With a groan, the burly guard hefted Bastian off the sofa, then strode back to us, carrying the large half-breed dangling over one shoulder.
“I bet you’re glad we found an enchanted carpet this morning so you won’t have to carry him the entire way.” Trivan snickered quietly.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Phillen replied easily. “It’s been a while since my muscles have had a proper workout. Sparring with you lot certainly isn’t taxing enough.”
Bowan laughed, and with widening eyes, I realized how busy all of them had been while I’d been unconscious. A large enchanted carpet was rolled at our feet, and Jax held several long cloaks. Everyone was dressed warmly, wearing heavy pants and thick long-sleeved tops. Sturdy boots covered all of our feet. No one had been sitting idly.
“Does everyone have a portal key on them?” Jax asked as he handed out the warm garments to everyone, each long cloak brushing the floor. They were all navy with gold trim. The one he handed me was even lined with fur. “I want everyone to have a way to return should something happen and we become split up.”
Each of his friends slipped on their cloak, then patted their pockets, indicating they’d all stored their keys safely away.
Jax handed a key to me too, and I tucked it into an inner pouch within my cloak.
I’d only recently become aware of the tiny traveling keys. Quinn had procured a jar of them from Drachu, the Lochen king. I’d been told the tiny magical keys had been crafted in theotherrealm, but even that didn’t bother me since the keys allowed one to travel instantaneously from one location to another. They were incredibly useful, and we were lucky that Quinn had obtained so many.
Jax swung his cloak around his back, and the long piece of clothing settled around his broad shoulders. “Ready?” he asked.
We all nodded, and a moment of excitement filled me.
I’d never been to the Solis continent, but Jax had warned me that the entire northern land mass was perpetually covered in snow and ice and was freezing season-round.
Once his cloak was secured, Jax held his hands out. “Let’s go.”
The realm spun around us,twisting and jarring me as I gripped Jax’s and Phillen’s hands. In a rush, my booted feet hit powdery snow, and I swayed momentarily until I got my bearings.
I opened my eyes to a sea of white. Harsh, cold wind bit into my skin, and fierce gales blew the cloak around my legs.
The portal key that Jax had been holding fizzled out of existence as I took in the frozen, icy terrain that we transported to.
Everywhere I looked, snow and ice greeted me. Rolling hills graced the horizon, all covered in sparkling white blankets of winter frost, yet the harshness of this land didn’t captivate my attention long. Instead, it was the floating meadows above us.
Gasping, I tilted my head back.
Soaring hundreds of feet, and some even miles above us, hovered Harrivee’s floating meadows. They hung suspended in the sky. Dozens and dozens of huge pieces of land dotted the atmosphere. They all shifted and swayed as though controlled by a phantom breeze. Some were so large they blocked out the sun entirely. Others were smaller and looked barely big enough to hold more than fifty fae on their surface, but it was the sheer magnitude of how many there were that took my breath away.
“What is this place?” I asked, awestruck.
Jax placed his hands on his hips. “Harrivee Territory’s floating meadows. The larger meadows contain mines deep within them, and I’ve been told the power of these hovering islands infuses the gems and stones with potent magic.”
“And you learned this how?” I arched a quizzical eyebrow at him. In all of my studies, I’d never heard of this place.
“Norivun told me about it once when I had a visit in Solisarium. Most fae in our realm don’t know about these floating islands. The gems and precious stones harvested in these meadows are revered by the Solis. They don’t sell them, and they don’t allow them to be traded on the open markets. They keep the meadows’ contents a closely guarded secret.” His gaze shifted to the sky. “But until this day, I’ve never seen them.”
“None of us have,” Alec commented.
Like us, the House Graniteer noble’s attention was fixated on the sky.
“Right then, should we go?” Trivan unfurled the large enchanted carpet in the snow.
Lars nodded. “No time to waste.”
Carefully, Phillen lowered Bastian to the carpet’s center, and the sleeping half-breed fell limply onto it.
Jax issued a command, and a whisper of magic puffed around the carpet. It levitated until it hung suspended a hand’s width off the ground.
One by one, we all stepped aboard.
“Where do we go from here?” I asked Jax.
