27. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

We have bound a race to each of the anchors to help each Great House in ways that no others can. Flames will have the salamanders. Stone will have the gargoyles. Darkness will have the sylphs. Steel will have the dwarves.

~Inni the Destroyer, A History of Magic and Dragons

After our very intense greeting at the city gates, we're mostly silent as we walk through the city towards some place that I don't know. I look around as we walk, taking in my first proper city, and being both in awe and terror with every step.

It's crowded. More than I think I ever expected. More than anyone could have ever explained. People brush past us, literally touching us as we walk in opposite directions. The sounds of chatter and steps are everywhere, so much worse than outside the gate.

At the same time, the city is incredible. Buildings of all shapes and sizes, nearly all of which are built from the stone from the nearby mountains. The cobblestones covering paths between the buildings match the stones they're made of, rust colored with flecks of black in them.

A central pathway like a spoke leads deeper into the city while we pass street after street, each of them leading away from this main road. At the end of the road we're on, I can see what can only be described as a castle in the distance.

We walk in silence past the crowds. They get out of the way as Cole leads us through. He doesn't slow down or wait for anyone. They just… move. I guess being the Prince of Flames has its benefits. As we pass, many of them take a whiff of the air, and their eyes open wide. He was right. Again. Based on how they all react, this will be the biggest news on everyone's lips by the end of the day.

And it's entirely purposeful. Who knew that the best plan to hide my real purpose was to draw attention to me? I hadn't expected so many people to know who Cole was, but I guess that was na?ve of me. He's a prince. Of course, people would talk if he were betrothed.

We pass building after building. More Fae than I can count watch us as we pass them. Well, they watch Cole and ignore the rest of us. Cole just walks without a care in the world. Silent, with eyes forward, just like every day on the walk from Blackgrove here.

And then things change. As we pass an alleyway, he sidesteps into the shadows between the two buildings, and the three of us follow him. Cole lifts his hand, and smoke rises, covering the entrance completely.

I'm not entirely sure what is happening, but Cole, Darian, and Lee all seem to be used to this. For a moment, I want to just rest here, to enjoy some silent darkness. My nerves feel like they're shredded from all the constant stimulation from the crowds, but in the alleyway's solitude, I feel like I can breathe again. At the same time, I'm beginning to accept that my desire to have a period of adjustment doesn't matter at all.

Cole whispers so intensely that no one even thinks about interrupting him. "I'm going to go down to the other end of this alleyway and head to the Keep. You three keep your heads down and stay far away until sundown. When you see the sky turn red, you'll be safe to come to the Keep, and I'll introduce you to my father, Maeve. Darian and Lee, you two can go straight to your rooms."

Darian and Lee nod, and I take a deep breath before nodding as well. "Remember, you still smell like me, Maeve. People will know that you're connected to me if you let them get close. Don't get into trouble."

He doesn't wait for us to even nod before turning and running down the alleyway to the street on the opposite side.

Darian sighs. "Well, what are we supposed to do for the next few hours?"

"Shopping," Lee responds instantly.

That's a confusing response since we're supposed to be keeping our heads down. "Shouldn't we find an inn and just sit in a room?"

Darian shakes his head. "We could do that, but who wants to just sit around when we could go shopping instead? Come on, Maeve, we've been out of the city for so long. I'm thinking we hit the slums where no one knows Cole and we don't need to worry about any run-ins with the House of Steel. Maybe the Sickle District?"

Shopping in the slums of Draenyth. What could go wrong? "Do you really think that's a good idea? Or are you just wanting to shop?"

Lee chuckles. "It'll be fine. We're with you, and there's no way that the Immortals in the Sickle District could do anything to me and Darian. Just don't stray because it's still dangerous."

That does not make me feel any better, but what else am I supposed to do? "Fine. Please do not leave me to be eaten by a thousand Fae."

Darian grins. "On that note… maybe you should stop saying Fae. That's a human thing. We call ourselves Immortals to distinguish us from humans. You should probably do the same thing."

I take a deep breath. I'm not in my old world anymore. Everything is different now. Even the names of things. "Okay, take me shopping. Help me embrace my new Immortal world."

Lee grins at me, and then we're off. To explore a city I never really expected to see.

The Sickle District market is nothing like what I'd expected. I'd thought it would be like Blackgrove's spring markets when traders would come and sell a few bolts of cloth or during the harvests when the farmers would sell their specialty plants. Herbs and fruits and jams. This is… very different.

Hundreds of Immortals walk multiple streets worth of small tents. The sun shines down harshly on the paved ground. The sound of hundreds of merchants hawking their wares blends with the scent of sweaty bodies as I experience a true market for the first time. Fruits and sweets and nuts. Nearly any kind of food I could ever want, and many that I'm terrified of touching. Toys and clothes and tools. There's someone selling swords. Another Immortal with horns and a tail and glasses that's selling books.

And everywhere, they're yelling to get our attention. I'd thought walking down the street was hard.

"Come on, Maeve," Darian says. "They have chocolates." Chocolates?

Lee's excitement is in full force, and she looks like she's about to vibrate out of her body when she sees what Darian's looking at. "Oh, these are the good ones. Spiced with orange pieces."

I'm struggling to care about any kinds of food until Lee hands me three small, dark brown balls. "Spiced orange truffles," she says as she shoves one of hers into her mouth with a grin.

I shrug, not knowing what any of that is. I put one into my mouth, and… I don't know how to explain it. Smooth, crunchy, citrusy. And chocolate. Chocolate is amazing. No merchants brought these to Blackgrove. No one in my entire life had ever mentioned what chocolate was.

Now I know, and now I will eat this as often as it's available. I have a mouth full of chocolate truffle when Darian comes back, a big grin on his face. I should probably tell them thank you. Or smile at them. Or something. I know I should do something.

But I'm enjoying my truffle, and they can wait. The first one, I hadn't known to be excited, so I'd just eaten the whole thing. When I take a bite of the second one, I really experience it. The thick and luxurious outer chocolate and the smooth silky liquid center that's full of the citrus flavor. It all melts in my mouth in the most exquisite way.

When I'm chewing the third and final one, I finally realize that Darian and Lee are both staring at me. I try to say thank you, but my mouth's too full, and it comes out garbled. They both laugh at me, and I don't blame them.

I'd been overwhelmed by all the noise and movement before this. The market and city had just been too much for a girl from the middle of nowhere, but these three little brown balls have somehow, miraculously made things just a little better.

When I finish chewing, I say, "Are these magic?"

Darian laughs outright, and Lee chuckles before saying, "No, they're just chocolates. Tasty treats."

"Well… they're good. Really good. Superb. We should get some for Cole. Maybe if he had more chocolate, he wouldn't snarl so often."

That makes both of them laugh even harder. "Come on," Lee says. "There's a lot more to the Sickle District market than just truffles."

"Yeah, they have bitterberry wine. And…"

"There's more to the Sickle District than food, Darian! Have you ever considered that some people want to look at clothes and bags, too?"

"Please, do not force me to look at clothes with you."

The twins bicker back and forth, and I walk behind them, glancing around me. Now that the chocolate has magically taken away a little of my overstimulation, I'm starting to enjoy myself. There really is a little bit of everything. I stop at a stall where someone is selling knives while Darian and Lee try on different hats three stalls down.

"Nightforged steel. The very best from the House of Flame," a short and sturdy older Fae says from his seat. Thick, long gray hair that he's tied back into a braid and a beard that's even thicker has me wondering what kind of Immortal he is. I assume that's not something you ask when you're just making conversation.

"What's the difference between Nightforged steel and normal steel?" I ask.

The Immortal arches an eyebrow. "You've never heard of Nightforged steel? It's…" He pauses for a moment and stands up. His head reaches just below my shoulders, and he's shaped almost like a barrel, but based on the way he holds himself, there's a lot of muscle under that leather tunic.

He picks up one of the knives that he has on his table and holds it out to me. It's made of that same dark metal that Cole and the twins' blades are made from. So that's what it's called. Dark metal that's almost black covered in fold marks. "Nightforged steel is the best steel made in Draenyth. Heated by House of Flame High Fae for hours until every bit of impurity is burned out of it. Held at the exact temperature before it would melt, everything else is gone. Then, it's folded a thousand times by House of Steel dwarves. Nothing holds an edge like Nightforged steel."

I take the blade he shows me and can't believe how heavy it is. I'd thought that maybe it would be the same steel that Vesta's knife had been, but there's no way that they're the same metal. When I run my finger over the edge of the blade, I have to stop. "Now that's a sharp edge," I say with a wince. A single drop of blood runs down my thumb.

"The best edges in Draenyth," he says with a wide smile.

"Stop looking at weapons, Maeve. We're supposed to be having fun, not gearing up for war."

I turn back to see Lee wearing an enormous hat that's shaped like a flower. And I see my first humans in Draenyth. Cole had said that I wouldn't want to trade places with any humans here, but I hadn't understood. I'd forgotten that Draenyth is a place from my nightmares.

A group of ten humans are standing stretched out on a platform. Their hands are tied with leather to thick metal bars above their heads. Their feet are chained to the top of the wooden platform they're standing on.

Most of them are barely even alive, their bodies hanging slack from their bonds. Their clothes are ripped and torn, and bruises pepper their body in black, purple, and green. Blood coats what's left of the rags they're wearing, and none of them even have tears left to cry.

"Humans for any purpose. Blood on demand. Delicious, soft flesh. A slave… for work or pleasure. Ten copper per pound of flesh."

We're in a market, and they are selling humans by the pound. Bile rises in my throat as I watch the Immortals move around them. Those Immortals look at the "merchandise" like the villagers from Aerwyn looked at me, but that's the point. They're being sold by the pound like a butcher would sell beef.

I stop, my eyes open wide as Immortals mill around them, sniffing their hair and assessing them. The Immortal merchant isn't any kind that I'm familiar with. He stands at eye level to me and is covered in shaggy black fur that hangs from him and reminds me of tassels at the bottom of Aunt Prudence's curtains, complete with beads tying the strands of fur together. Long hooked claws extend past his fingertips, and while that'd look very wild and animalistic, the rest of his appearance makes him look strangely civilized. Like if a wolf stood on two legs and wore a set of coattails. His face reminds me of a very small bear, but his words are as clear as anything I've ever said.

He's wearing similar clothes to Rhion's. Obviously expensive, but not made of gold. Vibrant violets against dark and luscious greens. He walks back and forth in front of the humans on the platform, his head only slightly higher than some of the taller Immortals, as he tries to draw the crowd's attention. Those long nails click together as he paces, and he gives the audience and passersby a wickedly toothy smile.

Click. "Have you drunk directly from a human's vein? Have you enjoyed the taste of their fear as they beg for death?"

Click. "Have you tasted them cooked over a skewer as they scream? The pain flavors the meat. Human goes so well with a bit of bitterberry wine."

My stomach twists in knots, and anger boils inside me. I can't ignore this. I knew Draenyth was dangerous for humans, but I hadn't expected this. I hadn't thought they'd be so brazen, so heartless and cruel. An entire city that doesn't care one bit if humans are slow-cooked over a fire.

Click. I begin walking toward him, leaving Darian and Lee behind me as they bicker about Lee's hat some more. "Perfect slaves for toiling in your garden. They're used to being filthy. No sense of hygiene. Not any better than a pig. But this pig will happily take care of your roses, and if they don't, punishing him will be far more enjoyable than punishing a pig."

I get closer to the humans and the flesh merchant. When he raises his hands to click his claws together, I make out something that surprises me more than I'd ever have imagined. A tiny tally mark on the underside of his wrist. The only reason I see it is because it shimmers in the light, a darker than dark spot on the creature between the braided fur.

Click. "Or maybe you'd prefer humans for bedroom activity. Males and females for your pleasure, with no genuine desires of their own. After you're done, you can always have a little snack before you fall asleep."

My fingers inch toward my ring. My shadows could end that creature. It could sweep through those leather bonds and free all of them in less time than it'd take for the creature to even recognize that something was happening.

I would have no problem using revulsion against him. Against everything here. The thought of this place even existing sickens me. As my fingers wrap around the silver ring, a hand grips my shoulder. Hard.

"Don't you dare," Darian whispers in my ear. "All three of us would be dead in moments if you took off that ring."

I turn to him, and I'm sure that the anger is obvious. "They're selling humans as food. On the streets. Do you see how they've been treated? Did you hear what they want to do with them before they eat them?"

Lee grabs my arm, and when I try to hold my ground, she ignores it and drags me away from the humans. All the way out of the market, I try to fight her. Darian's grinning, but Lee's as serious as Cole is normally. Once we're out of the Sickle District and onto a side street that's filled with hovels rather than shops, she stops.

"I am not a Princess, Maeve. I don't have the power to protect you from hundreds of Immortals." She looks down at my mother's ring and grimaces. "And that ring, along with your bond to Cole, is the only reason that no one has recognized that you're from the House of Shadow. Yes, we all know about that ring."

"Everyone knows what that ring is, Maeve," Darian says with a shrug. "It's just that it's very good at hiding in plain sight. No one looks at a ring like that and thinks, ‘Oh, I bet that's a legendary House of Shadows artifact that was forged by Vyran the Black.' Then again, not everyone knows how many contradictions you embody."

My stomach sinks. They knew about the ring. What else do they know about? It doesn't matter. There are ten people that are going to be tortured for the rest of their hopefully brief lives if we don't do something.

I may not be able to save the world like Cole thinks I can. I may not be strong enough to save the drakelings and help the Immortals to have children again. I may not be strong enough for so many things, but this… I have to do something. Those people are going to be tortured until they die. Until they're eaten . I can't just look away. I can't ignore them.

"We need to save those people," I say through gritted teeth. "I don't know how, but we need to."

Darian and Lee glance at each other, and both of them grin at the same time. Lee asks, "Do you want to do it the easy way or the hard way? We could get Cole to buy out the slaves and then set them free. Or we could… rescue them."

"We wouldn't need to involve Cole if we rescued them?"

Lee and Darian's grins curl up even more. "No, it'd probably be better if we didn't involve him at all. He'd think we were being stupid, which we probably are, but that doesn't matter very much. We're good at being stupid. And this way, Cole doesn't need to worry about it at all. We'll just take care of it."

They say it like it's no big deal, but I remember the story they told me. How they were stupid and Cole's back will forever be scarred because of that stupidity. I have a feeling that now that they're all adults, the punishment would be far worse.

"That'd be easier, though."

Darian shrugs. "Maybe. If Cole knows about the plan, then what happens if he has other things he cares about more? What Cole doesn't know won't hurt him."

Somehow, I have a feeling this is one of those times that I should want Cole around. But Darian and Lee aren't new to this world, and they seem confident in their ability to take care of me and still rescue the humans.

"Cole's going to be furious, isn't he?" I ask.

They both nod at the same time. Then they echo each other. "Without a doubt."

But that only makes them grin even more. What have I gotten us into?