Page 57

She looked up and saw that all three of her friends were leaning over the cliff and staring at her in astonishment.

“Yeah,” she said. “There’s some kind of barrier or something.”

“It’s theValispath,” the Meyarin informed them. “The Eternal Path. It will take us the rest of the way.”

“You guys better get down here before you end up coming over head-first like me,” Alex warned her friends.

One by one they helped each other down until they were all standing on the transparentValispath.

“This issounnatural,” Bear said, looking down.

“I recommend that you all take a seat,” the Meyarin suggested.

With no other warning, they shot forward through the air. Alex felt the breath leave her when she slammed against the transparent force field surrounding them. She barely managed to choke back a scream as they flew along what she could only describe as an invisible rollercoaster. Every twist and turn moved them lower to the ground and closer to the city, passing over the moat-like river and moving so near to one of the waterfalls that Alex felt the water spray through the apparently not-so-solid force field.

TheValispathmoved so quickly that within seconds they entered the outskirts of the city, and then they soared in and around, above and even below the silver-glowing buildings.Faces of Meyarins blurred past them, but they sped along too fast to take in any real details other than the fact that they were heading deeper into the city.

“Where are we going?” Alex yelled over the wind. She wondered why—and how—theValispathprotected them from falling, when it didn’t keep out the other elements.

“Where do you think?” the Meyarin returned. “Are all mortals so unintelligent?”

For the second time, Alex wasn’t sure how to answer the generalised—and offensive—question. Instead, she looked ahead to what she guessed was their intended destination.

The Meyarin palace was the jewel of the city. It was truly beautiful, with swirling, slimline towers spiralling high into the heavens. The closer they came, the more easily Alex could see past the overwhelming glow of the Myrox and make out the finer details in the architecture.

“Wow,” she breathed when theValispathstopped their forward momentum just near the entrance.

“You can say that again,” Jordan agreed, still collapsed against the barrier beside her.

The palace was made out of Myrox, that they already knew, but it wasn’tjustmade out of Myrox. Golden vine-like designs wrapped around the silvery Meyarin metal, creating the most breathtaking sight Alex had ever seen. The magnificence was utterly indescribable. It was a palace outside the most imaginative of dreams.

Alex could have stared at the architectural masterpiece for days, but their Meyarin escort cleared her throat, breaking her and her friends’ reverential gaze.

“Follow me,” the Meyarin said. “And don’t speak unless addressed.”

Alex and her friends followed their guide up a long set of shining stairs until they reached a massive Myrox and golden-vined archway that led into the palace. Two fearsome guards stood on either side of the entrance, one male and one female. Both had swords and other glinting weapons attached to their dark, Myrox-infused, leather-like armour, along with quivers of feathered arrows and bows strapped to their backs.

Despite their bulk and authoritative stances, they were still beautiful to behold. The dark skinned male was huge, both in height and muscle mass. He had shoulder-length hair and an amused expression on his ruggedly handsome face, while the female had wavy black hair and intense steel-grey eyes.

It’s really not fair that an entire race of people can be so attractive, Alex thought.

“Kyia, frey de gearsa landi?” the male guard spoke, glancing at Alex and her friends curiously.

“Hireth en gartha de seafe lae nias,” their Meyarin guide responded. “Taern deRaelia.”

The female guard scowled and raised her sword threateningly. “Mae keare vars en hersan!Kyia, raesa felin de oarnaRaelia!”

Their Meyarin escort said something in response, and the unknown female guard stepped forward, her steely eyes blazing with anger.

“Stop, Vaera!” their escort ordered firmly in the common tongue, allowing Alex and her friends to understand. “The humans are under my protection until they’ve been questioned.”

“I don’t take orders from you yet, Kyia,” the female guard— Vaera—spat back.

“But you do take them from me,” came another voice.

Alex sucked in a breath at the sight of the Meyarin who appeared at the entrance to the palace. He was… well, ‘wow’ didn’t quite sum him up. He was not as youthful as the other Meyarins she’d interacted with, but he was just as beautiful, and he stood tall and confident with golden hair and warm, amber-coloured eyes. His demeanour exuded wisdom and kindness, and for some inexplicable reason, his very presence calmed Alex’s nerves.

Then she noticed the crown on his head.