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On one of those nights, Cari warned me that we were too close to the Seelie lands to have fires in our camps. There could be soldiers roaming the lands here, grave robbers looking for ancient druid tombs left untouched for years... They could see our light and locate our camp. Monsters were not an issue, but the danger of the in-between realms, especially this close to Terlyth, did not end there.
When Cari warned me about being too close to Terlyth, it was when the horses had become too tired to go on. We had made our camp on a little clearing on top of a hill and when she pointed that out, I looked toward west and realized that I recognized the view.
After all, I had been one of those ‘grave robbers’ back when I lived in Terlyth.
I had entered the in-between realms only a few times during my years of scavenging in Terlyth. And I had always made sure not to go too far from the protection of the city. But still, as I looked toward the mountain from the other side, it was not hard to recognize it.
The tall mountain I had only seen from the other side reached the sky just the same. Its peak was covered with peculiar black snow, caused by the smoky caves of a dying volcano, letting out its black fumes. The smoke came up slowly enough to create weird shapes and dissolved as soon as it reached the surface, leaving only its mark on the white snow. I knew that only because the mountain was infamous, according to legend, it was the exact spot where the fae god punished the fae goddess for siding with the fae instead of him. The volcano had died with her, but the remnants of their apocalyptic fight would stay with the realms for an eternity. The stories said that the shapes the black smoke made were omens that only some diviners could decipher.
Of course, that was only a legend. This mountain was easy to distinguish from others only because of its weird black summit.
Tonight, the moons were full, but the peak was pitch black, as always.
My heart ached upon the familiar sight. We still had at least three days on the road to reach Cari, but the memory of seeing this mountain and its peak made me realize that soon, I would be close enough to smell the stink of Terlyth’s outer edges, where the human changelings and the poor lived.
Homesick? Cari asked jokingly.
I darted my gaze off the mountain and dipped my spoon into the swelling oat in my little cup. Brigid had been kind enough to warm some water for us all, and although my oat was not ready yet, the smell of the leaves inside my drinking cup was telling me my tea was.
Not in the sense you’re suggesting, I told her as I took a sip of the bitter healing tea. My memories of childhood never carried the feeling of safety yours did.
Do you think it’s better to know what that safety feels like only to lose it?She asked.
Her tone wasn’t accusing or challenging. Instead, she posed the question as if it had been theoretical. Something we could argue over and think about...
I don’t know, I replied.
Neither do I, she said.
“Since we don’t have a fire,” Brigid said, breaking the silence that had befallen our group as she also interrupted the private conversation that was going on inside my mind.“I should keep watch.”
“You can’t keep watch all night,” Dearen replied. “But you can, at the dead of the night, when it’s darkest.”
“I can take the first watch,” I offered.
No one objected.
Kieran met my gaze for a brief second before looking away. Even that momentary glance was a rare thing these days.
“I can take the morning watch,” he offered.
“Great,” Fiona said. “I’m happy to sleep all night.”
She dropped her cup next to her bedroll and wiped her mouth with a white cloth pulled from her bag. I couldn’t help but smile. The princess looked like a mercenary in every sense. Her clothes were dirty and worn out. Her hair was messy, just like the rest of us. And yet, she had politely patted the corner of her mouth using her cloth as though this was a feast, and she was only tired from hosting high lords and ladies of the realm.
“What?” She asked, noticing my stare.
“Nothing,” I replied, my smirk growing despite my attempt to push it down.
Although her lips cornered with a confused smile, Fiona shrugged.
“I like that we don’t have a fire tonight,” Brigid said as she lay on her bedroll. “I see much better without light.”
“That sounds like a gift as much as a curse,” Kieran said.
Brigid did not respond. Kieran stared at her.
“It is a gift,” Brigid said. “I can cover my eyes when there is light, and I can still see through it. And I think my vision is improving. Perhaps one day, I’ll be able to see through stone walls. Wouldn’t that be helpful?”
