He waved her off. “This boy takes good care of me. I’ve had less control over my body returning home from a long night out than I do now. He makes sure I get home in one piece.”
“And how, exactly, do you plan on getting up there?” Hazel questioned, hands on her hips, a parent watching their toddler about to do something reckless.
He patted Phillip on the shoulder. The gentle giant responded by bending one foreleg and bowing low, giving Slaideeasier access to the saddle. When they’d righted themselves, the pair turned to face Hazel. “Any more questions?”
Wordlessly, Hazel mounted Nanna before addressing him. “Just one. What now?”
“Follow me.”
Finally happeningupon the sundered section of the Border was… anticlimactic. If Slaide hadn’t pointed it out, she’d have been none the wiser.
“This is it?” she asked, her anticipation fading.
“This is it. Sorry to disappoint.”
“No—it’s just… Well, I was expecting a giant torn hole and scorched earth. I can’t even tell what I’m looking at here.” She cocked her head to the side.
“Do you feel it? The Border?” he asked.
“Is that what it is?” Something was buzzing in her ears. In her bones. It was reminiscent of visiting Agnes’s cottage and passing through her wards, but stronger. More dangerous somehow. As usual, the locket thrummed with nervous energy, growing warmer the closer they advanced.
“Yes. And that’s just the edge of it. It’s stronger the closer you get. Generally, it only affects magic-wielders, though some don’t feel it at all. And For others… it can be rather unpleasant. Are you still feeling ok?”
“I am. So, where’s the hole?” There was no sign of one, and she was growing more curious by the minute.
This earned her a childish smile from Slaide.
“Seriously? Grow up.” She shook her head in disbelief, though she wanted so badly to laugh. He wouldn’t get the satisfaction.
“Right, then. This way. Let’s leave the horses here for now and go on foot. It won’t be far.”
“Should I expect any surprises this time?” She raised a brow.
“You’re in the Wilds. You should always expect a surprise, because then nothing will catch you off guard.”
“Wow, you’re quite the philosopher, aren’t you?”
Slaide snorted and dismounted Phillip. He draped the reins over the horn of the saddle and gave him a pat on the side. Hazel followed suit, sliding off of Nanna’s broad back. It wasn’t much of a distance to the ground, but the pony’s width added some difficulty to the dismount, requiring Hazel to swing her leg quite a bit further. She grunted, barely landing on her feet, and Nanna looked back at her in disapproval before dropping her head to the grass.
Hazel followed Slaide between the trees, the tingling sensation growing more intense as they pressed onward. She was wondering when they would arrive at the actual Border. Surely something so widely known, revered, and feared would be easy to see as they approached. Up ahead, the forest path widened into a clearing. To her dismay, that was right where they headed. She was tired of glades and clearings in forests. They never held anything good.
As if on cue, her line of sight opened up to reveal a new addition to her list ofprobably-not-goodthings.
“What is that?” she gasped.
“What is what?” He asked without looking back at her.
“Thatthing!”She pointed out in front of them at the giant pillar in the center of the clearing.It was…vibrating? Could he feel it, too?
“Oh, that? That’s just an obelisk.”
Oh right. As though she should have just known. Stupid uneducated girl from her stupid backwater town.Of course, it was an obelisk.
“And what do obelisks do?” Because it was making her stomach want to turn inside out just looking at it. Slaide turned slightly to look at her, but before he could so much as open his mouth, she cut him off. “I don’t need to be patronized. Just tell me.”
He sighed. “The obelisks are crucial to the stability of the Border. They work kind of like a fence post, an anchor point for the anti-magic wards that stretch between them, fencing magical things out. The field that makes up the Border itself lies between each obelisk. They provide grounding and a backup source of power should the wards themselves ever fail.”
Interesting indeed.“Is it the obelisks that are failing or the wards?”
