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“That’s easy enough to fix.” Crouching down, I lit a small flame at my fingertip, then used it to burn a large patch of grass. I snuffed the flames out with a snap of my fingers so that it wouldn’t cause a wildfire, then made a show of dusting my hands. “Not quite an x marks the spot, but it’ll do.”
Quye grinned. “I like it,” she said, admiring my handiwork. “An x would be a little too on the nose, anyway. This is more discreet.”
We made our way through the hills and toward the river, aiming for the town we’d spotted. The dull ache in my chest from the bond continued, but the excitement of setting foot in a new world and the prospect of meeting the dragons overshadowed my discomfort. This realm was different from Ediria—the sky was teal, rather than blue, and the air was more humid and carried scents of foreign vegetation. I was thankful we’d left the fur cloaks behind, and as we continued our trek, Quye and I stripped off our tunics and tucked them into our packs, wearing only our undershirts and leggings.
We kept a lookout as we descended from the hills and into the farmlands, on the alert for any predators. But the only ones we found were these tiny, biting flies that made annoying buzzing sounds and left itchy welts on our skin. I was tempted to put my tunic back on just to keep them away from my flesh, but they were easy enough to kill, and besides, the sun shining overhead was bright and hot, beating down on us with the full weight of summer.
I wondered if they had seasons here, like we did, or if the weather was the same year-round.
We passed farmers working the fields, along with beasts of burden we didn’t recognize. The people here were similar in stature to fae, but with golden skin, rounded ears, and flaxen hair. They stared at us in open suspicion as we walked by, and at one point, a small beast similar to a dire wolf, but with much shorter fur raced up to us from his master’s side. I yelped, nearly conjuring a fireball, but Quye dropped to her haunches, cooing at the barking beast and holding out her hand. The animal stopped to sniff her hand, then promptly licked her face and trotted back to its master, its whip-like tail wagging.
The farmer, however, was staring at us in open-mouthed shock. His face turned pale, and he dropped to his knees where he stood, pressing his forehead into the ground.
“I… why is he doing that?” I asked Quye, unnerved.
“I’m not sure,” she admitted, biting her lip. “Should we check on him and make sure he’s okay?”
“Absolutely not.” I grabbed her hand and tugged her forward. “The last thing we need is for him to freak out even more and call for help.”
We picked up the pace, putting as much distance between the farmer and his strange behavior as possible. “Are you sure you aren’t part earth fae?” I asked her, thinking back to her interaction with the wolf-like beast. How did she know it wouldn’t attack her? “You’ve got such a way with animals.”
“Well, you know how it is with the Greater Fae,” Quye said. “We’re always marrying into each other’s Houses, though there hasn’t been a marriage alliance between Ithir and Reatha in a long time. I’m pretty sure one of my great aunts was an earth fae, but I don’t think that has anything to do with it. I’m good with living creatures in general, animal or fae.” She shrugged.
“Well, I hope that talent extends to the people here,” I muttered as another farmer side-eyed us from a distance. He was a big, burly male holding a pitchfork, the type that wasn’t afraid to use it as a weapon. “Because I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”
We left the fields and made it to the river, which was a welcome sight. Taking a minute, we took off our shoes and hiked up our leggings so we could wade in and splash water on our faces and arms. The cool water soothed our heated skin and the irritating bug bites, and I drew energy from the rushing current, revitalizing myself the way I had when I was fasting.
Finished, we walked along the river until we found a small house along the bank with a dock and boat floating in the water. A male was sitting on the porch, and he leaped to his feet as he saw us approach, a wary expression in his dark eyes.
“Greetings!” Quye called, giving him a friendly wave. “Would you mind helping us out? We’re looking for someone to take us across the river.”
The man’s eyes widened, his wary expression replaced by a look of awe similar to the farmer’s. He dropped to his knees and pressed his forehead to the dirt, and I realized in shock that he was genuflecting, as if we wereimportant.
“No, no, no,” I said, rushing to help him up. “Please, don’t do that.”
The man squawked as I touched him, a furious blush racing over his cheeks. Flustered, I backed away, unsure how to approach him. How were we going to talk to him if we couldn’t even speak his language?
The man began babbling, and I glanced helplessly at Quye. “Do you have any idea what he’s saying?” I asked, frustration bubbling inside me.
Quye cocked her head as she listened. “I’m not sure. He’s talking about some kind of lizard deity, I think? Or asking if we’re deities?” She preened a little at that. “I wouldn’t say no to being treated like a goddess.”
“A goddess?” I didn’t even know what that meant. “Is that like a spirit?”
“Kind of, except more powerful, and they tend to have their own temples and followers,” Quye explained. She shrugged when I stared at her, nonplussed. “The dream realm gives me glimpses into other worlds and cultures sometimes. I know a lot of weird things.”
“Right.” I blew out a breath, not sure how to interpret this. “Is it a good thing if they think we’re goddesses?”
“Yes,” Quye said cheerfully. “Unless this happens to be the type of culture where they sacrifice deities. Then we’re in trouble.”
I groaned. “This is really not helpful,” I said, glaring at her.
The man glanced rapidly between us as we talked, wringing his hands. He probably thought he’d displeased us somehow, and I gave him a friendly smile, feeling guilty about the impression we were making.
“Look,” I said, spreading my hands in what I hoped was a peaceful gesture. “We just need your help to get to the town across the river.” I pointed to him, then to the boat tethered to the dock, then to the town beyond as I spoke. “We can pay you.”
I pulled a coin from my pouch, hoping that even though we didn’t have local money, the precious metal would still be of some value. The man’s expression cleared, understanding dawning in his eyes. He shook his head violently, refusing the coin, then held up his hands in a “wait here” gesture. Quye and I shared a glance as he hurried into his house, then returned a moment later with a wide-brimmed straw hat. I sighed in relief as he led us down to the boat, helped us board, then unfurled his sail. Within seconds, we were gliding across the river, heading toward the city.
The male chattered as we set out across the river, uncaring that we couldn’t understand him. He glanced back at us several times from the prow of the boat, his entire being vibrating with excitement. His enthusiasm made me uneasy—it felt like we were some exotic find or discovery, and I wondered if we’d made the right choice in trusting him. Perhaps we should have taken our chances and swam across—I could have made it easily enough, and had enough control over my water magic to help Quye across as well. She could have also flown across in a pinch, though that would have been a last resort. Quye had told me the people here might not use magic, and we didn’t want to alarm them with overt displays of power.
