I watch in astonishment as the mountains beyond begin to creep higher and higher into the sky. The white mass is unforgiving on the horizon and truly a sight to see, but I find myself yearning for the deep greens of our own forests and woods.
My eyes peel off the landscape to look at all the Pyrenese walking the road with us. Where I’m bundled in two different layers and a cloak, both the kids and adults are walking around in shirts and pants with no other clothing needed. They also look a lot alike, with their skin light and their hair auburn, red or brown in shade.
The men have a lot of facial hair, probably to cover their faces from the cold around us, while the women all host their hair down their backs in thick braids and intimate twists throughout the front. There’s no distinguishing features on their faces as there are with our Discerni, nothing that tells me if they are human or magically gifted, though I do start to notice the fire under the arms of some of the men and women, mostly on those who wear cropped shirts or dresses.
Actually, there’s no mistaking those flames now.
I know without a doubt that what I saw on the handful of Pyrenese that have visited Bardot was the fire I’m seeing in this city. The flames dart across their arms in red swirls and move in different patterns and strength under their skin, each set of flames unique to that individual.
We ride on through the town until a thick white layer starts to take over the ground below us. I stare at the mounds of frost at the side of the road and smile in awe, loving the way it surrounds all the buildings in a soft embrace.
“This is snow?” I whisper to Lord Daniel, staring at a pile at the foot of one of the homes.
“It is,” his light brown eyes twinkle in response.
I look at the white layer in wonder and pat Millie’s neck, reminding myself to unpack a blanket for her when we get to the stables. The cobblestone road begins to narrow just as we turn a bend, the sound of running water filling the air and splashing up ahead.
To the left is a raging stream that cuts through the homes around it, the deep blue strong in its current and hitting against stone walls that directs its movements south. Our group continues to ride parallel to the stream as it grows wide into a larger river, and end up following it all the way to a bridge that juts over the gushing water.
“Fall Fortress,” Lord Daniel tilts his chin forward.
I turn and look ahead, my mouth nearly dropping at the sight as the fortress comes into view.
Hundreds of large openings span along the mountainside at every level, each of them serving as windows to the city below. Torches flame alongside the snowy peaks as verandas push out of the mountain, the stone ledges acting as balconies for people to gather outside. In fact, if I squint my eyes hard enough, I can see people on those balconies now, most of them laughing and socializing around bonfires of red. Different towers and structures protrude from the mountain’s front, as if someone decided that they also wanted a space to be outside and with the fresh air.
The full of the mountain almost reminds me of the Palisades, but where our buildings are constructed at the very top, this fortress is builtintoit. And that’s not to take away from the massive waterfall in the middle of those structures, its water falling down from the snow-covered peaks and feeding into the strong river that runs through the city now behind us.
“We have to ride under that fall to enter the fortress,” Lord Daniel notes, catching my glance.
“Under?” I ask in astonishment, stroking Millie’s neck.
Lord Daniel smiles and nods his head, his hand coming out to his front as he points down the road.
“We’re coming up on it now. See how the road turns left and disappears from view? It bends behind the fall…”
Keane, Desmond, and the Pyrenese soldier are the first to lead our group down that bend behind the fall. All three of them disappear into a thin cloud of mist that rises from the massive pool of water below.
I turn to Lord Daniel and see him watching me with that twinkling kindness still in his eyes, his smile beaming as he reassures me of our steps. He clicks his tongue at the horses and leads us along the path as the water falls loudly to our left.
Almost instantly, my face and body are coated by that thin sheen of mist. The thickness in the air hides Daniel from my view for a moment, but the Discerni Lord appears when we reach the other side of the bend. Keane and Desmond are there as well, as is another man, the three of them sitting tall and proud atop their horses and waiting for the rest of the group to pass through.
I peer at the new man next to Prince Keane. He’s large, wearing a simple pair of worn-down riding boots and pants that look like they’ve seen better days. The beaten down fabric is then paired with a rich, black fur coat that falls over his shoulders, the ensemble leaving his whole chest naked and exposed to the air around us. His chest is pale and accentuates the muscles moving down his abdomen, while a large, faded scar juts across the tip of his heart and works its way down towards his hip. He also has red flames darting under his skin, except they’re much stronger and vibrant than anyone else’s I saw in the city.
I take in the man’s face, noticing that his thick auburn hair and beard could match that of Cal. He looks so rugged in his broad form that if I didn’t know the two of them, I would bet cinerin that they were distantly related. But this man is older than Cal, perhaps mid-thirties, and his features are hardened in a way only well-spent years can do that. Cal still has his youthful grace about him, which is something completely missing about this man.
Lord Daniel and I steer our horses next to Desmond and wait for the rest of the group to walk through the fall. I reach under my cloak and open the bag at my hip, fingers instinctively finding the clay jar and stroking its side. Golem replies with a vibrating hello as the rest of our crew finally passes through the water.
The Prince brothers and the third man all turn away from the fall with a nod, leading us into a tunnel that’s filled with torches and a brightlight shining at the end. I recognize almost immediately that we’re moving inside the mountain, the stiff air greeting us without a fresh breeze.
The man next to Keane leans over and says something that makes the two of them laugh, their group quickly passing through the end of the tunnel as Lord Daniel and I follow behind. The light is blinding when we ride through, and the-
Ancients.
My eyes round in awe at the vast throne room surrounding us.
Pillars upon pillars are lining the walls at our sides, the stone creeping up high and fading into massively vaulted ceilings that can only be found inside mountains. Torches are placed intricately against all of those pillars, the flames illuminating the deep grey of the room and casting it in a glow of red. The three men up front all dismount onto the black tiled floor below us, handing their reins over to two young boys who take the horses and lead them somewhere deeper inside the mountain. I quickly dismount from Millie and lay out a blanket along her saddle, then give her a good rub on the rear before the boys come back and take her away, too.
Once our horses are taken care of, Lord Daniel and I follow behind the three men farther into the throne room. I pull my hood down and take in all the massive pillars around us, my fingers getting tangled in the tips of my hair that is now wavy from the mist.
