It’s hard to imagine that this existed only a day’s walk through the thick woods from the sleepy little town I was raised in. All my life it was just within my reach, and yet, I never ventured forth to claim it. I’m sure there’s a metaphor or a lesson to be learned somewhere in there about a world of infinite possibilities and us being the ones to sell ourselves short, but it is lost on me.
A lot of things are lost on me as I take in the massive structure floating above the lake. The bottom looks almost like a cliff face, jagged rocks that narrow into a point at the bottom. Over the grassy edge at the top of the floating island I can make out spires and turrets that are only just visible because of their height.
Up there is a fae city. Up there is Skyshire. It’s where I belong and once I’m a gilded knight I’ll finally rejoin my people. Not as some low-magic fae, but as a fae with powers in my own right. The magic I gain from my knighthood will be everything. It will be an inheritance for my children, my dowry for my future husband, and my invitation to finally start living life as a fae rather than living like one of the humans I was raised by.
Chapter Nine
Thehumanvillageremindsme a little of Woodsbury Grove except it is smellier, wetter, and dirtier. So, all in all, not very much like my hometown, but I have nothing else to compare it to.
The air reeks of fish and dampness, two things that I didn’t realize that air could smell like. The streets are made of mud with deep divots running through them that were likely made by wagon tracks. Tiny rivers of water sit in the divots, waiting for you to slip into them and soak your boots.
No one offers us kind smiles as we make our way through. No one greets us at all. We’re just a group of strangers passing through their lake town, and strangers we shall remain. I suppose that with them being a transport hub that leads into a portion of Skyshire they are used to strangers, unlike the people of Woodsbury Grove who would flock to meet any outsider.
With how quiet our life was, it didn’t take much to impress us. After all, most everyone thought that Byron was something. The people here that do happen to gaze upon us do so with the heavy-lidded gaze of unimpressed wariness.
Children race barefoot in the mud. I glance at my companions to see Byron looking at them with sad eyes. “Grandfather always said that the world of the fae casts a rot on humanity because it makes us crave what we can never have.” He slides his gaze to me and some of the sadness clears as he twists his mouth in a remorseful smile. “He didn’t mean that about you, of course, Lo. He meant it about their magic and glamourous cities in the skies and how that mortals will trade just about anything to have those things for themselves.”
I arch a brow. “And yet you’re trying to become a knight to impress him. You know the Academy of the Gilded Knights was founded by a fae, right?” Not just any fae, a high fae. The most powerful, pureblooded fae there are. There are knightly orders that were founded by humans, and while there is no longer a distinction between human or fae in who can join, if it bothers his grandfather so much it makes me wonder why he chose this knightly order out of all the ones available.
Byron’s mouth pinches. “I know. Trust me, I wouldn’t be bargaining with any fae if I had a choice.”
He turns away as if his words didn’t just fill me with more questions. What does he mean that he doesn’t have a choice? He’s making it sound like he would rather just stay and be a blacksmith in Woodsbury Grove but that there is something other than his own vain ambitions driving him to become a knight champion.
Mud splashes under my boot as I quicken my pace. I reach out my hand to tap Byron on the arm, my question forming on the tip of my tongue. But before I can voice it, he reaches a building at the edge of the village. It is built right on the lake, directly next to the massive anchor. Set up next to the anchor is some sort of pulley mechanism with a wooden box that has railings next to it.
“Excuse me,” Byron says, not noticing the hand that is half raised to tap him on his shoulder. I nibble on my lip, dropping my hand and tucking it behind my back before anyone notices my failed attempt to get Byron’s attention. I dart a glance at Marvin, but he is staring at Istaria, in fact I don’t know if he has really taken his eyes off her since we met her. Istaria is looking with some trepidation at the wooden contraption.
The man who Byron greeted looks up. He is wearing a ratty cloak that looks like it has never been washed, his hair hangs around his head in dark stringy waves. His face has a weathered look to it that leads me to believe that he spent many of his days in the sun, not in this small village that has been thrown into the shadow of the floating city above. His eyes flick across our group before he smiles, revealing several rotting teeth. “Looking to have a ride up to the city above?” he asks, his voice is low and gravely. “Well, you’ve come to the right place. I’m the ferryman.”
“We want to go up, not across the lake,” I say, stepping up beside Byron. I open my mouth once again to ask my question, but the ferryman cuts me off.
“The city up there is where I’ll ferry you.” He points up. He steps out to the right and toward the wooden structure, patting it so hard it creaks. “You just ride this up and up, and you’ll find yourself in the city of the fae.”
“Ride?That?” I sputter as I look over the wooden contraption. I can see now why Istaria had such a look of distaste directed at it. I hear Marvin swallow hard, but other than a little squeak he doesn’t mention that he’s terrified of heights. We both knew that this was coming up when we set out to attend the Academy of the Gilded Knight, after all, it’s situated in the sky. In Skyshire, where we are headed, a fear of heights is impractical.
Byron races past me, splattering my boots and leggings with mud as he goes before he jumps into the wooden wagon. It is held about an inch above the ground, suspended by thick ropes—that aren’t nearly thick enough to consider holding my weight— that are tied together into a complex mix of knots and pulleys. The ferry sways under his new weight.
“Come on, Lo, don’t tell me that you are afraid.”
I cross my arms. “I’m fearless, but that doesn’t mean that I’m keen on dying.”
He grins as he reaches out to brace his hand on the railing that goes around the majority of the flat cart. “Cowardice is so unappealing on you.”
I grit my teeth and ball my fist striding forward and stepping onto the ferry. I glare up at Byron who just continues to smirk at me. “You can’t scare me, Byron Coalbiter.”
His eyes light up with a challenge that tells me that perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut. Now, he’s probably going to start shaking the ferry when we’re halfway up which will lead to the ropes snapping and then we’ll all fall to our deaths. And all because I can’t back down from a challenge.
As if sensing my thoughts, Marvin sighs loudly behind me, and I feel the platform dip slightly under his weight as he moves on behind me. “If we die, at least, we’ll all die together.”
I’m not entirely sure what about that thought is comforting, but Byron ignores him and holds his hand out to Istaria. “Are you coming, princess?”
She purses her lips but accepts his hand and allows him to help her up. I move to the other side of the ferry partly to make more room for her and partly because I’m a little worried that it will capsize from an uneven weight distribution.
“Four heads are forty crowns.”
I feel my eyes bug out of my head. “That’s ridiculous.”
He shrugs. “You won’t find another way to get up to that city anytime soon, or for any cheaper.”
