I paused, watching a young boy approach a vendor whose stall was draped in shimmering, silk-spun tunics. He reached into his pocket and offered a glowing, pulse-warmed stone in exchange for the fabric.
Their lives were so simple.
Vesuva slithered beside me as I walked forward.
I had no plan for the day, but the knowledge that Talon was occupied at the border offered a rare chance to explore the city at my own pace. I hoped to spend some time by the river, and possibly catch a glimpse of Talon if I walked to the furthest end.He may not be by the gate, but it was worth trying to catch a glimpse of him in waking life.
A woman at a spice stall froze as I passed, her eyes growing wide as they landed on the massive serpent at my heels. She clutched a pouch of dried roots to her chest and stepped back.
I huffed and kept walking, passing by a glorious fountain the color of midnight. The spout shot out a cobalt tinged water and with every blow, small glimmers floated and landed in the waiting hands of the squealing children standing by.
Smiling, I followed the hollow roar of water through the cavern’s ribs and stopped just by the river bank.
I hopped over the slick stones with a grace I did not know I possessed, Vesuva tickling the back of my calves with her close movements.
I settled onto a cluster of boulders and let out a long breath.
This bank was hauntingly similar to the one in Talon’s cave, yet more vibrant, more wild. Deep, velvet moss blanketed the stone in a lush carpet, and while Talon’s private river held only the silver flash of fish, this current showcased thick, slimy bodies weaving through forests of glowing green seaweed.
Watching the blur of life moving through the stream, my thoughts drifted to the family I had left behind.
I hoped they knew I was safe. I hoped they could sense that I was happy, a far more vibrant version of myself than the shell of a person I had been in Haelen. Though I wished for nothing more than to be with them again, I knew the possibility was unlikely.
I could never return to Haelen without a bounty being placed upon my head. My family would never truly be safe in my presence again, and the reality of that exile settled like a cold boulder in my gut.
I traced the edge of a glowing blue mushroom cap and let out a sigh.
Life would have been simpler with an Elarthai. I would have been a quiet wife in a quiet village, untouched by the shadows. But I would never have been truly happy.
Despite our recent disagreement, Talon made me happy. He made me feel safe and he made me feel strong, things a typical mortal could never have offered me.
I looked beyond the rushing water, where obsidian spires rose like the teeth of a dragon. My gaze flicked to my right and there stood the massive stone gate, marking the entrance of the city I had arrived in mere days ago.
I stood and dusted off my tunic, my eyes fixed on those bars. Vesuva stayed close behind me, her long tail dipping into the water with every curve of her body, leaving small ripples in the stillness.
When I reached the fence, I gripped two thick obsidian bars between my hands and rose on the tips of my toes.
Beyond the iron was a world that felt both hauntingly close and a thousand years away.
I could see the edge of the Garden of Thrynn, the canopy of the trees swaying like heavy, green velvet, and the corner of the marble wall where Hera and I had been bound.
Leaves in shades of bruised plum and gold scattered across the single hill in view. If I squinted, I could almost see a couple sitting upon the grass, hand in hand.
My lips tugged down as a wave of sadness mixed with relief washed over me. It felt like a lifetime ago that I was the one sitting in the sun, waiting for my life to be handed over to a monster. In a way, it had been, but the man who claimed me was a far cry from the beast I had was taught to fear.
The moment I dropped back onto my heels, the world jarred.
A flash of white tore across my vision, and where there had been only stone a second ago, a woman now stood. Her hair fell down her chest in waves of pale, spectral light.
Her eyes were pinned on me, but they were vacant, unblinking, looking through my soul as if I were nothing more than glass.
Her green gown was tattered at the hem, and her skin was the color of winter bone. I tilted my head, searching for a name or a face in the archives of my memory, but there was only a chilling blankness.
She advanced and her figure flickered, a tree branch passing right through her torso as if she were made of smoke.
I stepped back, my heel catching on Vesuva’s heavy coils. I scrambled onto a large rock to my left, leaping up a set of boulders to get higher, my fingers white-knuckled as I grasped the tops of the bars.
My eyes scanned the border of the sprawling garden, but not even a hair remained in the place of her body.