Cora could agree with that, but…
“What about Mareleau?” she said. “We’re going to make her walk with Noah through El’Ara?”
There was one solution, of course. Once they were on the other side of the Veil, Cora could try to worldwalk her companions to the meadow she and Valorre had accidentally traveled to last summer. Now that they’d accomplished their goal of locating the tear, it was no longer necessary to travel by traditional means. Still, she resisted bringing the option up. If there was one way to make her return to El’Ara even more unwelcome, it would be to worldwalk there.
“I do have legs, you know,” Mareleau said with a withering stare.
Cora returned the look. “You also recently had a baby.”
“I can still manage to walk.”
I have a saddle. Valorre rippled with indignation.And I’m quite comfortable to ride. Everyone knows this.
“We won’t need to walk far,” Ailan said. “The Elvyn have woven triggers throughout the land that are set off by human intruders. A pathweaver will come straight to us.”
That made sense, for that was exactly how the Elvyn had found her and Valorre when they’d entered El’Ara the first time. But Garot had been unable to use his pathweaving in the Blight—
The blood left Cora’s face as she realized there was another thing she hadn’t discussed with Ailan. She’d assumed her whispers had told her, but…
“Ailan, do…do you know about the Blight?”
A furrow formed between her brows.
Mother Goddess, she didn’t know. Cora desperately did not want to be the one to tell her, and she’d find out for herself soon enough. But didn’t Ailan deserve a warning at least?
“The land around the Veil is dying,” Cora confessed. “It’s a consequence of themorapouring from El’Ara into the human world and being unable to return. Your people call the dying land the Blight. Pathweavers can’t use their magic to traverse that part of El’Ara. The triggers may not work there either.”
Ailan paled with every word. “I didn’t know. Though I should have. Of course there would be consequences to losing El’Ara’s heart.”
“Having to walk sounds like the least of our worries,” Mareleau said in a dry tone that somehow alleviated Cora’s guilt. Not that the Blight was in any way Cora’s fault, yet she wished she’d have told Ailan sooner. Even Cora had been saddened to see the dead, colorless land of the Blight. She couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be for someone who loved that land.
Ailan steeled her expression. “It changes nothing where our plans are concerned. Let’s proceed.”
* * *
They leftthe wagon deep in the woods away from the road and set the two horses free. Valorre was rather smug about this, but Cora hoped the horses were intelligent enough to make their way back to the Forest People. The wagon itself would have to remain where it was. Thankfully, it posed little threat as evidence. There was nothing inside that would reveal it was ever home to Ailan, only that it belonged to a nomad. Anyone who stumbled upon it would likely assume the owner had met an ill fate while camped there.
Ailan shouldered Mareleau’s bag of belongings while Cora touched each of her weapons in turn—bow, quiver, dagger. A comforting routine in preparation to step off a cliff and return to a realm she wasn’t welcome in. Noah was nestled close to his mother’s chest in the carrying sling Salinda had gifted Mareleau. Together the party left the woods and approached the road. Dawn was spilling farther over the landscape with every minute, requiring more caution as they crossed over to the cliffside. Cora’s gaze darted left and right, her mental shields down, senses extended in case anyone approached. They were still alone. Still safe.
Ailan stepped to the edge and reached into the sky. Her hand disappeared at once. “Cora, do you want to go first?”
Devils, no, but what choice did she have? If Ailan went first, Cora and Mareleau would be left to find the tear on their own. And she wasn’t going to make Mareleau go first.
Swallowing her fear, she took a step—
I think not, Valorre said darting in front of her.I will test the safety of the tear. We can’t rely on those inelegant dragons, after all. With his head held high, he trotted toward Ailan’s half-invisible hand. In a matter of heartbeats, he was gone.
Cora had to admit, her arrogant friend had emboldened her. With a fortifying breath, she stepped to the edge of the cliff and extended her hand near Ailan’s until it plunged into nothingness. She paused, releasing her breath in a trembling exhale.
Then she stepped off the cliff…
And stepped onto colorless earth. The Blight was blindingly bright after the dim light of dawn, invading her senses with shades of gray. The only color was the cloud-speckled blue sky overhead.
Valorre stood before her, tossing his mane. Despite his earlier confidence, he radiated relief at seeing her hale and whole on this side of the Veil. Cora stepped out of the way to give room to her companions. The Veil was nothing more than a wall of swirling particles of pale mist. Even though it looked like something soft and insubstantial, she knew firsthand that it would feel as firm as a wall should she try to touch it. Aside from the tear, she supposed.
A hand shot through the mist, quickly followed by a body. Mareleau planted both feet before the Veil, her eyes squeezed tight, her arms wrapped protectively around Noah in his sling.
Cora put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re all right, Mare. You made it.”
