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As we stepped out of the portal, we found ourselves on a butte overlooking the water. The portal itself was set between two standing stones guarded by three Dahns Unicorns. At least, I assumed they were of Dahns descent. Their manes streamed along their backs, and I was surprised to see one of them wasn’t silken as snow, but instead dappled gray on white. All three had silver horns, which meant they were female. Males bore golden horns.
One of the unicorns stepped forward and tossed her head, snorting.
“My name is Sheran-Dahns. You are the Moon Witch, Camille. Correct?” She spoke in Melosealfôr, a beautiful and rare dialect of Crypto that all Moon Witches learned, and that the Dahns Unicorns had perfected over the years.
I inclined my head and gave a quick curtsy. “I am. This is my father, Sephreh ob Tanu, Advisor to Her Royal Highness Queen Tanaquar of Y’Elestrial. And this is my mate and husband Morio, and my friend Iris.”
The unicorn blinked and her long lashes fluttered in the wind. She had the most lovely eyes—brilliant green against the dappled coat, and they were like twin pools of a verdant pond. With a soft whinny, she dipped her head in my father’s direction and spoke in the common tongue. “Your Excellence, we welcome you and your party to Dahnsburg. King Upala-Dahns awaits you in the palace. Please to follow me.”
Morio looked at me, slightly confused. He spoke a few words of the common tongue—I’d taught him enough to squeak by, but he wasn’t fluent in it yet. I whispered a quick translation to him.
We swung in behind the unicorn as she lightly picked her way down a sloping path. The gentle decline ran four or five hundred yards from the city proper, parallel to the shore below before swinging inland. There were few trees on the butte, or near the shore. The city was situated in the Silofel Plains, a long, narrow stretch of land that was dotted with tall grasses and egg-sized pebbles and sandy soil. The Plains buttressed up against the Windwillow Valley. Dahnsburg itself was positioned on the Bay of Tides.
The morning was overcast and by the looks of the water, a storm was coming in from the ocean. Gray thunderheads swept in from across the sea, driving a force of wind before them that churned the breakers, sending a frothy surge of waves crashing to shore. Electricity crackled through the clouds, saturating the air.
I sucked in a deep breath of the supercharged air as a ripple of sparks surged through my body. At times like these, I missed this world, where everything was so vibrant and alive. Oh, the clouds and the land were alive over Earthside, to be sure, but here they were right in your face, and there was no denying the sentience of the elements.
Morio reached for my hand and I squeezed his fingers. He flashed me a giddy grin.
“You can feel it, too,” I said, delighted.
He nodded. “The first time I was here, it wasn’t so present. Perhaps because we were in Aladril. But here . . . on the edge of the ocean . . . I feel if I just closed my eyes I could see the Elementals dancing around one another. Everything is so vivid.”
“Vivid is good,” I said.
Father glanced at us. He’d caught what we were saying and now he winked at me and smiled. In that brief moment, I could tell that he was glad I was home. He must be lonely. Right then I decided that—war or no war—my sisters and I had to find him a wife. He needed someone, and though I cherished my mother’s memory, Father needed to move on. To open his heart and his life again.
At that moment, we reached the gates of the city. Dahnsburg was well-fortified. To the north, it faced the Wyvern Ocean. The other three sides were surrounded by large stone walls, with turrets evenly spaced around the top of the walk wall. Each of the three walls had its own gatehouse with a portcullis ready to drop in case of invasion.
“Do you get many threats here? You aren’t very close to Darkynwyrd or Guilyoton.”
Sheran-Dahns glanced back at me.
“No,” she said, her voice lightly trilling over the words. “But there are plenty of Cryptos who roam the Windwillow Valley with nothing but darkness in their hearts. And there are trolls in the Nebulvuori Mountains who travel this way. Thistlewyd Deep lies to the east, and while not as dangerous as Darkynwyrd, the blessed woodland harbors those both good and ill. The ill-tempered often come to see what trouble they can stir up in the city. And then there are the Meré who attempt raids from the ocean.”
I nodded, catching up to walk by her side. “True enough. No place is safe, not really.”
Sheran-Dahns glanced down at me. Her eyes glowed with a soft light and I wanted to fall into that brilliant green and lose myself. She snorted, just a little, and then reached down and lightly pressed against my arm with her muzzle. The hair was velvety soft, and her nose was damp. I looked up into her eyes.
“All of the Dahns Unicorns know about the demons, Camille. Remember this: You can only do your best, young Windwalker. Don’t fret, and don’t second-guess yourself.” The way she said Windwalker didn’t make my skin crawl. In fact, it felt almost like a compliment.
“Thanks,” I said, impulsively reaching up to pat her side. “It’s hard not to worry, but you’re right. We can’t always win the day. I just hope we win in the long run, because the alternative isn’t such a hunky-dory deal.”
She snorted again and shook her head, her mane billowing out like a woman on a shampoo commercial. Damn, whatever she used for hair care, I wanted some. Just then, our path forked onto the main road leading in through the west gate of Dahnsburg.
Sheran-Dahns led us to the gate, where a carriage waited, hooked to a team of nobla stedas. Once again, it seemed we were to ride through the streets in luxury. I’d gotten used to the cars over Earthside, but when we’d lived in Y’Elestrial, most of the city population walked wherever they went. As my father reached for my hand to give me a boost up, I glanced back at the unicorn.
“Thank you,” I said, smiling at her. “And please, if you ever come Earthside, you’re welcome at our house. Always.”
She dipped her head. “I will remember the invitation. You never know what’s going to happen, Camille.” Turning to gaze at my father, she added, “Advisor Sephreh, I trust your visit will be a pleasant one. The guard will take you to the palace in safety. Good day.” And just like that, she was gone.
The guard in question was Fae, that much I could tell, but it was hard to peg which branch of the racial tree he’d fallen from. Pale to the point of gray, his hair was slicked back into a ponytail. The color was the faintest of blues amidst a silver wash. He looked old, or at least as old as just about any Fae I’d ever met, and he waited for us to seat ourselves in the carriage before climbing atop and picking up the reins. As the horses began to move, I leaned forward, wanting to peek through the window at the city as we passed.
Dahnsburg reminded me of Terial. And, in some ways, of Seattle. All port cities seemed to have a sensation of openness—an expansive air to them. Maybe it was the fact that they bordered coastlines, with wide, unending stretches of water lapping at their shores. Maybe there was an international feel to the air—with peoples of all races and countries journeying in through the shipping lines. Whatever the case, Dahnsburg gave the impression of being vast and roomy. I also sensed there would be more than one escape route should we need one.
The architecture was light; the buildings large and made of stone and adobe. They were whitewashed, though, and throughout the city, I noticed that the streets were clean and litter-free. The roads were wide, too—wider than those in Y’Elestrial. I noticed the number of unicorns wandering through the streets, along with a few centaurs and a handful of giants, and realized that the city had to be built to a larger scale to accommodate the size of the Cryptos.
Trees were rare, but we saw a few. They were similar to the palm trees over Earthside, but I knew them as trehavé—hardier and more suited toward cooler climates than the date palm. The trehavé bore fruit that made wonderful mixed drinks. At the thought of a drink, my stomach rumbled. We’d eaten breakfast but portal jumping sucked the energy right out of me.
