by Elise Kova
Ancestral Trees, world’s edge. I gloss over the elements that don’t seem to matter critically to keeping me alive. “Doesn’t Boltov think we’ll be heading there?”
“He won’t if I tell him you’re hunkering down here.” Allor shrugs.
“You have so much sway over the king.” I press my lips together to keep from scowling.
“I do what I can. He has no reason not to trust me.”
“Will you tell him that Davien and I are bracing for attack here?” Her earlier remark could’ve been some clever fae side-stepping.
“Of course I will.” She smiles wider. “Do you have any reason to doubt me?”
“Enough, both of you.” Davien sounds agitated.
I shoot him a glare. But he’s right. We have other, pressing matters. And even if Allor isn’t a real ally, there’s very little I’m going to be able to do about it to prove to them differently. That much has been made clear to me.
“Will Boltov be guarding the Lake?” I ask.
“It wouldn’t be worth the manpower to him. The path there isn’t easy. It was part of the trials of aspiring kings to traverse the haunted fogs—a rite of passage.”
“Oh, there’s also haunted fogs to get to the magic lake without dying at the hands of Butchers. Lovely.” I fold my arms.
“If you have a better plan I’d love to hear it.” Davien crosses his arms as well, head cocked to the side, staring down at me. Why does his smugness somehow make him both more frustrating and attractive in equal measure?
“You know I don’t.”
“Then it’s settled. You go and tell Boltov that we’ve been alerted to the movements of his armies and are bracing ourselves here for the attack, fortifying Dreamsong’s barriers,” he says to Allor. Then, he faces Vena. “Please prepare everything we might need for our journey, and then focus on readying Dreamsong for whatever Boltov might bring on our doorstep.”
Vena rests her hand on Davien’s bicep. “What our people need to protect us is a king—a true king, reunited with the trio of Aviness’s powers. Worry not for Dreamsong and focus on regaining your birthright, Davien. Return to us a conqueror.”
“I shall.” Davien stands a little taller.
“When do we leave?” I ask.
“As soon as we can.” Davien makes his way toward me. To my surprise, he takes my hand in his. I can’t stop the flush that rises to my cheeks at the unexpected touch. Him doing so publicly somehow feels even more intimate and desperate. “There’s not a moment to spare.”
Within the hour, four horses have been tacked. Their saddlebags are full of supplies that are only just finished being loaded as we emerge into the square. Hol and Oren have opted to stay behind and help defend Dreamsong—Oren will focus on finishing the evacuation tunnel and Hol will help the city guard. So it is just Shaye, Giles, Davien, and myself on the road.
The afternoon sun shines happily on the oblivious city. People are still going about their daily affairs as though nothing is amiss. The square is still set up for celebrations. There’s no sign of the impending battle.
“When will Vena tell them?” I ask Davien as we descend the short stair to where the horses are waiting.
“When the time is right.” Davien swings up into his saddle somewhat clumsily and it takes four adjustments until he’s found a comfortable seat. His horse is a speckled gray stallion. A strong boy whose muscles speak of good breeding and even better stable hands. Were it not for the intensity the horse exudes, he would remind me of Misty.
“And when will that be?” I ask, trying to push thoughts of my long-lost mount from my mind. I hope with all the money my family gained they found enough to spare to take care of her. Maybe when I return I could take some of the coin Davien left me in that house and go and purchase my horse from them.
Maybe when I return I’ll just steal Misty in the night. No one knows the stables and grounds better than I. And after spending weeks surviving in the fae wilds…the thought of confronting my family, or thieving from under their noses, is far less frightening than it might have been months ago. Old gods, maybe I’ll be brave enough to just tell them I’m taking Misty and say to Laura, come with me.
“That’s not for us to worry about.” He motions to the all-white mare at his side. “We just need to focus on getting to the Lake of Anointing as fast as possible. It’ll be a hard ride for two days to make it there. Do you need help getting up on your horse?”
I snort. Did he mistake my checking the horse’s saddle and bridle for uncertainty about riding? He’ll certainly be in for a surprise today. “I think I’ll be fine.”
I put my foot in the stirrup with confidence and swing up. The saddle is broken in and well-worn in all the right places, but still strong and of quality make. I give the horse a pat on the neck then take the reins with an easy grip. I don’t know this mount as well as Misty. For all my confidence, I should also still be careful. Last thing I want is to spook the girl, or push her too hard, and be thrown.
“Are we ready?” Shaye asks. “Daylight is burning.”
“Lead on.” Davien nods.
Shaye clicks her tongue and charges into the city with Giles close beside her. Davien hesitates when I don’t. As I pass him, I can’t stop myself from flashing him the smallest of smirks. He catches it. His eyes widen slightly and his mouth purses. He snaps the reins, causing his horse to startle and whinny.
I turn ahead with a laugh. He’ll figure it out. He’s a prince, after all.
The rogue thought catches me off guard. He’s a prince, my mind repeats. I’ve always known that he is. But the closer we become, somehow the harder it is to imagine. I glance back over my shoulder. His hair is tousled by the wind, catching the sunlight with almost liquid shine. To think that a few hours ago I ran my fingers through that hair…that I kissed those lips.
I look ahead again, tearing my eyes from him before my stomach can do so many flips that it becomes uneasy. I let Dreamsong blur around me, not focusing on the houses or their incredible construction for the first time as I traverse the streets. “Last night was nothing,” I repeat only to myself.
No feelings. That’s what we promised. Last night was nothing more than a release of the tension that has been building between us for weeks. There’s no need to overthink it. No need to complicate it. No need to feel guilty now. It can be just that—a fun escape, an indulgence. It was so much nothing that it’s not even worth talking about.
If I feel anything, it’s only that I won’t be able to indulge in that escape for much longer. Soon, if Vena is right, the magic will be out of me. After that happens, I’ll need to leave Midscape as quickly as possible before the withering begins.
Davien and I were never meant to be. He’s the fae king and I won’t let myself fall in love. The fact that I found even a brief enjoyment with him is enough. It’s enough, I repeat to myself, more insistently than before. Yet for some reason, the thought can’t seem to settle in my mind. It keeps chasing me and I ride faster and faster, as if I’m trying to outrun it.
We break away from the city, cresting the peak of the valley that Dreamsong is nestled within. We’re back into the forests now, magic fluttering in the air around us. I can go even faster here; I’m not constrained by the streets or the people on them. I weave between trees as I grow more and more comfortable with my horse.
“Are you trying to lead the way?” Giles calls with a laugh.
“Certainly not,” I shout back.
“You seem like you’re trying to race us.”
“If I knew where we were going, I would be inclined to race.” I slow my pace to hold a conversation, trotting over to where Shaye and Giles are still riding together. Davien has mostly caught up since we left the city.
“You’re fairly comfortable on a horse for a noble lady,” Shaye observes.
“I don’t know if I would call myself noble,” I say with a small smile. “My father was the first lord in our family tree. He only attained it because of his luck t
rading.” My smile falls and I stare across the golden and red expanse of the forest. “And when that luck ran out…so did everything that came with lordship except for the title.”
Shaye stares at me for a long minute. There’s a deep understanding in her eyes—a thoughtfulness that most people lack. I don’t feel seen in the same way that I feel with Davien. It isn’t as though she’s peering into my deepest thoughts and darkest corners. No… There’s almost a subtle acknowledgment with Shaye. As though she sees and recognizes pain, just as I can see and recognize it in her, even though our pain is different and unique.
“Did you take riding lessons before the luck ran out?”
“No, though I did manage to get a horse as a gift. One of the only things my father gave me. I had to take care of her, see to all of her needs. But the stable hand we had was kind enough to teach me the basics of riding. After that, I taught myself by escaping early in the morning.” I stare intently at the point where the faintly glowing motes begin to obscure the trees in the distance. “I would ride, and ride until I was at the very edge of my small world…and at that point, I fantasized about keeping on. About riding to a place far out of reach from them.”
“I suppose you succeeded.” Giles laughs. He’s a lighthearted one and seems oblivious to the pain lingering underneath my words that Shaye so clearly picks up on. “After all, you’re riding pretty far from them now, in a place that they will never get you.”
I laugh softly. If only I could stay here. The thought crosses my mind so naturally that it takes me a full three seconds to be caught off guard by it. It’s not the first time I’ve had this sort of musing. So it’s not surprise that’s alarming me. It’s how natural the want has become.
“Is that the horse you wanted to keep?” Davien asks. I don’t recall when he got so close. He’s now on the other side of me, and I’m sandwiched between him and Shaye. “Oren told me that there was a point of contention the day you left about a horse.”
“Her name is Misty,” I say. “My father only ever gave me two things—my mother’s lute, which was more of an inheritance from her than a gift from him, and Misty. My sisters don’t even ride.” Though, Laura did say she’ll do her best. “She’ll be wasted there.”
“Maybe when you go back you can retrieve her.”
I laugh. “Funny enough, I was thinking the same thing just earlier. I thought that if I can have magic within me, if I can cross the Fade, and dine with fae, then what do I have to fear from my family?” Yet even as I say those words, there’s still a scared little girl within me, fearful of whatever punishment Joyce might concoct next.
“Very little, I would think.” Giles chuckles.
Davien continues to regard me thoughtfully. With him on one side and Shaye on the other, I’ve nowhere to hide my thoughts or emotions.
“Perhaps, once this is all over, and the dust has settled, I can make a trip back to the Natural World and help you reclaim Misty. Having the magic of the Fae King would prove valuable in any sort of caper.” He grins slightly. I can’t stop my face from splitting into a smile. The thought of the two of us, sneaking through the night, breaking into my family’s old home, and taking something from them after they took so much from me is a sweeter fantasy than I could’ve ever imagined previously.
“Or, His Majesty might want to send his loyal vassals to assist her,” Shaye says formally, giving Davien a pointed look. “After all, you will be busy enough settling into the throne and making sure no one wants to take it from you. It wouldn’t be wise to leave.”
“The fae aren’t accustomed to keeping their leader long, after all.” Giles sighs. “It’s been ages since our land has known stability.”
“All that will change with me,” Davien vows. “And I believe I will have enough time, power, and energy to help both my people and Katria.”
The image of a scale appears in my mind. All of the fae—his entire kingdom—is on one side, and I’m on the other. Yet somehow, those scales are not so far out of balance that I am tipped into oblivion. Davien is still considering me and my well-being. Perhaps he spoke true when he said that he would make an effort to come and visit me. Maybe that wasn’t a careful dance of fae words.
“I suppose time will tell.” Shaye’s words are as uncomfortable as she suddenly looks in her saddle. She keeps casting sidelong glances in Davien’s direction. There’s something on her mind and I have no inclination of being here whenever she gets it off her chest.
“What’s our plan?” I ask, trying to change the topic.
“There’s a safe house right at the northern edge of our borders—due north of here. We’ll ride there today and rest. It’s still within the barriers of the Acolytes of the Wild Wood, so we can spend the night in relative safety. Then tomorrow we’ll wake with the dawn and ride hard into the northern forests, through the fogs, until we reach the Lake of Anointing at the northernmost point of the fae wilds.”
“Understood.” I lean forward, looking at Giles around Shaye. “Then I think it sounds like we have time for a race. What do you think?”
Giles bites. “I think my horse is larger than yours and of better breeding.”
“Too bad that’s not going to make up for me being the superior rider,” I taunt. “I’ll race you to the safe house. Last one to get there is in charge of dinner.”
Giles roars with laughter. “Either way you’re going to lose because I’m a wretched cook. But you have a deal. Shaye, will you count us off?”
Shaye sighs, as though she is indulging two children. But she counts anyway. “Three. Two. One!”
Giles and I are off. I leave Shaye and Davien behind me, along with all of the uncomfortable thoughts that they inadvertently dredged up. I let my mind go blank as the wind pulls at my hair and clothes, pricking tears in the corners of my eyes. Giles was wrong. No matter what, I win. Because I get to ride as fast as I want through the magic woods of the fae.
Even when those thoughts are trying to weigh me down…when I ride like this, I feel like I am the one with wings. I feel as if I am soaring.
As Davien explained when we first set out, the trip is going to take two days. So our race ends up being more of an endurance challenge. Our initial pace slows to a good trot and we end up side by side.
“This isn’t much of a race,” he chuckles.
“Most races are won at the start, or very end. The middle is just keeping pace.” I wink.
“I’m not sure that’s how racing works.”
I laugh. “You’re probably right. I’ve never raced someone before.” These are exciting and new perks of having genuine friends.
“A pity, because you are a very good rider.”
“Thank you.” I preen a little, allowing myself to savor the compliment. “I think all of you are the first people to ever see me ride.”
“Not even your family?”
“They might have seen me toward the end of my morning rides, or at a distance… I had to have their breakfast ready not long after dawn. So they were usually asleep when I went out in the mornings and still when I returned.”
Giles is silent for a long stretch. I can almost hear his thoughts.
I sigh. “Go ahead, ask whatever it is you’re debating.”
“I’m not—”
“I can feel it.” Much in the same way I could feel Helen’s thoughts as she mused over what the best way to torture me next was.
“Davien didn’t tell us much about your circumstances. In fact, we knew very little about you before you came into our world.”
“That makes sense.” Especially given how they treated me when I first arrived—with such skepticism, almost outright anger. After having some time to see Davien and his loyal companions, it’s clearer to me now. I was a loose end, a liability. I barged into his life in a way that he never wanted and they had no idea that I felt very much the same. Then I “stole” his magic. I had very few things that would’ve encouraged them to like me.
“But he did tell us th
at you were a noble lady.” Giles chuckles softly. “Hol was very concerned about the idea of our future king marrying a common-born woman.”
I grin bitterly. “I was common born…and whatever title or esteem I do possess I’m certain is not high enough to merit my marrying of a king. Not that it matters, since we’re not considered married in your world.” As has been made so abundantly clear to me.
“Yes, that did ease Hol some.”
“But that’s not what you wanted to ask me, is it?”
“No.” Giles purses his lips, thinking to himself, before finally asking, “you don’t have a very good relationship with your family, do you?”
“What gave it away?” I laugh. “The fact that they sold my hand in marriage off to pay debts and fund their parties once more? The fact that I have not had one good thing to say about them since arriving?”
“The fact that you tense up, your voice changes, and your eyes lose focus on the present, whenever they’re mentioned.”
I stare at him, gaping. I can feel my lips are parted, but it takes me a moment to gain my composure enough to close them. “And here I thought I was good at concealing my emotions and thoughts.”
“You are, I think at least. Shaye was the one to notice. Davien as well. But he always seemed to know you better from the time you spent together before you came here.”
I suppose I wasn’t the only one listening those nights we spent together, paying attention to what the other said. “What’s your point?”
“If you’re worried about them hurting you, Davien has made it clear that no one will ever bring harm to you—not as long as he draws breath.”
“What?” I whisper.
“He’s already charged us with the responsibility of guarding you.”
“Because I am the vessel that carries his magic.”
“No, even after the magic is removed. He made his wishes very clear. When you return to the human world, we will come and check in on you regularly. For the rest of your days, or as long as you want it, you will have his protection.”