“So he’s a rebel elf who mated with a big Skeldaryn woman. Doesn’t sound like such a bad guy,” Raef comments.
She shoots him a glare. “More like raped, then tried to have killed when she was with child.”
“Okay then,” Raef nods in apology. “Kill a nobody elf who wronged you and your mother. Too easy.”
He raises his glass to her, and she meets it with her own.
After that, Gaethri mostly speaks, telling us of Dothron and how else it’s been affected by the curse. Their home inside the mountain remains more or less the same, and for a long time, they thought nothing of it, as most of the Dothronites never leave the mountain. But things began to change the last few hundred years or so. As creatures on the outside became more desperate, they began to act more daring, finding ways into the mountain to hunt.They’re able to fight them off and keep them out most of the time, but every now and then, things sneak in.
And unfortunately, his whole family fell victim to one of those unlucky times.
The effects of the cursed veil seem to be getting worse everywhere. It needs to end.
After dinner, we all head to our rooms and settle in for a good night of rest before another day of traveling. I share with Meela, and we don’t talk much before we pass out.
Chapter 35
We’re on our final day of traveling. Day five.
The last couple of days were uneventful. We rode most of the days on the dirt road, passing a few trade carriages or random riders who all gave us peculiar looks but continued on. We practiced magic and basic defensive moves as we took breaks, stopping at more inns for the night. We all ate dinner together, but they were quieter. Everyone seemed a little more tense with our arrival looming.
After looking at the map on our first break of the morning, we determine that we most likely won’t make it by night, and we should stay at the closest inn so we can get a fresh start in the morning. We’ll be exploring caves all day, after all. We can’t begin to estimate how long it will take.
So we ride on. The foliage has begun to shift since yesterday. Less open meadows and more mountains. Though it’s difficult to tell how tall some of them are. Their peaks disappear into the veil. All we have is the map, which depicts the mountain ranges. Around the mountains are many clusters of ashwood trees. Not the black-barked trees like the ones near Ellyar, but instead a light shade of gray. Almost white, with lighter veins that run down the trunks that almost seem to glow. Their leaves look black as they dance in the wind, but upon closer inspection, they’re more of a dark blue. They almost look dead, but they’re very much alive.
It's a beautiful sight.
As I look around I realize… I don’t really miss home. I’m enjoying being out here, seeing the rest of the continent, talking to different types of people at the inns.
And being with my present company.
Finally sharing this secret I’ve been carrying alone for years has made me feel strangely close to these people in a way I never imagined. Can I fully and completely trust any of them? Maybe not. But I’m choosing to anyway.
Daegan falls back beside me as we slow our horses for a stretch. I keep my gaze forward.
“I’m sorry, Elle” he says with a steady but low voice. We’re far enough back now that no one should be able to hear us at a normal volume.
I continue to avoid his gaze, looking at the lively trees instead, pretending that him using a nickname for me doesn’t have any effect. “What for? There’s nothing to be sorry about. I threw myself at you when you didn’t want it. Not your fault.”
His silence beside me feels like a dagger in the chest, and I’m annoyed with myself for still having hope when he’s made it clear where he stands.
Finally, he speaks, and it’s so low I barely hear him. “It’s complicated.”
“Okay.” I don’t care to argue about it again and make a fool of myself.
“I don’t want you to keep avoiding me…”
“I thought you were avoiding me.”
“I was giving you time to cool off…”
“Okay, well, I’m not,” I snap, still avoiding looking his way. I see him out of the corner of my eye watching me though.
“You let Rhydra train you yesterday…” It’s true. She showed me some moves to evade an enemy in hand-to-hand combat. She also showed me a few different ways to use my dagger. Daegan pretended not to watch too closely, but I knew the whole time he was.
“So?” I finally look at him, and his mouth tugs just a little. “She’s an excellent warrior.”
“She is.” He nods in agreement. An extended pause follows. “I just want you to have a clear head. I’m… worried about you.”
