Aendor
Damien
The closer we get to Aendor, the more I worry about what we will find when we arrive. Every village we pass has been raided by New Stygarde soldiers. Every person we meet seems reluctant to even talk to us about what happened. In our disguises, we blend in perfectly with the people migrating or trying to rebuild, but there seems to be no end to the destruction. If this has happened in the Borderlands, what will our destination look like? Brahm and Nevina can’t have made it easy on Tempest when we went missing. The coastal territory would have been the first place the crown would have looked for us.
To top off my concerns, Eloise is keeping something from me. She’s been quiet since we left the cabin. Contemplative. Down the bond, I can feel there’s something she wants to ask me, but she’s not quite ready to broach the subject. And I’m not ready to prod either.What if she’s changed her mind about Jaqual? What if she wants to fall on her sword, sacrifice herself for the greater good, as she has so many times before, to improve our chances of success?
I scowl and slump in the saddle as I consider it.
Beside me, Warbill picks up on my sour mood. “You two are in rare form today. Did I miss a wagon of dead puppies, or has something else turned your personalities into black holes where all good humor goes to die?”
“I miss the days when you were starving to death and were too weak to share every thought that pops into that drink-addled brain of yours.”
“Drink-addled? Did I miss morning cocktails?”
“He’s worried what we’ll find when we reach our destination,” Eloise chimes in, raising an eyebrow. “And so am I.”
Warbill scoffs. “Oh yeah, we’re totally fucked. But we were fucked either here or there, so best to accept the inevitable with a smile on our faces.”
I turn my head to face Warbill and force a smile.
“Goddess, that’s frightening. I’ll stick to the scowl.”
Eloise chuckles.
It’s a few hours’ ride more until we reach Wickham Wood and enter Aendor through a narrow mountain passageway that borders Dimhollow. A single uniformed guard polices the border, and I’m relieved that he’s wearing the blue uniform of Aendor and not Nevina’s silvery white.
“Only one man?” Eloise says. “During a time like this?”
“Few know about this passage, and fewer still would risk being this close to witch territory. People fear this area just as they fear the forest.”
If we’d had the option to send a raven letting Tempest know we were coming, I would have. It’s been weeks since we communicated. The last message I received from her was when we were under the protection of the mountain dwellers, and I have no idea what to expect tonight. But reaching out through the shadow network is out of the question. Every shade in the area would feel it.
“Identification?” the guard mumbles.
“We’re spice traders, visiting Aendor for the market.”
He studies me more closely. “What type of spice?”
“Thanesia’s own,” I say, invoking the name of the goddess. “A spice fit for the true king.”
Now, he meets my eyes. “Enter. We need more of that flavor in Aendor.”
The gate rises, and we ride through. “Thank the goddess that still worked,” I mumble. “It’s been a while since Tempest gave me that code.”
“Thank the goddess you remembered it after those morning cocktails,” Warbill says.
Eloise chuckles.
The rocky terrain that marks the base of Mount Perilon gradually blends into the red sand beach as we near the coast. “The lord and lady of Aendor stay in the Palace of Dawn at the other end of the city. We’ll find Tempest and Thane there. If we follow the coast, it will take us through the port, and then we can make our way to the capital.”
“Wow, the red sand against the blue water and the purple moonset is stunning,” Eloise says. “I’ve only ever been here in an alternate reality, during my trial with Valeska. This is so much more.”
“The most beautiful view in Tenebris,” I say without asecond of hesitation. Stygarde Castle and its surrounding grounds are beautiful, but they don’t hold a candle to this.
“I’d have to agree,” Warbill says. “I’d do anything to have Bolvet back to its former glory, but even I must admit, the view has always paled in comparison to this one.”
We take it in for a few seconds more, and I catalog this moment, this profound and indescribable experience of looking out on an unbroken horizon, as one more reason we must win this war. The dark elves can’t have this. They can’t take this from us.
