Kael returned to maintaining his weapons, and I picked up a dagger to do the same. My hands moved automatically, muscle memory taking over, while my thoughts drifted back to her.
I shifted slightly, forcing my focus back where it belonged. This wasn’t the time.
Not yet.
Luckily, the door burst open. There was only one person in this village lacking manners to this extent: Zephyr.
Zephyr had recovered fully by the fifth day, immediately throwing himself into reconnaissance mapping despite Kane's pointed suggestions about rest. The Fae tolerated our presence with patient amusement, though I caught wariness in certain glances. We were outsiders, guests, perhaps, but not truly home. Zephyr tested boundaries left and right like only he could.
“Ever heard of knocking? Who raised you?” Kael demanded.
“Oh, stop being so uptight, Kael. This is why you’re without a wife at your advanced age.”
“Excuse me? I’m only thirty-five.”
“Sure, keep telling yourself that.” Zephyr moved on immediately, but the look of disbelief on Kael’s face made me want to burst out laughing. I stopped myself.
“Anyway,” Zephyr continued, “I did a perimeter check, and it’s incredible. The defensive magic around the place is at a level I’ve never seen before. Even the King’s bedroom doesn’t have this kind of defensive measure.”
It made sense. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Lyralei and the Fae of the Veil, who had kept Vaelthorne protected and safe for generations under the careful watch of the King’s entire army.
“I couldn’t even find a way to exit. Good thing Lyralei is a friend, because we could easily become her prisoners if she felt like it.”
I could tell Kael didn’t like that. It wasn’t that he thought Lyralei would hurt us, Kael didn’t trust anybody except the three of us.
“It’s fine,” I reassured him. “This is Seris’s home and her people. We can relax.”
Kael thought for a moment and seemed to agree.
Seris belonged here in ways I never would. The realization should have relieved me. Instead, it settled like ice between my ribs. Part of me wished I belonged to Vaelthorne and its peace and joy. Instead, my team and I belonged to the horrors of war.
The rest of weapon maintenance went by in silence. We were given the okay to return to normalcy. We put on our equipment. Kael and I sheathed our various daggers into the sheaths stitched or buckled down to our clothing. Zephyr tested the strings and aim of his crossbow, slinging his arrows over his shoulder. Kane put on his spiked gauntlets and tested his axe, one that only he could wield successfully. It was far too heavy for me to swing around, let alone carry the entire time. Kane carried it with one hand like it was a thin branch.
Just as we finished and began cleaning up, someone knocked on our door. It was a bit early for Seris to come back.
“You see that? That’s how it’s done.” Kael threw his thumb at the door, gesturing toward Zephyr, who didn’t even register the words.
Kane went to the door and opened it. It was Lyralei.
“We have somewhere to go.” She started without greeting.
“Where?”
"The Citadel." Her voice held no preamble. "Seris is already there."
Before we could ask what the Citadel was, she turned and left, expecting us to trail her. We followed Lyralei to the village square and entered a small warehouse. Lyralei waved a hand, and a case of stairs leading underground appeared.
A Citadel underground?
We descended after Lyralei, and the sight took our breaths away. We walked into the biggest cavern we had ever seen, waterfalls flowing from an unknown source in the ceiling into pits that seemed to stretch below endlessly.
The Citadel rose from Vaelthorne's earth like a monument to ambition made architecture. White stone spiraled upward in defiance of physics, towers braiding together at impossible angles. Veil-light reminiscent of the Festival of Veiled Light danced across surfaces carved with script so ancient even I couldn't decipher it.
Seris stood at the entrance, marveling at the structure. When she saw us, she took a moment to wave. We walked up to her, following behind Lyralei.
"Hey…" Seris muttered, her eyes spanning the ceiling.
“This is…” Zephyr started.
