Pulling her favorite dark blue knit sweater over head and fluffing out her hair, Elysia responded. “It wasn’t like that. And from what I recall, there was a time when you and the prince were friends.”
“Youth is a mystery, Elysia. It’s best we leave its transgressions unexamined.”
Elysia sat down on the bed, rubbing her hands together nervously, and watched Triz pour out a thimbleful of the tincture with the confidence of a woman who had poured out one too many shots in her day. She stared down at the small gulp of tincture, her nose wrinkled in distaste. Dark, murky liquid stared back at her, promising to taste foul if the smell was any indication.
“Right, okay.” Elysia took the thimble and gave it another cursory sniff. It smelled like a dead animal.
The girls held out their respective mugs, and Beatriz grinned darkly. “Bottoms up, sister dear.”
All three downed their glasses, but only Elysia began to fall.
Through time, space, she didn’t know.
She could hear the river’s song, and she followed it closely until she fell harshly on the cold, damp ground.
Chapter 32
Elysia sat for a breath,feeling the dirt between her fingers, the damp against her legs. The sky and lands were awash with shades of the ever darkening twilight, but in the distance, she could still see where the day bled into night. Rusty cardinal ink blotches dispersing into the dark. The blood sky made the hairs on her arms stand upright. She had grown used to only gray, and the bloodied copper above made her nervous.
For the first time, the song which haunted her dreams did not play out into the night, nor did she wear the ethereal slip of a dress she had expected to find herself clothed in. More importantly, she did not feel as though she was about to be ripped back to her true body, which rested in Relaclave. Bare feet planted in the damp river bank soil, she realized she felt solid and anchored to this place.
Fear shivered up her skin, making her pull at the sleeves of her sweater. She couldn’t think of things such as being stuck here. It would do her no good. She was here now, and that was what she had wanted.
Elysia stood and began walking alongside the iridescent oil slick river. It appeared endless. Winding through the twilight into the burnt red over the horizon. Her bare feet becamechilled, numbing with each step along the shore. In the distance, the bonewood trees stood sharp against the barren landscape, their fingers whittled to severe points.
Silent nothingness wrapped around her, making her spirit uneasy. She’d grown up in the capital of her kingdom. Someone was always shouting. Builders were always banging. Feet and wooden wheels cracking against cobblestones. Silence was a made-up construct in the heart of Relaclave. But here, it felt as though it might smother her.
Cloaked in eerie quiet, she wondered if she had imagined the man in her dream. Because how could anything or anyone possibly live here? And yet, the ruddy sky and rushing purple-blue water gave her hope that somewhere past her line of sight there was not only life, but the answers which she sought from this realm.
Soot fell like a soft blanket of death upon Kava, stealing the color and warmth a little more with each passing day. The decay was as gentle as a lullaby, coaxing her people easily to their doom. The process so gradual that no one even bothered to protest. She hadn’t realized just how bleak it really was until she stood here, in death’s home with its strange silence and jagged trees, and yet there was still color blooming across the sky.
Elysia walked for what felt like ages with no idea if she was growing closer to where she needed to be. She hadn’t the faintest idea where to find the god of death, only that he did indeed live here. Tired and frustrated, she stopped walking and blew out a long breath.
I could be going in the entirely wrong direction, and I would have no idea.
Crouching low beside the river, she reached out to let its dark waters brush her hand. It moved swiftly beneath her skin. Hand hovering, but not touching, she watched, mesmerized by its colors.
The silence broke with the sudden terrible sound of snarls loud enough to jolt her back from the water. Falling onto her ass, she scrambled to stand, immediately snapping to attention. She scanned the seemingly endless expanse all around her, searching for the source of the sound. Heart racing and body now poised to run, she saw nothing. This fact did nothing to ease her anxiety. She was the only person for miles—if an animal was snarling and barking, then it had likely fixed its sights on her, and being unable to see her oncoming attacker was not a good sign.
All at once, three small dogs with barks twice the size of their bodies were diving and snapping around her legs. Elysia froze. There had beennothing,and now there were three dogs pawing at her ankles. Clearly, this realm did not work as hers did. Then again, she’d never lived with magic and knew nothing of its rules.
Heart slowly calming, she kneeled now that she knew death was not imminent. Tiny with apple shaped heads and big brown eyes, the dogs greeted her warmly. She smiled, running her hands over their small frames. One was fluffy with shades of black and copper. The other two sported matching tan coats of gleaming cropped fur.
“Where did you come from?” she murmured.
The dark fluffy one instantly sprang into her arms, clambering up to nuzzle into her neck. Holding the creature securely, she stood, brushing her fingers over its soft body. The other two acted like little demons, nipping at her pants, growling and tugging.
In spite of what looked like extremely sharp small teeth, the small dogs didn’t hurt her as they nipped and headbutted against her legs. She’d spent time with enough of the prince’s creatures to understand when she was being herded.
“Alright, alright then. I’m right behind you.”
Pleased with her answer, they turned tail, immediately trotting off to the undead gods only knew where.
Walking leisurely behind her new escorts, she peered down at the one who’d been smart enough to mooch a ride. A burgundy velvet collar circled its small neck, but she couldn’t see a name sewn into the fabric or anything else that would give her any information. She brushed a thumb over the smooth velvet.
Still rubbing her thumb over the velvet collar, her fingers curled into the animal’s fur. It slept on peacefully, a soft buzz blowing out of its dark lined lips with each breath. A thin layer of wariness soaked through to her bones as she walked. The heavy beat of her heart played in her ears and each exhale sounded trapped in her chest.
Over her shoulder, the river disappeared while a forest of barren trees loomed ahead. Toes numb and aching, she entered the woods. The silence grew even thicker alongside it the darkness of night. The Lovestone Woods in Relaclave were a sanctuary, but there was no peace to be found here tonight.
