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CHAPTER 31
“Arrogant bastard,”I muttered as I urged Haya.
Draven was pushing us all to the edge of our limits, determined to ride through every hour of daylight, stopping only to tend to the horses.
Riding hard and long was nothing new. And yet, something had changed in the past week we had been traveling through Valtain.
We had passed through the dusty plains and entered a landscape of lush green lands, sandy beaches, soaring cliffs, and thriving forests. But as we moved through these verdant vistas, I couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of foreboding.
The vibrant greens of the forests we rode through and the cerulean blues of the rivers and lakes we passed alongside held less allure than I might have expected. Something betrayed the peace and beauty of the landscape.
Was it simply the knowledge that the fae had once walked in these lands only to abandon them? They had lived here, built here. Was it the sounds of their footsteps that echoed in my ears, quiet and ghostly? Or was it simply the emptiness that felt ominous? The woods and trees spoke of secrets and stories better left untold.
As we reached the fae city of Numenos and prepared to travel through it in order to reach Meridium, my sense of unease grew stronger. I told myself it was simply my anxiety growing as we drew closer and closer to our destination at long last.
Numenos defied imagination. We rode through the empty streets in silence, its beauty leaving us speechless. White marble and glowing stone adorned every building. Each structure seemed more magnificent than the last, each one crafted with intricate carvings and delicate designs that spoke to the fae’s love of beauty and their attention to detail. Towers and spires soared upwards into the sky, seeming to almost touch the clouds themselves. We passed by abandoned markets, grand theaters, and magnificent villas.
Everything was empty, of course, as we had expected it to be. But a feeling had been left behind, hovering in the air. The pervasive sense that someone had just been there, and had suddenly left.
I saw a pair of faded silk slippers lying on a bench in one of the marketplaces, as if a woman had pulled them off and then not had time to put them back on. Fountains and statues were covered in ivy and clogged with weeds. Rotted fruit lay preserved in the abandoned market stalls. Trinkets and baubles still sat out on tables, covered with dust and cobwebs, waiting for customers that would never come.
Everything seemed to be waiting. The city breathed with a ghostly life.
I tried to imagine what life must have been like in Numenos when the fae still called it home.
But as we passed street after street, the realization came to me that none of this was mine. The truth of my fae heritage was now written all over my body, literally marked, and yet I could not feel farther away from these people than I did as I voyaged through their empty city. Everything spoke of an otherworldly beauty, of otherworldly lives. Lives of beauty and magic that I could not fathom. I could not imagine having anything in common with a pure-blooded fae. Nor them wanting to have anything to do with me, with my stunted magic and strange features.
Meanwhile, Vesper continued to mutter discontentedly about Odelna's presence, leaving Draven and Lancelet annoyed and myself confused. He had always seemed like a compassionate man. Yet he repeatedly suggested we leave the girl behind, with sufficient supplies, and return for her later. I even considered if he might be right, only to conclude that leaving a girl in such a forlorn place where we knew monstrous creatures roamed and she had no way to defend herself would be worse. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but at least with us she was not alone.
Odelna would still not speak to us, but after that first day she had conceded to eat–small portions, usually just once a day, but it was something. She rode with Draven and I mostly. He had even managed to get her to smile once. At least, he claimed he had and I chose to believe him.
We arrived at Miridmiuntwo days after passing through Numenos.
The ruins were hidden in a deep valley, surrounded by high cliffs. To reach the entrance, Draven led us through a narrow, winding canyon. Sheer rock walls surrounded us on either side and an unnatural darkness fell as we rode.
I kept expecting harpies to attack at any moment, from the high cliffs around us. From Vesper's disquiet, I could tell he was waiting for something of the sort as well.
But by the time we reached the entrance, my fears had eased. There had been no sign nor sound of anyone or anything.
The ruins were a breathtaking sight. Miridmiun had once been a fae city, though smaller than Numenos in scale. The entrance to the ruins were carved directly into the face of the enormous mountain. Etched into the stone were towering columns decorated with carvings and reliefs of fae warriors, ancient rulers, and even animals and birds.
I had expected the entrance to be gated or sealed, but instead a cavernous opening lay before us, flanked by columns covered with motifs of leaves and flowers, with roses by far the most prominent. Beyond the entrance, I could see a shadowy chamber that led off into the darkness.
As I stared into the gloom, Draven jumped down off his horse. Odelna, who had been riding with him, sat alone, small and quiet in the saddle, staring vacantly in front of her.
“We’ll lead the horses in,” Draven announced, taking up the straps in his hand.
