
“Are you sure I cannot convince you to come back home?” My uncle asks, worrying his bottom lip.
He could, actually. But I shake my head, heart racing with nerves.
Taking responsibility is a new feeling, fragile at best. But I’ve made a decision, and I’m trying to stick with it.
I’m going to the land of knowledge to find out what this ritual entails.
If it will kill me and how I might get around that.
Then, I’m going to find out how to free Eira from the shackles of my awful brother.
My uncle clasps his hands behind his back.
“Very well.” On impulse, I hug him. He freezes for half a second before wrapping his arms around me, chuckling.
“You are very much like your father, Ashley. You have made me miss him ever so much.” My throat tightens as Aiden fusses with the collar of his white ruffled shirt behind us, pretending not to watch.
“I shall leave you.” He clears his throat, giving my shoulder a squeeze, then, with one last look at Aiden, he climbs back into his carriage.
Just as it lifts away, something tumbles from one of the back doors and crashes onto the ground in front of us.
“Cook!” Eira cries, sprinting toward the crumpled heap that is our friend.
I hurry over to help pull him up. As always, his toothy grin is instantly contagious.
Relief floods through me, first, because he didn’t crack his head open.
But also, we could also use every bit of lightness we can get amid the tangled mess of tension.
Aiden and Eira, Aiden and Kaed, Aiden and me.
Maybe Aiden’s mind magic is the gift of pissing people off.
“I heard you had some secret mission,” Cook says cheerfully, brushing grass from his clothes and tossing his brown hair from his forehead, “and I had some time off, so I thought I’d join in the fun.”
Kaed scratches the back of his head, looking irritated as hell. He’d send Cook straight back if he could, but his mother lives in Cinder Cliffs and we can’t exactly abandon her son outside his homeland.
“Are we ready?” Kaed asks sharply.
“Yes, Captain Never Laugh,” Cook replies, snapping into a dramatic salute before bumping Aiden with his shoulder.
Aiden lets out a short breath and the world’s smallest smile.
Kaed stares at Cook for a beat and runs his tongue over one of his canines, before rapping the iron door three times with the tip of his curved sword.
The sound scuttles straight up my spine.
I don’t even need to look at Aiden to know he’s rubbing his ear against his shoulder like he’s trying to scrub it off.
At the third strike, the door swings open.
On the other side, it’s dark. Frost clings to twisted branches and pale mist twirls around the trunks.
“We’re supposed to go in there?” I gasp, circling the door and peering around it. On this side, it’s still bright and warm, full of birdsong. Summer. Safety. “How does it even—”
“The quicker, the better,” Aiden strides straight through, hand in hand with Eira.
Cook follows. Kaed turns to me and opens his palm.
Without thinking, I slip my hand into his.
It fits perfectly and I wonder how I ever faced anything without him before.
Hazel eyes find mine and he asks softly, “Ready?”
“I was born ready.”
He lets out a quiet laugh. “Indeed.”
Cold bites into my bones as our breath turns into fog. It’s like walking into a nightmare. What was I thinking? That this would be easy? In a world with Creeds, Mer Armies, and truth monsters? Yeah, right.