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Haladay shrugged. “People in the borders are more opposed to change than the average person. And they don’t take kindly to foreigners.”
There was something in his tone that tickled the back of my mind.
“Foreigners?” I questioned.
Haladay nodded. “Anyone outside the borderlands.”
“But the eastern borderlands are a part of Vetri, and the west is Agnivale’s.”
Haladay and Coman shared a glance.
“We understand that the lands were distributed as such by the ancestral Brimwoods,” he began. “However, the border people view themselves as one large clan. Not people from Agnivale or Vetri—rather, people of the borders. ‘Tis the reason why we’ve been pushing for this meeting for the past year, Your Highness. We fear that the borders have secured a sense of false autonomy under Almanera.”
“Will we be considered foreigners then?” Cryssa asked, shrewd as ever.
“That would be a gray area, Councilor,” Haladay replied with a furrowed brow.
“I despise gray areas,” Cryssa murmured under her breath.
Soon, Haladay’s droning was muted by the mercy of the Goddess. I glanced down below, intrigued by a large pool of white foam bubbling up from a circular reservoir. The loud rush of water in the background indicated the presence of a waterfall or two nearby, and when the hovercraft circled the perimeter for landing, I spotted the tiered cascade in the far corner, behind an impressive terrace of foliage.
A dreamy turquoise lake shimmered at the very bottom of the waterfall, topped with clouds of foam that had drifted down from the reservoir above. The sway of a speckled red tree caught my eye, and I squinted at it, trying to decipher its species. The gardens back at the Fortress was vast and varied, but sometimes the Goddess’s creations still managed to surprise me.
“Dew cherry trees,” Cryssa yelled above the rush of water. “They grew in abundance along the coastline when I was at University.”
I offered her a smile in lieu of thanks, unwilling to add to the rush of noise.
Her palm found mine in an easy show of intimacy, and although my first instinct was to pull away, I forced myself to curl my fingers around hers.
People were watching after all—the prying eyes of her assistant, and the councilmembers who loved a good morsel of gossip.
“Where is everybody?” Coman’s voice was significantly more pleasant. He glanced out of the windows as the craft made a quick landing. “We provided our arrival coordinates to them yesterday. They should have had a welcome party present.”
Haladay called out to the pilot to cross-check the coordinates. We were in the right position.
Curious.
The second hovercraft landed behind us. Other councilmembers and royal guards spilled out of it. They, too, seemed confused by the lack of a reception.
I slipped my hand from Cryssa’s and stepped outside, taking in the thinner air of the borderlands. The air smelled different here—perhaps infused with minerals from the mines around it.
Coman stepped forward. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment, Your Highness, I will find Almanera and correct this error.”
I nodded, watching as he sprinted into the forest awkwardly in his sandals. A single guard followed.
Cryssa’s gaze met my own, and I could tell my question was mirrored in her eyes.
Was this a not-so-subtle snub on Almanera’s part?
It was a risky move. Most royals would take offense to such treatment. Zoei, for example, would have blustered in anger, severing ties with Boroville before a single rational thought suffused her mind.
But I was perhaps more curious than angered. I presumed a great misunderstanding had occurred. After all, we had no bad blood with the Borovillians—our relationship had been exceedingly cordial for decades, according to the council.
As I stared in the direction of the waterfall, connecting with its residual and refreshing energy, I took a moment to consider what life would be like in such a place filled with abundant nature. As far as the eye could see, the landscape stretched out in a breath-taking vista of untouched wilderness.
The air was alive with the scent of earth, metal and foliage, and the sound of flowing water filled my ears like a soothing symphony. The vibrant greenery, teeming with life, seemed to stretch on endlessly, a testament to the beauty and resilience of nature. My Goddess was thriving all around.
A rustle in the trees foretold Almanera’s approach.
