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CHAPTER 19
Iwas quiet as we passedbeneath the marble arch the next day, staring up at the carved images. It was the second we had ridden through. I wondered if there would be more.
“We’ll see more and more as we get closer to Valtain,” Draven said, as if he’d heard my unspoken question, turning his mount so he could look back at me. He rode in front for now, the pack horse tied to Whitehorn’s piebald.
Did Haya miss the black stallion that had been Draven’s mount, I wondered? I patted her chestnut flank gently.
“What of the Bloodlands? Are we nearing Orin’s Gate?”
Draven snorted. “Bloodlands indeed.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s all Valtain. Or once was. The Bloodlands are just a convenient name humans gave to the borderland between Cerunnos and the ancient kingdom. But it’s a made up place. Mostly because those in Cerunnos are too frightened to transgress it. I suppose calling it the Bloodlands makes it easier for them not to.”
“How do you know all of this?” I demanded sharply.
He snorted. “Who do you think is leading this expedition? I’ve traveled this way before.”
I should have guessed as much, but even so, I was shocked. “You have? When?”
A shrug was my only answer. Then, “We’re coming closer to Orin’s Gate. We’ll reach the outlying towns soon.”
My heart sped up with excitement. “We will? How soon?”
See other people? Eat food that hadn’t been cooked over a campfire? Perhaps even... No, a hot bath and a real bed were probably too much to hope for. I doubted Draven planned to let us sleep in an inn.
“Today or tomorrow. Soon.”
I looked back at the arch. Even from a distance amidst the ancient huge trees, the white marble glowed. In my imagination, I could almost hear the power of the fae humming from the stone.
“What are the people of Cerunnos like? Have you met many of them?” I asked curiously.
“What are people like anywhere? They’re people.”
What a non-answer.
“So, Valtain,” I said cautiously. “You believe it’s real? It hasn’t been swept into the ocean or something?”
Draven grunted. I sighed impatiently. He’d been taciturn this morning. It seemed as if that was the only answer I’d be getting from him.
As if on cue, the skies above us opened up and a light rain began to fall.
The glow of the campfirewas comforting, even if it was still raining a little.
I held my hands up to the fire as Draven walked around the perimeter of our camp.
“What are you doing? What are you looking for?” I asked. I was sleepy and my clothes were damp and chilled, but didn’t want to crawl into my tent just yet.
Was it because I knew I’d be sleeping alone tonight? I shrugged off the thought.
