13. Tahlia

Fara grabbed Tahlia’s sleeve. “No. Nooooo. Please make it stop, Tahlia.”

As they walked between the standing stones, the sound increased in volume, the noise a humming or howling… The notes nearly melded into a dark melody, but just when the sound started to follow a pattern, it broke apart like a dropped glass.

The stones’ presence weighed on her—in the way an Unseelie monster’s energy pressed on a Seelie. It felt like the whole area had eyes and the kingdom was watching her.

“Maybe the stones have some old magic still spilling from them?” Tahlia asked in a whisper.

Vodolija growled quietly, indicating she wasn’t thrilled by the feel of the stones either.

“Walk faster.” Fara sped up, hurrying out of the stone circle and into the Kingdom of Spirits.

The mist split as they entered the kingdom. Mountains tore at low clouds, snow highlighted sharp peaks, and complete darkness indicated deep crevasses. No bats squeaked, no birds chirruped to announce the approaching dawn, and not even the sound of flowing water or the smallest of creatures rummaging through the scrub broke the eerie quiet. Even as the light paled their surroundings, the ground remained black. A slick mud covered most of the area with thick patches of moss-like islands in the morass.

Fara whimpered and held up her fists like she would hit her way out of this.

“I don’t think you can punch ghosts, Fara.”

The silver stars bled into the milk-white of dawn. The humming and howling finally faded away.

“I can try.”

Shaking her head at Fara, Tahlia squinted to see Marius and Ragewing. They wound through a stretch of flat land. Tahlia, Vodolija, and Fara wouldn’t be able to keep their presence a secret for long; there weren’t any trees for cover anywhere nearby, and the new day exposed their position.

What was she going to say to Marius? She had to get him to talk, to tell her what he felt about everything—them, the commander, the order. She had to crack him open and get him to spill his secrets. Maybe it was presumptuous to think she was the one who could help him, but the way he’d distanced himself so suddenly pointed to a connection between whatever was making him act oddly and their relationship. Yes, their relationship, or the lack thereof, was involved somehow. She just knew it.

Tahlia, Vodolija, and Fara journeyed on, stopping now and then to nibble on the bread and dried meat Fara had brought along. Tahlia had a waterskin, which she shared with Vodolija, but they would have to find more water for the dragon or she’d begin to suffer from dehydration. Dragons were tough, but two days of no water would be detrimental. Tahlia was glad she and Vodolija had trained hard with the order and toughened up over the last two weeks, because this place pulled the energy from her limbs. It was likely doing the same to the dragons.

“Do you feel more tired than you should be?” Tahlia asked Fara as she packed away the remnants of their latest snack.

“Definitely. I’m being slowly drained like I’m the skin of water and there’s this invisible giant who—” Her words fell away and her arms, which she’d stretched out to demonstrate the size of the giant, dropped as she looked at Tahlia.

Tahlia shook from restrained laughter as Fara glared.

Fara swore and made a rude gesture with her hand. “Screw you, Tahlia.”

“I love you, friend.”

Fara growled. “Yes, yes. Sure.” She tromped off, muttering about death and revenge.

Tahlia went to Vodolija’s head and patted her snout gently. The dragon blinked at her like a big cat and tilted her head, the spiraling horns there barely missing Tahlia’s face. She smiled and kissed Vodolija’s cheek.

Fara was walking backward slowly, eyeing them. “Did you just kiss a dragon? I had thought I saw you do that out of the corner of my eye earlier, but I thought surely I was mistaken.”

Tahlia shrugged. “Doesn’t every rider kiss their dragon?”

“Ha. No. I’m going with a firm no. They aren’t cuddly.”

“They can be.” Tahlia rubbed her nose against Vodolija’s snout. “I think she’s tired. Should we find a spot to rest?” Tahlia looked from Vodolija to Fara. “I worry about losing sight of them even though these flatlands appear to go on for miles more.”

Vodolija started forward, gently bumping Tahlia and letting her know she didn’t need a rest.

“I guess not.” Tahlia shrugged and followed Fara, Vodolija stepping slow and steady beside her.

They continued on for hours. Time moved differently here as if

Night unfurled over the kingdom, blanketing them in silver starlight and shadows blacker than the darkest paint. It was as if the dark here drew in the light, allowing no starlight to penetrate its depths. The sounds began again, a low howl, then a hum of what sounded like a chorus of people. The hairs on her arms rose. But even though it was terrifying, this kingdom was incredibly interesting and the furthest thing from boring.

Vodolija bumped her roughly and nodded toward her own back. She wanted Tahlia to mount up.

Tahlia waved Fara over and they did as suggested. Relief coursed over Tahlia the second she hit the saddle. They could be airborne in moments if that howling turned into a real threat.

The scent of steel and rain wafted through the air, and Vodolija’s head whipped to the side. Tahlia unsheathed her dagger, her heartbeat speeding up. Past a bush heavy with faeberries, a shimmering golden light blurred and wavered.

“What was that?” Fara tightened her hold around Tahlia”s waist.

Grunting, Tahlia gripped her dagger and leaned forward in the saddle, squinting to see the anomaly better, but it was only a smear of inconsistent light. Vodolija growled, the sound vibrating through Tahlia.

“Hold, darling. Wait.”

The light went out. The scent of metal and ozone immediately disappeared.

Vodolija shook like she wanted to rid herself of the whole experience, then she launched into the sky before Tahlia could order her not to. Fara let out one shriek as they flew into the starlight, the dark below like an ocean teeming with monsters.

“We have to go back home,” Fara shouted over the wind.

“We can’t. You made your decision to come. I’m not leaving Marius.”

“He’s very big. Whatever in the hells that was, well, he can handle it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Do you have any guesses on what made that noise?”

“Ghosts?”

“Please. Let’s just go back and you can get all your fellow riders and return and save the day.”

“I wish, but that’s not how it would go. We left without permission. We would get kicked out if we were lucky, and Marius would be punished as well. Plus, there’s a murderous commander in charge now and she isn’t exactly my best friend.”

Fara let out various agonized noises and set her head against Tahlia’s back. “We are going to die.”

“No, we aren’t. You will be able to tell your grandchildren about this grand adventure.”

“Don’t wish children on me! Can you even imagine how worried and protective I’d be about them?”

Tahlia snorted. “They would have no lives at all.”

“That’s the truth. But they would be alive.”

Tahlia chuckled despite the cold fear spreading through her bones.

Whatever had made that noise wanted to be heard. But why? To draw Tahlia, Fara, and Vodolija closer to inspect? To ask for help? They would never know if they didn’t land.

“Let’s go down, Vodolija,” Tahlia said, knowing somehow that the dragon could hear over the wind and understand her. “We have to face this.”

The dragon dove and Fara argued the whole way down.