Ch. 17: Into the Mountains

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After I explained to the others what occurred in Friedesh, we agreed it was best to hurry. As badly as King Brinley wanted to capture a Deathsinger, the destruction of the Light of the World—the reason he held the title of High King—would take precedence. Soldiers would swarm the area.

Yoko stole supplies while Astreia and I slept. Making a trip in a few bells that should have taken half the day, and doing so twice, drained us both beyond functioning. My dreams were twisted with darkness and death, but not fear. A presence waited—always just out of sight—that offered comfort and safety. In my sleep, I knew who it was, but when I opened my eyes, feeling refreshed, the knowledge disappeared. Stretching my legs, I smiled at the princess snoring softly next to me.

"Are you all right?" Tievel asked. He pointed at the arm I favored as I stood. His voice was weak, and his eyes burned bright with the remnants of fever.

"Am I all right?" I smoothed his now yellow hair from his face. "You scared us all."

He caught my hand and pressed it against his cheek. "You could have Sung last night, and I would have died."

Licking my lips, I curled my fingers into my palm and withdrew from him. "Why would you say that?"

"In my fever dreams, I begged you to Sing, to put me out of my misery, and you wouldn't do it."

"I could never."

Tievel smiled, his blue eyes softer than I'd ever seen them. "My subconscious clearly always knew that, and now I know that. You could have escaped last night. You could have killed me. Anything but what you did. I owe you my life."

My fingers settled on my throat. "We're even."

His angular features sharpened with pain.

"I'm sorry for putting that blasted collar on you," he said, pulling me into his arms. I curled against him and pressed my ear to his chest. The steady thud of his heart delighted me, and I vowed I would not be the reason it stopped beating.

"I'm sorry for not telling you."

"Do we have a truce?" he asked. His fingers trailed down my throat, tracing the same path as the Reaper's—so perfectly that I put my hand over his to stop the movement.

Kissing the top of his hand to cover my strange reaction, I smiled up at him. "We have a truce."

"Disgusting. Both of you," Astreia said, sticking her finger down her throat before stretching her arms over her head. She sat up, her gaze latching onto Yoko as she approached through the trees. "You're back."

"What news did you come across?" Tievel asked, shifting his arm to my waist. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but I enjoyed the freedom to touch one another so openly. It's what I had desired for so long.

"No one suspects we had anything to do with—"

"Why would they?" I asked, a hair too defensively. Astreia raised her brow, and I clamped my mouth shut.

Yoko mimicked Astreia's face and then said, "Anyway, they don't think anyone had anything to do with it. Apparently, the Light of the World has been growing smaller for years, and they silenced the few people brave enough to mention it. The prevailing theory is that the curse overwhelmed it at last. The royal troops are on their way here, but Friedesh is definitely lost. A Pixie flew over this morning. Darkness covers the entire city, and she said it's quiet as a tomb."

Tievel shuddered. Talk of monsters and curses did not phase him, but the mention of tombs sent goosebumps across his pallid skin.

The former soldier continued, "With everyone so focused on the village, I felt comfortable enough to purchase most of the items we needed from a passing peddler. It's better than stealing from someone and leaving them without."

The princess propped her chin on her fist and blinked up at Yoko. "Of course, you did. What did you get?"

"A horse and cart. Tievel is in no condition to travel far on foot. Heavy coats. Some woolen undergarments and sturdy shoes. A tent and dried fruits, cured meats, and hardtack. Thankfully, the prince is worth a hundred bundles of fire sticks, and we don't need lanterns with the princess around."

"I'm fine to walk," Tievel said sullenly.

"And carry the equipment you would need to carry? Because Morana can't carry much beyond a light bag."

It was my turn to be sullen. I frowned at Yoko. "I can do my part."

"I've seen you favoring that arm, and when your shirt moves, you can see the bruising. Not to mention my feet bled after the mad dash through the woods last night, so I know you and the princess can't be much better."

"Gods, how do you get along with her?" I asked Astreia when Yoko grinned at us all smugly, knowing full well she had an answer for every argument.

"I let her boss me around now so I can boss her around later," Astreia said, winking at Yoko.

"And now who is being disgusting," Tievel said.

Within the hour, we were on the road. Despite the bumps, riding was a pleasant change from two days of walking and running. Yoko and Astreia sat up front while Tievel and I rode in the back with the supplies. The prince insisted he was almost back to normal, but he fell asleep within minutes, his warm hand covering mine.

The closer we came to Friedesh, the busier the road became, and the greater my sense of dread. Grim faced locals nodded at us and kept moving without speaking. The smell of death remained fresh in my mind, and every so often, I caught a whiff of it in the breeze. The others were not immune, and their cheerful chatter slowed, stopping altogether when the top of the wall pierced the horizon.

"Wouldn't go that way, ladies," one grizzled Goblin said as we maneuvered the cart to the frontage road.

"Where would you like us to go?" Yoko asked, pulling the horse to a stop and pointing at Friedesh. "The main road runs right through the village, and from what I've heard, no one is coming in or out of there."

The Goblin spat. "It's a terrible thing that's happened in there. No one is alive, that's for sure. Can't see in there, but we've been smelling them all morning."

Another bystander interjected, "Been expecting this for a long while now."

The Goblin growled. "Shut your gob, Marlin."

Marlin ignored the command. "The Light of the World has been dwindling for months."

Enjoying his captive audience, Marlin grew more animated as he talked. "Folks say Queen Luciana made a contract with the gods to get the Light."

Kicking dirt at Marlin, the Goblin shook a green finger as he spoke. "Everyone knows that. Her life for the Light. No greater sacrifice for a High Elf than to give up their immortality."

I frowned and sneaked a glance at Tievel. A sliver of blue peered through slitted lids as he listened. There weren't many ways to tell a High Elf from a lower elf like myself, but everyone knew the prince by his ever changing hair and pointed ears. If Marlin or the Goblin were any taller, they could easily see him lying there. Thankfully, his hair was currently a buttercup yellow that was common to many Dryad species, and unbound, it covered his ears.

"That's what I'm saying, Prit," Marlin snapped back. "It weren't just her immortality she sacrificed, and now the gods took what they gave cause of the-"

"Oy, Jac and Borden. Got someone you need to question!" Prit shouted, waving down two familiar faces.

The guards looked worse for wear and a bit guilty. No doubt waking to find they survived because they went off to have a drink created a bit of a conundrum for their consciences. With a stiff gait, they approached, giving us a quick glance before focusing on Prit.

"What're you going on about, Prit?" Jac asked in a booming voice that made Borden wince.

"Marlin here is talking treason."

"Oy, is that so?"

Borden pointed to a road. "You'll have to take that one."

"That goes straight through the Htarin Mountains. We aren't prepared to go through the Lightning Pass," Yoko protested.

"Fine. Go that way and explain yourself to the Royal Army."

"Fine."

Yoko clicked her tongue and snapped the reins to get the horse moving again. No one paid any attention to us as we left, thanks to Marlin. His face grew red and his voice louder as he protested his innocence, and a large crowd gathered around to witness.

"You know what that's about?" I asked Tievel when we were out of sight. I turned so my back was to the city. No need to see the horrors in the light of day.

"I don't. Prit was right. Marlin is being foolish."

Astreia cut her eyes to me and then looked ahead, her jawline tense as if she wanted to speak but thought better of it. As the horse rounded the bend, a single, shrill scream rose out of Friedesh. I covered my mouth to hold back a sob. The sound stopped. To everyone around me, it was a blessed relief, but my memories filled in the noise they couldn't hear: the snapping of bones like twigs beneath our feet.

"How did you make it out?" Tievel asked, pushing himself into a sitting position and watching me with worried eyes.

"I told you last night."

"How were you the only one who made it out?" he pressed. "If you could escape, surely others would have been able to as well."

"Are you saying I'm incompetent?" I snipped.

If the Reaper hadn't swooped in when he had, my blood would have joined the others on the cobblestones. By now, it would be almost black and congealed in the cracks, my bones scattered in with piles of femurs and spines. What Tievel hinted at was true, but it stung.

"I'm saying you've lived the life of a pampered companion and there were soldiers inside."

Thick bile stuck in my throat. I swallowed it down and repeated my story from last night. "When the Light of the World went out, I followed the town's wall to the front gate. At first, I was trying to be quiet to avoid the soldiers, and it was only after I reached the gates that I realized something was attacking everyone inside."

I spun my words with a silver tongue and hoped my amethyst eyes looked more wounded than worried. If he knew the Reaper followed us and hounded me to Sing, all renewed bridges between the prince and me would be destroyed. Forever.

"I'm sorry, Morana," he replied, putting his forehead against mine. The proximity to his cruel, beautiful mouth made my heart skip. "I just... When you told us that story last night, I did not truly grasp the horror of what happened inside Friedesh."

I cupped his face and pressed a quick kiss on his lips. He chased after me as I pulled away, but a quick nod at the women riding in front of us reminded him we were not alone. Not that privacy had ever particularly mattered to anyone in this cart but me.

"It was horrific, but all that matters is I made it out."

Tievel smoothed the blanket over his lap, and his hair shifted to a pale green. He never explained why he chose the colors he did. I had always suspected it had to do with his mood, and after seeing the drastic shift in color when he was ill, I was almost certain now. Paler shades, green in particular, typically meant his disposition was genial or playful.

"Well, next time you find yourself in danger, I will be at your side to protect you. You never would have been in that mess if it weren't for those despicable flowers."

With the chaos of Friedesh distracting the king's army and the faster transportation putting more miles behind us, the blade of worry buried between my shoulders almost disappeared. Not completely, not with knowing what waited ahead of us, but enough that this felt more like an exciting adventure rather than a slow march toward death.

Flora and fauna I'd only ever seen in books whizzed by. Trees with needles the size of my arms instead of leaves, their color a rich emerald despite the changing season. There was a spotted deer with antlers that spiraled above his head in sharp points rather than branching. Its white ears twitched as we passed.

"It's snowing," I gasped as something cold struck my nose.

Tiny bits of fluff drifted from heavy gray clouds. Every time a flake landed on my outstretched fingertip, it melted. Without thinking, I called on the new power inside of me, chilling my skin. I grinned in delight when the next one I caught kept its form. The prince laughed and brushed a thumb over my eyelashes, dislodging captured snowflakes. His smile was disarming, and I warmed from the inside out even as the snow fell harder.

"You are delightful. Come here," he said, lifting the blanket and tucking me into his side.

The simple gesture reminded me of last night. I flinched, shocked by a rush of longing.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I said, snuggling in closer to share his body heat while we watched the snow fall. There was absolutely nothing to long for because at my side, I had everything I'd ever wanted.


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