Page 11

We rode out around mid-morning, headed for the Elven capitol city of Daeneid, where most of the city residents lived in a vast system of caves due to the extreme weather. Daeneid was even farther north than the Dark Fairy land, though lying along the same coastline. It was farther north alongside the coastline of the Great Western Sea.

We were on the road to Daeneid for two long, frigid days when the wind never stopped blowing. I had my face buried in fur most of the trip and let the stag follow Bracca’s beast, just ahead of me. We stopped in the early evening to make camp and cook hot food, and the process was already beginning to become familiar to me.

“Why is it freezing here?” I asked Bracca when we stopped on the second night. I’d wrapped another fur around myself, in addition to my coat and I was still cold. “Is it this place that’s so much colder?”

He nodded. “Yes. It’s worse here, because we’re farther north and the sea wind is blowing. It’s why most of the Dark Elves live in caves. These mountains are known as the Concaves, referring to their seemingly hollowed-out interiors, and high ceilings. Whoever made their homes here are long since dead and buried now. They’re really ancient.”

Not long after midday on the second day, we had reached a mountain range that loomed over us more than eight thousand feet high, and it was these Bracca was referring to. The narrow trail around and through the foothills wound very close to the base of the mountains, and we rode in their shadows for most of the day. At least we were away from the constant wind. The trees that grew in the area were stunted-looking white birch trees growing part way up the snowy mountainsides. Bracca had already told me the Elven caves extended deep underneath this mountain range.

“The entrance to the city is through the city gates in a narrow gorge, which is practical for defense against their enemies. It’s still a couple of hours ride ahead of us.”

“I thought the Elves jealously guarded their territory.”

“From each other, yes. There’s no love lost between the Light and Dark Elves. But not the other Fae, except for the Dark Fairies. We’ve had our issues from time to time over the many centuries. Currently, we’re under a truce of sorts. The Dark Elves have traditionally had more communication with the other Fae tribes. They’re primarily miners and tradesmen and have a long coastline on their western border.”

“What do they trade?”

“They mine precious minerals that they find underground. My father has traded with them for copper and silver. Diamonds too.”

“Do the Dark Elves allow visitors?”

“I wouldn’t call them visitors. They allow traders to come in, and some other Fae creatures like trolls and dwarves who work in the mines. Not the Light Elves, but most of the Fae tribes, who buy and trade for their minerals and their gold. We’re deep inside the Liminal here, and near the ocean, so you may see Fae that you’re not used to seeing.”

“Like what? Mermaids?”

“The Mer people are mostly feral creatures and don’t mix all that often with other Fae. You may see Selkies, though, and an occasional sea witch, though they’re rare. The goblins come to trade for their fruits and vegetables and the Woodland Fairies are usually around in the markets too, trading for jewelry and fabrics. Cupids, ogres and others too.”

“I’d like to go to this market.”

He smiled indulgently. “Would you now?”

“Would that be possible?”

“It depends on how well our meeting with Hendris goes.”

“You think it might be hostile?”

“I think I’m arriving out of the blue to tell him I’ve located his long-lost cousin who is the true-blood king. And he needs to vacate the throne and make room for this cousin to take over. Oh, and by the way, I’ve married him and intend to take up residence here too. All things considered, I don’t think he’ll be overjoyed about it, no.”

“Wait. Did you say we’re planning on living there? In the Elven city?”

“Yes. eventually. These things take time and negotiation if we don’t want to start a war.”

“And we don’t,” I said firmly. “That’s the last thing I want.”

“Mm,” he replied, as always, non-committal. “We’ll see how that goes.”

We rode on, but I felt uneasy the rest of the journey.

We reached the city gates by mid-afternoon. They were large and impressive, made of heavy oak and blackened by age and perhaps ancient siege fires. They filled an opening in the base of the mountain that was perhaps fifteen feet tall and at least that wide. I’d never seen anything like it. The gate was wooden with golden hinges. The guards in front of the gate were Elves, of course. They were beautiful and tall, though not as handsome, I thought, as the Fairies as a general rule. They were much harder and tougher looking than the soldiers in Solaria, but not the Dark Fairy soldiers. All of the guards wore daggers and swords at their sides and carried the same kind of bows I used at home, slung over their shoulders. They were crossbows they used to kill the animals that lived in this forest for game, I supposed, and that they would no doubt use on anyone they deemed an enemy.

We rode boldly up to the front and the guards stepped out to challenge us. From this vantage point we could hear the sea, just beyond this mountain. Huge waves were crashing and roaring like conquering sea monsters as they attacked the mountain from the rear. A sudden chill shot through my body. What awaited us inside these gates?

“Inform King Hendris that His Royal Highness, Prince Bracca of the Dark Fairy kingdom is here to speak with him. It’s a matter of great urgency.”

They listened to Bracca respectfully, their eyes traveling down the long column of men we’d brought with us. They quickly conferred and told us to come in the gate but requested that Bracca leave his soldiers in the huge first cave, the one where the stags would be housed. Just for now, they hurried to say, until the king gave them further instructions. Some of them at the gate had already been dispatched to take word of our arrival to King Hendris.

Bracca had stiffly agreed and chosen two of his officers to accompany him to see the king. He came over to me before he left, telling me to stay with the other men and to leave with them if anything happened, or if they hadn’t returned within the hour.

“How he’s going to react to your visit here remains to be seen. In case we have to fight our way out of here, I don’t want to have to worry about you.”

It was fair, if a little rude, so I just agreed with him in order to keep the peace—but he was crazy if he thought I would ever leave him behind. I followed the other soldiers as we rode just inside the interior of the massive cave. We were inside the gates at the visitors’ stables, but the soldiers didn’t unsaddle their beasts and stood beside them, alert and ready for the first sign of any trouble. They had me stand well back among them, and that’s when I began to get worried.

Despite the fact we’d been allowed entrance, this didn’t feel friendly or cordial, but then we’d just arrived at their city gates with a small army. The Elven soldiers were uneasy and kept casting glances at us and a company of Elven soldiers had discreetly arrived and were spreading out around the entrance. At least it was a little warmer here than outside, because of the fires burning constantly everywhere, contained within rock barriers. That meant smoke too, but that was a part of life here, I surmised, and the ceilings were higher than any I’d ever seen. There must have been outlets for the smoke that I couldn’t see in the dark ceilings of the caves. I stood there waiting nervously, hoping to see Bracca returning soon.

The interior, from what I could see of it, was a great deal like I’d heard it would be, with narrow, passage-like streets that led outward to the entire city. These were truly concave or hollowed out mountains, like I’d heard about. The “streets” were made of shiny black stone, and uneven like you might expect of the floors of what was essentially a massive cave. The ceilings were so high in a few places that I couldn’t quite make them out. The only light came from torches on the walls, and there were many of those.

It seemed like a long time passed before I saw Bracca and his two officers returning. He gave some quick orders to one of them and then came directly over to me.

“The king has granted you an audience, and a meeting with him and his advisors.” He drew me closer to him and walked me over to a bend in the wall, trying for a bit of privacy. “Hendris is not happy about you being here, as you can imagine, but he could hardly say no.”

“Does he know who I am?

“No, I thought it best if you tell him yourself. He only knows you’re claiming kinship with his family.”

“Why didn’t you tell him I’m the former king’s son?”

“That’s a sensitive subject at the moment. Something happened quite recently—around the same time you arrived in the Liminal. Now things are worsening by the day.”

“What? But it seems all right to me—what’s going on here?”

“A large crack has appeared in the king’s Blood Throne, and all the gilded walls of the throne room are now turning black. They didn’t want us to know, but one of my captains ‘took a wrong turn,’ or so we claimed. He opened the wrong door, and we saw too much. Hendris talked to me in confidence about it, though he wasn’t at all happy.”

“What? But why is that happening? And do they really call it the Blood Throne?”

“Yes. The throne is actually built over a large, red crystal, a mineral called Painite, as I recall. Very rare and expensive. It’s a huge piece and very ancient and supposed to have a kind of consciousness or awareness about it. Take that with a grain of salt, though. It’s the largest mineral stone ever mined in one piece from these caves, being about the size of a small boulder. The golden throne chair itself is built over it, and the crack appeared around a month ago. It appears to be widening. Meanwhile, as I said, the gilded wood is turning black, as are the walls of the throne room.”

“But what’s happening to it? Was there some kind of earthquake that could have caused the crack? Some mold inside the gilding?”

“Not that they can find. Nothing has been able to clean it away so far. They’re worried, but trying to keep it quiet, so as not to cause any panic with their citizens. Hendris is trying to contain the situation.”

“And then we arrive, right in the middle of his crisis. Good timing. No wonder everyone is on edge around here.”

“You sensed that too? Yes, they’re very uneasy, but we have to go see him. Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be, I guess.”

Bracca nodded, whispering to me. “He’s granted us an audience, so we need to make our case to him and his council.”

“Make our case? Do we have a case? All I know is that my mother was married to their king, according to you and your father. She had a child with him and then she ran away and put some kind of glamour on me to hide me for most of my life. I don’t personally have any proof of anything, and neither do you. Did you tell him we were here to take his throne?”

“Keep your voice down. No, of course not. I simply told him who we think you are—kin to him and his family. That you’ve come to meet him, to find out if he might be your long-lost relation.”

“And what was his reaction to that?”

“He was skeptical, as you can well imagine. Or he pretended to be.” He gazed down at me. “But then he hasn’t seen you yet. Come along,” he said, taking my arm. “Let’s not keep him and the council waiting. And no matter what happens, stay close by my side. Don’t let anyone separate us. And keep your hood up. You’re drawing too much attention from the guards.”

And on that ominous note, he took my arm and began to lead me into the interior of the caves.