For the first time in days, Nesto was actually quiet as he walked, focusing on the peaks that towered over them, staring at every creek and boulder as if they held the answer to the universe. The other four men that Luna had sent along with them talked among themselves, butseemed more annoyed than anything that they were being forced on this side quest.
Fox didn’t know what he was looking for, yet he was moving with a purpose he couldn’t explain. There was something out here he could use. He had to find something—do something—before Luna got Eha’s child to show them the way.
A sharp breeze swept through the trees, and Fox closed his eyes for a second, breathing it in. It smelled of salt and sea. He turned without thinking, moving toward where the wind had blown from. He almost expected to press through the branches of the trees only to find the ocean on the other side. Perhaps the mountains were all an illusion, after all.
“What in the king’s name is this?” It took a second for Fox to realize Junior Specialist Belni wasn’t just talking to his buddies. He was looking at Nesto and Fox, but his finger pointed to a small set of branches hanging low on a tree.
“The tree?” Fox asked, voice flat.
Belni gave a frustrated wave, poking at the branches. “This!”
Fox stepped closer until he saw the branches he was looking at weren’t part of the tree at all. Another step and he knew they weren’t branches either.
Bones.
They were tied with some type of twine, twisted into a vaguely familiar shape. He looked around and saw another set of bones farther into the forest, twisted into the same shape, and then he saw the skull—the very human-looking skull pierced through with branches, high in the trees. It had been there a while—long enough for the tree to keep growing through it after it was placed there. Perhaps it was a good sign that whoever had put it up there might be dead by now.
“Are those bones?” Nesto asked, stepping up beside Fox.
“It looks like it.”
“They’re shaped like antlers,” he said, a slight quiver beneath his tone.
Fox’s head whipped back up, looking at the shape again andrealizing that Nesto was right. And then he remembered exactly why the shapes looked familiar—he’d seen them in Sofia’s book.
“Ciervado,” he whispered, his lips numb. There hadn’t been a drawing of the actual creature in the book—only the bone markings it hung in the trees to mark its territory and warn off others. But the chapter on the faery had been clear. Don’t wander into their territory accidentally. Don’t confront it. Don’t expect to win a fight.
He felt a small thrill of excitement. This was a good thing. He could use this to his advantage as a way to truly convince Luna it was too dangerous here. He just needed time to think.
The low rumbling of something between the trees and a deep huff of breath that rattled in the air interrupted any beginnings of a thought. Fox shuddered. The bones around them swayed in a wind he couldn’t feel. The scent of the ocean was gone now, replaced by the smell of rotting meat.
“We should go,” Fox said, taking a step back directly into Nesto. The others muttered sounds of agreement, retreating away from the bone art. A snapping branch to the left had Fox whirling around, his blade held in two hands between him as a giant shadow emerged from between the trees.
Junior Specialist Belni screamed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
IAN
I think the time has come to bring down the gods of old. Until we control the sea and sky, we cannot command the land. I beg you to let me unleash the wrath of your holiness onto these creatures. They have magic, but we have our minds and our might. Like the faeries of the forest, they can be felled by iron. With the newly forged alliance with Terdun, we can import enough of the metal to truly present a threat to the dragons. Ultimately, I am yours to command, but know I am ready when you will it.
-Letter from Chief Commander Grendl to King Mallory, Sun Cycle 342
The square was restless as the people of Suvi filtered in, encircling the podium that sat against the inner wall of the city. Ian found a spot along the edge of the crowd, beneath the shade of a church steeple. His head was throbbing, and he wasn’t sure if he was still drunk from the night before or if the hangover was seeping through at last. He’d spent the night downing whisky at Isadora’s grave, trying his best to forget everything, only to wake up on the cold ground to the sound of the square bells ringing. At least the wooden block was missing—it wasn’t an execution.
The crowd sucked in a breath as the king’s hand, Fernando, stepped onto the podium, followed by the prince, with his head down, and ChiefCommander Harlow. The king appeared last, eyes sweeping over the crowd, the jeweled crown on his head catching the sunlight. He flashed a white, toothy smile, as if his city hadn’t been burning over the past blink, and waved out at the crowd. Some cheered. All clapped.
Ian took a slow breath in and slotted his mask into place.
“My people,” the king said, voice ringing out through the funnel. “We’ve faced troubling times over the past blink, and I fear our journey through the worst isn’t over. But I’ve also seen the strength of our people. The strength in this city. I’ve witnessed resilience and community—neighbor helping neighbor to pick up the pieces of the tragedy we’ve faced.”
Ian held in a snort—he’d seen neighbor turning on neighbor. Two days ago, he’d been called to a house where someone had taken it upon themselves to raid another family’s home, convinced they were harboring Sofia. They’d had a blade to the father’s throat by the time Ian showed up with his unit. They had found nothing. As he knew they would.
“These continue to be trying times as the resistance terrorizes those they swear to protect. They’ve betrayed you and then asked for your worship and your aid. They’ve turned their back on you in the name of their extinct gods in hopes you won’t notice the horrors they perpetrate. And for what? They’ve fed no one. Saved no one.
“Hear me. That discomfort you are feeling—the discomfort we are all feeling—it’s working. Even now we’re flushing out the rats. Thanks to the hard work of our king’s men and all of you, we continue to root out the resistance and take step after step toward a true and lasting peace. We’ve arrested seventy-three Dragonborn and Dereyans found to have aided in the resistance’s rampage. They’ve tried to turn us against each other, but it is us versus them. Peace versus violence. Order versus chaos.”
Ian scanned the crowd as some shuffled their feet. But they all listened intently. How many were believing this? Ian’s jaw ached as it clenched tighter.