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Up and up and up it went, vanishing into the rocky landscape where the brambles withered away under piles of ice and snow. Wind whistled in the distance, blowing gusts of white into the air.
“Right,” Fenella said. She’d traded her outward bravado for fearful solemnity.
Alastair let out a low whistle. “This journey will not be pleasant.”
Kalen regarded me for a moment. I knew what he was going to say.
You can turn back now.
“You can turn around,” he said quietly. “No one will think you’re a coward.”
“Just leave it to us. We’ll find him.” Alastair swung off his horse and gave mine a pat on the rump. “Silver here will get you back to Endir. Just steer clear of that army.”
“You’ll need to try harder if you want to get rid of me. I need to see this through to the end.”
My boots hit the stone. I found the apple in my pack and fed it to Silver, stroking his snout as he made quick work of his snack. He and the other horses could not follow us into the mountains, and we wouldn’t leave them stranded alone. It would take us days to reach the other side, and that was even if we managed to do it.
It was time to say goodbye.
Fenella gave me a curious stare when I whispered goodbye and watched Silver charge off into the mist with the other horses. He would return to Endir, where it was safe. My heart heavy, I sat on a boulder and chewed on some dried meat while Kalen and the others sharpened their swords. The song of rock against steel rang in the air, a warning sound that chilled my bones. We’d avoided the light fae army, but we were preparing for battle all the same.
“You know, you talk to that animal like a shadow fae would,” Fenella remarked as she settled down beside me. “You sure you don’t have fae blood?”
So Kalen hadn’t told the others our suspicions about my ancestry. That was just as well. “I’m pretty sure that horse didn’t understand a word I said. It just makes me feel better.”
“Hmm.” She nodded at my back, where we’d strapped my sword. Already the weight felt burdensome. “This journey will be long and arduous, even without carrying a weapon like that on your back. You might want to leave it here. The Mortal Blade is enough to protect you. Plus, you have the four of us.”
“I only have a handful of gemstones to power the Mortal Blade, and I don’t want to waste them if we get attacked by someone else,” I said, gazing up at the towering mountain peaks. “Besides, it’s too small. I want something bigger.”
She arched her brow and whisked out her double daggers. Both were smaller than the Mortal Blade, but the sharp edges gleamed beneath the eversun’s orange light. Without even blinking, Fenella spun the daggers in her hands, and then pressed one blade against my throat while the other hit my back. A glittering smile curled her lips.
“Small is just as deadly. In fact, it can often be deadlier because no one sees us coming. But you should know that better than anyone, shouldn’t you?”
I cut my eyes her way. “Wonderful. Thank you. Can you take your dagger off my throat now? You’ve made your point.”
“Fenella,” Kalen warned, shoving up to his feet.
“Oh, relax.” She rolled her eyes and spun the blades away. “I’m just trying to show her she doesn’t need to haul around a heavy sword.”
Frowning, I stood. I glanced at Alastair, who winked. The bastard knew exactly what I was thinking. I took a step back on the rock to position myself just behind Fenella. And then I whipped out my sword and pressed the tip against the back of her neck.
“Looks like you were right. Icansneak up on people.”
Fenella laughed. “Well played, Tessa. Well played.”
I didn’t mention that my arms still strained from the weight of the sword and that I fumbled a bit as I tried to shove the blade back into the sheath on my back. Instead, I took a seat beside her and turned to gaze at the glimmering sea. The waters were still, and the sun transformed the crystal blue into a blanket of a thousand stars. I’d only ever seen the sea in my dreams, and it was far more breathtaking in person. If only we could just stay here for a while…
But unless we found Oberon, these seas would turn to blood.
* * *
After resting, we crossed the rickety bridge and started up the mountain pass. Alastair went first and hacked at the brambles to create a gap big enough for us to walk through. Still, thorns and twisting branches scraped against our leather armor. Our progress was slow as the rocks crunched beneath our boots.
Despite the eversun beating down on our heads, the air grew colder as we journeyed higher up the mountain. A steady wind pushed from the front, forcing me to bend my body forward, just to give me a brief respite. The hours crawled by. My legs and back ached more and more with every step. With ragged breaths, I sank onto a rock when we finally found a small perch to rest for a few moments.
Kalen sat beside me and handed me some bread. “You’re doing well.”
Niamh shielded her eyes from the sun and pointed at a distant ridge shrouded in mist. “It looks like there’s an outcropping there with some shelter. We could stop and camp there for the night…or day, I suppose. What time is it, anyway?”
