Chapter 50
Aella
The sun rode low enough in the sky that I could barely see it over the trees.
Faina and I rode our horses along a narrow road lined with thick woods on either side, edging closer to Balzour.
Being so far south, the vegetation was only beginning to lose its leaves despite us edging toward late autumn.
We’d been traveling alone since leaving the ring at a village six miles back.
Twice, we’d had to stop dangerous creatures from attacking us, but otherwise, it had been uneventful.
I was reasonably sure we were being watched most of our journey, and not only by Darrow and his sebeska. Were the dark elves scrambling to figure out why only the two of us had shown up? With a mile left to go until we reached Balzour, I was surprised they hadn’t grabbed us yet.
Faina shivered, pulling her cloak tighter around her. It’s cold!
I stiffened and turned to her, my voice barely above a whisper. “Did you just speak into my head?”
“What? No.” She frowned at me. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t say it’s cold?”
She adjusted her seat on the saddle, brows drawing together. “Well, yes, but I was just thinking it.”
I agree that it is cold. I sent the words mentally to my sister-in-law to test a theory.
Faina’s eyes widened. I heard that!
Maybe because we both have a link to Darrow. It had to be the reason, though it was still unexpected.
I suppose that has to be it, she said, shaking her head and clearly as surprised as I was by it.
It’s a good thing. I couldn’t see a downside, especially right now. We can use it to our advantage as long as the enemy doesn’t know.
She smiled as she kept her gaze forward. I’ve played this game many times with my brother, and the trick is to avoid looking at each other while we mind-speak.
I’ll try to remember that.
A few minutes later, dark elves crept out of the woods.
I’d sensed them edging closer, but I hadn’t known exactly when they’d reveal themselves.
They wore all-black uniforms and menacing expressions.
A familiar female stepped in front of the others and stopped before our horses.
It was Ulmar’s new wife, also Darrow’s cousin.
Faina smiled, inserting a ridiculous amount of joy into her voice. “Evrenn! It’s been ages since I last saw you, but I must say that the black corset does wonders for your figure. People would almost think you have hips.”
“You haven’t changed,” the dark elf said, scowling.
Darrow’s sister laughed. “If I spent all my time brooding like you, I would have thrown myself into the Jandopal volcano by now. Have you considered it?”
“You think you’re so much better than me, don’t you?” Evrenn’s eyes blazed.
Faina shrugged. “I don’t spend much time worrying about who is better or worse than me because it’s boring and pointless. That’s always been your big fixation. While Karganoth controls Porrine, you should go there and seek a mental healer. They can do wonders, you know.”
There was clearly a lot of history between these two.
I’m trying to put her to sleep, but something has dampened my magic. Faina paused, and I caught her fingers twitching on the horse’s reins. No matter how hard I try, I can’t draw enough for it to work.
I called upon the wind, but all I could manage was a slight breeze. They’ve done something, but it has to be broad, so no one here can use much of their powers, either.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a significant loss for Evrenn.
Her primary abilities were breaking wards and teleportation, neither of which was offensive.
Was that why she had such a poor attitude?
Had her grandfather or parents—maybe all her family—told her she wasn’t a worthy heir because she didn’t have destructive magic?
The female dark elf pointed at us. “Take them off their horses and bind them.”
Instead of shackles, as I’d expected, they had rope.
Of course, whatever was blocking most of our powers was just as effective—but why?
The dark elves couldn’t use theirs, either.
Unless they were concerned that we had help nearby, and they wanted to keep our backup from ambushing them with magic while they captured us.
They’d left only a trickle that allowed us to sense other fae nearby and speak telepathically, not that they’d know about the latter.
After they roughly bound our wrists behind our backs so tightly it hurt, they shoved us forward.
Two of the dark elves took our mounts and rode ahead.
We’d bought them from some desperate villagers where we’d arrived.
Karganoth soldiers had come through and stolen most of their fall crops, leaving them little to store for the winter, so they’d been happy to sell the horses for a generous price.
They forced Faina and me to march briskly along the narrow dirt road leading to Balzour.
Few of the fae used it, primarily because it suffered from spring flooding, which created numerous ruts.
It was a horrible, bumpy ride in wagons and carriages.
Long ago, some lord had it constructed to open trade with several villages that would otherwise have no route to the southeastern coast.
Balzour was a sizeable town with about twelve thousand residents, as I recalled.
Between the holmium mines, which produced the ore I needed to open portals, and the sea port where ships could dock, it had plenty of work opportunities as long as the residents didn’t mind putting up with Baron Elgord.
A shudder ran through me. He would be there, fully cooperating with the dark elves, no doubt.
If not for Sariyah and the other innocent people, I wouldn’t consider going to the town.
I hated that sick, demented elf and never wanted to see him again.
He was vile, especially how he’d pawed all over me when my uncle planned to betroth me to him.
I’d definitely chosen better with Darrow, despite the difficulties between us.
The rutted road broke through the trees and continued toward the valley below.
I spotted the town with a hint of the sea beyond it.
Numerous homes and shops filled the space, many cramped close together.
In Ivory Castle, there was a lovely portrait of it from several centuries ago, when it had looked picturesque. Not anymore.
It had changed when the baron’s family took over and focused on rapid construction, without regard for quality, to house more laborers for the mine and port.
All the homes were crammed together with rusted metal roofs and pockmarked, brown outer walls.
The single section that remained unchanged from that long-ago scene was the square in the middle.
It was the only open space where most of the residents could gather for important events.
I slowed when I looked at the hillside to the right of Balzour, where the ground had blackened, and trees crumbled.
The blight had struck here. My uncle would have mentioned it before my husband killed him six weeks ago, which implied it must have happened afterward.
Darrow had reported a dying area nearby, but since it wasn’t on the side where any roads led, he must not have felt it mattered.
The decay stopped halfway down the hill, leaving some healthy space between it and the town.
A dark elf shoved me from behind, urging me to pick up my pace as we descended toward the valley. I wanted to kick him, but that would go against the plan. We needed to be submissive captives for now. Faina gave me a look that said she was even closer to hurting someone.
Fae moved to line the streets as we entered Balzour, most of them ragged and filthy.
That wasn’t normal. Had the Karganoth soldiers restricted their water use, perhaps also their food allotments?
Many of them appeared gaunt. Baron Elgord hadn’t been known for paying fair wages, only enough for people to survive, so I couldn’t say for sure whose fault it was that these people looked that bad, but they should have always had access to water.
The residents lining the street on either side of us appeared even worse as we continued.
It was horrifying. Some had bruised faces, poorly bandaged wounds, and a few had lost limbs.
Lesser fae didn’t heal as quickly as high fae, but aside from directly after a battle, I’d never seen so many people in such a state.
Did the trickle of magic make it harder to recover?
“Why aren’t they healing?” I asked Evrenn, who walked about ten feet ahead of me.
She glanced back. “We’ve had to dampen the magic in the area to discourage the blight from spreading here. It feeds on it, you know. We discovered that in Karganoth and implemented measures to preserve land where we needed it most. The holmium mines here are too vital to relinquish.”
Now, it made sense. “I’m surprised you’re telling me this.”
“Are you?” She laughed. “No matter what your husband and the others have planned, it will fail. The Unseelie have asked for you, and we need Faina. You couldn’t have made our jobs any easier if you tried. So what if you know how to slow the blight?”
My gut churned. The Unseelie wanted me, but which of them? For what? Vas came to mind, but he hadn’t tried to take me when he had the chance in Porrine. In fact, he’d even saved Darrow and Faina since then. It had to be someone else from Faelaria.
I spotted the ring ahead in the town square, along with tall poles around it.
Most had fae tied to them. We came closer, and I began to make out the ones nearest to the road we were walking on, two of them adolescents.
I couldn’t see Sariyah yet. She had to be there somewhere because Darrow had confirmed it shortly before Faina and I left.