Page 14

CHAPTER 14

T he next five days went as smoothly as they could. No other guards deserted, and no one spoke of the one we’d lost after Paxon made it clear we wouldn’t be looking for him.

Each day, we’d depart at dawn and travel until the sun began to set before we finally arrived on the outskirts of Sulphur. I hadn’t complained once during the long stretches in the carriage, no matter how hot it grew. I was too transfixed by the view as the mountains turned into rolling hills, which then became fields and fields of crops and livestock as we got closer to King and Queen Alline’s territory. I didn’t think I could ever tire of the scenery surrounding me.

We’d traveled along the chasm most of the time, but far enough away to where I couldn’t quite see the depths of it. It was better that way, though. Out of everything, I didn’t want to see the gorge that kept me separate from the rest of the world.

On our way into Sulphur, much like the rest of the trip thus far, my gaze had been trained out the tiny window. Before the land had turned to tall grass pastures and fields of assorted crops, it’d been miles and miles of meadows sprouting various colors of wildflowers. In the distance, Lander had pointed out Devil’s Peak, one of the only active volcanoes on our continent. It hadn’t had a major eruption in over a century, but lava was always slowly seeping from it, puddling at the base. It was a dangerous crater surrounded by beauty and peace.

Lander wasn’t kidding when he said every protein, every fruit and vegetable, came from Sulphur. Even without him telling me, I would’ve been able to guess it. There wasn’t a single parcel without something being raised or grown. Even the homes in the town had small gardens in their yards.

The people lining the dirt roads as we traveled past last night wore all kinds of colors and attire. On our cross-through to reach the kingdom, I saw workers extracting colors from all kinds of flowers and fruits, dyeing clothes in buckets and hanging them on lines to dry. It was serene—how they all worked in harmony with children running amuck. There were no arguments, no raised voices or weapons being drawn at each other. But even so, the tension in their shoulders was obvious, accompanying their narrowed eyes as we passed.

It was so opposite of everything I’d seen in Silicate, yet so similar. The streets didn’t smell nearly as rancid; instead the aroma from the flowers wrapped around me, mixing with the hint of salt in the air. But despite the inviting atmosphere, I could see the stress on each citizen. Maybe Lander was right, and the tensions with trade really were having an effect on every single citizen, whether their leaders treated them better than King Tenere or not. Even the castle looked more welcoming than my father’s, more like a home than a fortress.

“The ocean borders one side of Sulphur, much like it does Amosite,” Lander said from beside me. We were now standing in the foyer of the home I’d stayed in last night.

King Alline had been kind enough to let our group sleep in some of the empty houses near the castle after we’d arrived too late to visit with the king and queen. They didn’t have as large of an estate as Amosite, so there were no spare rooms for us to occupy. I’d been in my own cottage with three guards posted outside while Lander and Paxon slept in a separate one just next door. The guards who weren’t on shift got one house to themselves. After days in a tent, we were all thankful to have at least one full night’s rest in a real bed.

But somehow, even with the unpleasantries I’d learned came with travel, I’d never felt happier.

“I smell the salt in the air,” I replied, almost hating the small talk Lander and I forced at times.

I’d chosen to wear a looser dress today. The tight-fitting gowns I typically wore didn’t seem to fit in with the citizens of Sulphur. Much like the land and its people, I wanted to feel free, and that meant no restricting corset. No dreary colors either. Red was not in my vocabulary—at least for today.

“Not as humid, though. And a much cleaner aroma than Amosite,” Lander acknowledged, nudging my shoulder with his own. He clearly wasn’t missing the damp, seaweed smelling air in my kingdom. Truthfully, I wasn’t either.

“You’re not wrong,” I said with a hint of a smile before taking a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what the day held. I wasn’t used to any of this, but I was trying.

He stepped forward and opened the door, holding it wide for me to pass through. The morning air warmed my skin instantly as I moved past him.

“My lady,” a guard said, stepping in front of us before we descended the steps. The sword at his hip clanked against the garnet armor on his leg.

Lander and I both paused.

“I have to ask that you go back inside,” he went on.

“Is there a threat?” I asked. With the mention of it, Lander inched closer to my side.

“No, my lady.” He cleared his throat as he averted his gaze, eyes darting to my clothing before looking at me. “But King Tenere has given us strict orders that you are to only wear his colors and the wardrobe he had picked for you.”

His colors. As if I didn’t spend every day of my aching life in Amosite. As if I hadn’t grown up there.

A bit of the tension left my body at the reassurance there was no real danger. I should’ve known, though, that even outside the chasm, my father would still find a way to control the smallest of things.

I glanced at Lander, but he had his gaze downcast on his glossed shoes.

I turned my attention back to the guard. “Surely, for a day, my father would excuse it.”

“I cannot make that decision for him, my lady,” the guard said, something like uneasiness coating his words.

I looked down at my simple white dress, realizing there would be no getting around this. If the worst that came to me on this trip was being forced to wear Amosite’s colors every day, then I considered myself lucky.

“I can wait here. Changing will not take long at all,” Lander assured me.

I swallowed, already feeling the binds of a corset caging my torso in. But how would it look if my first impression outside of Amosite and in another kingdom was arguing with a guard over something as minute as clothing? It wasn’t worth my—or my father’s—reputation.

“Thank you,” I muttered, not sparing the guard another glance before turning around. Lander kept his word, standing outside as I changed, and when I reappeared wearing the desired red dress, the sleeves itchy and the neckline suffocating, he offered a sympathetic smile.

I didn’t return it.

“King and Queen Alline will be meeting us in the town square,” the guard said, trailing beside Lander and I as we walked.

“Is that where we’re to do this speech?” I asked.

“It is, my lady. We can get everything done today and be gone by morning.”

“I wasn’t aware we were leaving so quick,” I said.

“King Tenere has us on a tight schedule. If we hit poor weather, we may have to stop, and with days of travel in between each kingdom, we’re hoping to get ahead of anything that could hinder us arriving back in Amosite on time.”

It seemed my father’s guards were just as fearful of him as everyone else. Although their jobs were on the line, I worried it wouldn’t be them who got the worst of what was to come if we weren’t back in a few weeks.

Though I was the one forced to change my attire, Lander looked much worse for wear. His hair was astray, his lapel crinkled, and the cuffs of his sleeves were unbuttoned.

“Are you okay?” I muttered to him as we walked.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he asked.

“You don’t look very…” I wasn’t sure what to say. We weren’t close enough for me to say he looked unkempt.

“It’s my style. No need to be worried.”

I snorted. “Style?”

From my peripheral, I saw the corner of his mouth tick up as he fought a smile. We had to act as if people were watching constantly. Our images were our families’ images.

“Just as you have a style of being rebellious,” he said.

I shook my head, snuffling my laugh. “I’d hardly call wearing a white dress rebellious.”

“Is white your favorite color?” he asked.

I nearly tripped on my skirts.

He looked at me before facing forward again. “Was that the wrong thing to ask?”

I gave a shake of my head. “Sorry, no. It’s not that. I’ve just never thought of it that way.”

“That you abhor garnet so much that you’d rather wear no color at all?”

“White is a color.”

“A rather bland one,” he muttered, a light lilt to his voice.

My mouth popped open. “If it was my favorite, you’ve just insulted it.”

He dramatically set a palm over his heart. “My sincerest apologies, Lady Auria. I most certainly didn’t mean to insult your favorite color.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled, not caring to hide it this time. “I’m sure.”

We approached the town square where people were gathered, a wooden dais sitting in the center of the crowd. Fabrics of every color popped among the people, oranges and purples, pinks and blues, and once again, I found myself envying them. It wasn’t just the clothes—it was their freedom to express themselves. I longed for that, in any way I could get it. The comforting scent of cinnamon and sugar wafted through the air, likely from a nearby bakery. I could nearly taste the sweet pastry. It made me think of Taylin and all the baked goods we used to steal bites of, whether from her mother or her smuggling one for me during our visit.

I tamped down the nostalgia. She wouldn’t want me to spend my time missing home. She’d rather I enjoy this small bit of freedom I was offered, so that’s what I’d do.

Through the crowd, I couldn’t find King and Queen Alline. I guessed Lander wasn’t able to spot them either by the tight set of his mouth.

“The speech, my lady,” a guard said, coming up beside me to hand me a rolled parchment.

I took the paper, unfolding it and glancing at the words. I’d read them at least a hundred times in the carriage, but no matter how many times I recited it, the words didn’t feel like something I’d say. I supposed that was the point of my father’s advisor writing it and not me.

“Thank you.”

I shoved aside my feelings for the letter and pasted on a smile. Lander and I were to be married, and we had to look strong in our union if this was to work. Whatever this was.

Lander held out a hand to assist me up the step onto the low wooden platform. As we stood in front of the crowd, a bead of sweat rolled down my temple. It wasn’t hot by any means with the breeze rolling through, but my body was warm with the coverage this dress provided, my chest pressing against the binds of my bodice with every breath.

On the opposite side of the dais, King and Queen Alline stepped up, finally presenting themselves. When our gazes met, they both gave a dip of their chin, their bronze crowns perched atop his white hair and her black as night locks glistening in the midday sun. Their clothing was various shades of yellow—their kingdom’s color. Queen Alline’s vibrant sunshine dress had short sleeves, showing off the deep brown skin of her arms. Beside her, her husband’s suit was a darker shade than her gown, the top two buttons undone to show a sliver of his brown chest. They were nearly identical in height, both tall and lean. Both equally as beautiful.

King Alline’s lips were pressed into a tight line, judgment clear as day in the way he watched us, while the queen set a hand on her round belly and nodded at me, signaling me to start.

I looked out at the people standing before us. With the makeshift stage raised only a few inches off the ground and my short height combined, I could see only the first few rows of people standing shoulder to shoulder. The rest disappeared behind them, though the crowd wasn’t massive, indicating most of the town hadn’t bothered to show up. For some reason, the knowledge that not everyone had come made me more nervous, feeling as if this was all a joke to them. Likely, it was, but I had no choice but to follow orders.

I held the parchment in front of me, scanning the words. “People of Sulphur. We are here to put your worries to rest,” I started.

“Bullshit,” a bulky man with brown skin said from the front of the crowd.

“All Amosite is good for is thievery!” a woman shouted, her thick accent clinging to every word.

“Filthy thieves!” a young child with blonde hair bellowed.

My eyes darted between each irate citizen before turning to the king and queen. They stood there with nothing more than pitiful looks on their faces.

I looked back down at the paper, my stomach tightening. “Amosite and Torbernite have come to a union,” I continued.

Before I could get another word out, something hit me in the hip. I took a step back to steady myself, glancing down to find a bright red stain on the garnet fabric.

The shouts grew louder as people began chucking various fruits and vegetables our way. It wasn’t long before the guards were in front of me, shielding me from the worst of it as they ushered Lander and me off the stage.

“My lady, are you injured?” a guard asked hurriedly as the others formed a half circle behind the two of us, blocking the barrage of foods.

I wasn’t sure if I was injured.

Was the red simply residue from a tomato?

The hit hadn’t hurt, but pain was such a familiar feeling to me that perhaps my mind didn’t register it at the same time as my body.

“My lady,” he said again, but I barely heard him, his voice nearly blending in with the shouts around us.

There were so many noises. So many angry people. So many colors and stones and buildings.

Our footsteps hurried down the path to an awaiting carriage. Was their hatred aimed at me? Or my father? What could he have done to cause these people to be so angry?

“Auria,” Lander said, interrupting the echo in my mind. His hand was on my shoulder, his gaze narrowed on me. He must’ve seen my eyes working to focus themselves. “They need to know if you’re hurt.”

With a glance at my dress, I knew now that I wasn’t. Yet though I wasn’t physically injured, my emotions were a mess. To have food thrown at us… It was beyond embarrassing. But most of all, shameful. I didn’t want these people to hate us—to hate me .

I shook my head, words still unable to form on my tongue as nausea built.

“She’s okay,” Lander relayed to the guard.

He was standing beside us as the others had their backs to us now, watching to make sure none of the mayhem followed.

“You need to get in the carriage, my lady,” the guard said as he opened the door.

I stepped up, my hands fisted in my food-stained skirt. I situated myself on the bench as Lander sat across from me. The guard closed the door, and in seconds, we were moving.

“Won’t they follow us to where we’re staying?” I asked, finally able to think clearly enough for logic to seep back in.

“I presume we’ll depart Sulphur tonight,” Lander replied.

I swallowed, the jostling of the carriage leaving a sour taste in my mouth. “But the guards need rest.”

Lander peeked out the curtain. “They’re trained for far worse than some flying rotten food and no sleep, Auria.”

My eyes fell to the stain of red and the seeds splattered throughout. Would it truly be so tragic had it been my blood and not the juice of a fruit?

I ran a finger through the pulp. “If they’re not well off, why would they waste all this food only to humiliate us?”

“I don’t believe it’s food they have a shortage of here,” Lander said.

I wiped the juice off my finger, looking at him. He was barely stained with the remains of a blueberry or two on his shirt. “Is that why they called Amosite thieves?”

His forehead creased. “You truly don’t know?”

“No. And that’s what frustrates me the most out of all of this. My father sent me out here with no knowledge on any of what’s going on, and I’m expected to act like I know everything. How am I to serve as a face of peace between Amosite and these kingdoms if I don’t even know what goes on behind closed doors?”

Sympathy filled his expression, his eyes softening. “Some doors shouldn’t be opened, Auria.”

But Lander was wrong. I wasn’t scared of what I would find—only frustrated they were locked in the first place. Like apples plucked from a tree, my father chose only the sweetest information to tell me, and left the bad for his ears only.

That wasn’t how I would be able to stand up for the kingdom I grew up in. Being fed the good only led to an influx of the bad later on.

And if being given a taste of freedom taught me anything, it was that the bad would eventually come out.

I only had to find a way to get it.