Page 78 of Memory of Ashes

“Do you think it worked?” Danae asked Ruven.

“I don’t know,” he replied.

Amelia considered them, frowning. What did they mean?

“What worked?” Amelia asked. Why were they acting so strange?

“It doesn’t matter.” Danae dismissed the question. “We need to move fast.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the High City.”

Were they going to give her over? Had they realised that they should have let the High King have her? She had no other option but to go with them. She wouldn’t survive in either world for long on her own.

“Why?”

“We need their help if we have any chance of fixing this. Elthar warned us. He tried to stop us. That’s why they wanted you. Killing you would have prevented this. They were right.”

Danae’s eyes met hers. “We should have listened.”

There was no malice beneath her words, only regret.

“Do you really think that we could have stopped Tiryn even if we had listened?” Ruven asked her.

“Are you going to let them kill me?” Amelia asked.

“No, it’s too late for that now. We need their help to kill Tiryn.”

“What about Casyl? Will they kill him too?” she asked.

They were quiet for a moment. “Tharos is handling that one,” Ruven said.

“But what happened to him? He changed. He tried to kill me,” Amelia said, fighting back tears. “I don’t understand what happened.”

“We’ll explain, but we need to get to the High City as soon as possible.”

They left the forest, scanning the trees for creatures lurking. A shriek from the distance urged them to ride faster. The rolling hills of green signalled that they were at the border. They were such a stark contrast to the barren lands near the fortress.

“Why is it so different?” she shouted as they galloped.

“The priests say that the High City and the High King’s people are blessed by the gods and that Tiryn and everyone who follows him is being punished. It’s part of the curse,” Danae replied.

Instead of keeping to the wild country, they followed the main high road.

What would happen if they were caught?

She soon found out.

A small band of warriors met them on the road ahead. They looked as if they’d been waiting for them.

“A messenger must have gone ahead with a report of our sighting,” Ruven said.

“Halt!” one guard shouted.

They slowed their horses to a walk but continued towards them.

“We come with news for the High King,” Ruven announced.