Page 77 of Memory of Ashes

“I’m going back. I’m staying with the army. I can help from there. I can’t just leave Casyl. Danae and Ruven are going to take you back to Elderarth. It’s safer there for you right now,” he said.

She suppressed a laugh. The dangerous world she’d wanted to escape had become the safest place for her to be.

They split up as Tharos headed back to the army, while the others travelled an indirect route towards the mountains, taking care not to be seen now that Tharos wasn’t with them.

They rode in silence until they stopped to let the horses rest.

Danae passed her a skin of water. She gulped it down. The water soothed her throat, sore from all the dust kicked up from the road.

“Why did you save me?” she asked Danae.

“The fae were once united, but something happened, something awful that no one seems to remember. The kingdom separated into two, and those who followed Tiryn were banished to the Wildlands.” She touched her antlers. “God-cursed, they call us. King Elthar said he was delusional, that he was mad with power, that there was no way back to the past. We’ve spent centuries chained to this cruel leader who’d promised us he would lead us back to what was rightfully ours. Many of us cheered at the prospect. Our land is harsh, and with so many born without their abilities, it seemed like part of the punishment. He told us it could be different, that he could make it the way it should be, that we’d live how our ancestors lived. We believed him. Although he didn’t tell us what it would cost us.”

Amelia had wondered about the war between the two fae factions. After fighting for her life against the other fae, she hadn’t considered that they would be the rational ones.

Were they right? Should they have killed her?

“What was the cost?” Amelia asked.

Danae looked at her. Her face was lined with worry. “Our souls. I don’t think there is any redemption for what we’ve done.”

“Let’s ride,” Ruven said, looking wary.

Mount Ryjul loomed in the distance. They rode towards it cautiously, scanning the surroundings for any sign of the army. The rift had been left unguarded.

It shimmered on the mountainside like a mirror, but the reflection was all wrong. Where there should have been snow, there were trees. It was more like a window into another world built into the mountain. It was so unnatural.

When they reached the bottom, they dismounted and started their ascent, passing the tracks that the army had left.

There, near the portal, was the cave where she’d first seen the markings. Danae and Ruven followed her as she hiked towards it.

“Do you recognise these?” Amelia asked them.

Danae walked over and traced them with her hand. “These are ancient. We don’t use this script anymore.”

“Can you read it?” she asked.

She shook her head. “No.”

These markings had caused all of this, although they seemed a little inconsequential right now. Did they really have no meaning?

They frequently scanned the distant horizon for pursuers but found none. With Tharos now allied with them, Amelia was certain that no hidden army was following.

The mountain grew steeper. Her fingers grew stiff with cold. She was sweating despite the snow and chilly wind that howled around the mountain.

When they reached the rift, they paused.

The ancient forest was quiet. Branches swayed gently in the breeze, their rustling leaves the only sound. There was no sign of guards or enemies.

“Do we just walk through?” she asked.

“I guess so. Let’s find out,” Ruven said and walked through, leading his horse.

She held her breath as the rift absorbed them.

He turned back to signal that it was safe. They followed him through. The sensation of the rift vibrated against Amelia’s senses, making her skin tingle. For a moment, it felt as though she were part of it.

They were back in the ancient forest, and although danger surrounded them, her breath came easier. She looked at Ruven and Danae as they inspected themselves. She hadn’t realised how different they had appeared in the human world until they returned.