“Because you’ve drawn the gaze of a fae lord, Lady Rohan. Because you wield an element that was supposed to belong to darkness, alone.” She paused. “I have a weakness for the unsolved and the impossible. So let’s see what lies beyond the wall from which no one has returned.”
‘History that is better left forgotten lies to the south. Death and ruin hide in its every crevice. Should fate call upon you to seek it—leap.’
That fae had known this moment would come.
‘Fear not the darkness, Lady Rohan. Stride into its embrace.’
Leaping over the broken stones, I lunged through the veil.
Into the darkness.
Chapter 41
Mare
As a child, I’d listened to the priests describe the world beyond the wall, eyes squeezed shut in fear.
A veil separates our land from the shadow. Solathair blessed the world of light, but the evil in men’s hearts brought forth darkest night. At the wall, we halted the growing tide.
But the land beyond had never been recovered.
Monsters lurked in a land of shadow, all jagged teeth and lethal claws. Marshes of the dead and rivers of blood flowed through a cursed land of dried rock and infinite darkness.
They spoke true, on one account. An entirely different world lay beyond the veil.
But, saints, it was beautiful.
“Bruthine’s cinders,” Brighid cursed, standing by my side. “This is incredible.”
Jagged rocks hung in the sky, floating obelisks frozen in time. Knee-high grass rose from the plains around us, silver and soft.Far above, motes of white light danced through the black sky, like fireflies during a summer’s night.
Kneeling, I brushed a hand along the grass, cupping a blooming flower. Its petals glowed with soft, phosphorescent light. Violet. The same shade as Tirnanog’s tree.
“Here.” Brighid had walked a few paces away. She pointed to a rough footprint buried in the grass. “Luckily for you, I know a thing or two about rolling around in the mud.”
Holding Cierthine before me, I scanned the area. “And how does a lady like you know about that?”
“Bláth taught me,” Brighid said. “She thought it might come in handy, should I choose to run away.”
“Did you?”
“Not until that insufferable fae showed up on my doorstep.” She paused. “What was that?”
A faint rumble tore through the earth. Light appeared in the distance, growing in size.
And the tremors intensified with it.
A jagged rock rose from the ground nearby, a match for the ones floating above. Grabbing Brighid’s arm, I pulled her behind the rock as the source of the light came into view.
A creature as tall as a castle strolled across the plain, weaving between the floating obelisks. The light emanated from its hide—specks of starlight patterned its dark fur. Gazing upon its flank felt like looking up into the vast sea above.
Enormous antlers sprouted from its doe-like head, and its hooves left heavy impressions where it walked.
It was not alone. A herd followed behind, a few pausing to graze, while some pranced with the energy of youth.
A herd of deer, patterned by stars with antlers that reached to brush the firmament.
“Ash and cinder,” Brighid breathed, leaning around our cover. “Look at them.”
