CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

It took about twenty minutes to get to the edge of the city, and then another five before they came to the crossroads that would take them to Palashran. They’d paused along the way, getting Alithmain to change her clothes, and Gantalla gave her the obsidian gem, teaching her the spell to activate it. Alithmain experienced a moment of alarm as her claws and tail vanished, but she recovered well, eager to be on their way. Gantalla also gave her one of the bread rolls to eat as they walked, knowing her sister likely hadn’t eaten in days.

All the while, Nalyx said nothing, and Gantalla took covert glances at his face, trying to judge his mood. Did he hate them now? Did he regret confronting the captain? He’d spent a good portion of his life dedicated to the man, and despite the dire circumstances, it must have come as a wretched shock to see him killed. But the grim scowl on his face and the tension in his shoulders had stopped her from asking, and then all too soon, they were coming to a stop beneath the tall signpost beside the crossroads. Minia, the sign said, was behind them. Reedy Hollow was to the south. And Palashran was to the east.

Gantalla turned to face Nalyx, trying to force a smile onto her face. “I guess this is it, then. Time to say goodbye.” Nalyx didn’t reply. He was staring back up the road to Minia, an unreadable expression on his face. “I’m really grateful for everything you’ve done,” Gantalla said, not wanting to leave things on a bad note. “I’m sorry for the way it turned out, but…” Words failed her. To wish that things had gone differently would be to wish her own sister’s death, and no matter the final consequences of their actions, she couldn’t do that.

“You know what?” Nalyx said, turning to face her. “I’m not sorry for the way things ended. Leefe would never have seen the gate as anything but a portal to hell. But with someone new taking over, perhaps there’s a chance things might change. Not overnight, but eventually.” He turned and looked down the road towards Palashran. “And I’ve also realised I don’t want to go back. So I think I’ll come with you.” He offered her a wry smile. “If you’ll have me, that is.”

Gantalla’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? You’d just leave everything behind?”

He shrugged. “It’s not like I could go back and join the warriors again. Not with everything I know now. And there’s one other thing I’ve realised I was wrong about.”

“What’s that?” Gantalla asked.

“About not wanting a wife.” He rummaged in his pocket, pulling out a small bag. It seemed heavy, and Gantalla wondered what was inside. “It’s customary among humans to offer a gift of jewellery when a man proposes to a woman. I wasn’t really planning this, so I don’t have anything prepared, but I’m sure there’s enough in here to buy you something nice when we get to Green Vale.” He dropped to one knee, right there in the middle of the road, and held out the bag to Gantalla. “Gantalla, princess of the hadathmet, and most noble woman I’ve ever met. Will you marry me?”

Beside her, Alithmain let out a squeal, then promptly slapped her hand over her mouth. Meanwhile, Gantalla was simply gaping at Nalyx. “Why are you kneeling?” she asked, aghast at the offer of deference. In Chalandros, people only kneeled to a king.

“It’s the way humans do things,” he said, with a cocky smirk.

Alithmain gave her a sharp nudge with her elbow. “This is the part where you’re supposed to say yes,” she hissed at Gantalla.

Gantalla opened her mouth to reply, but all that came out was a whimper. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Y… yes. Yes, Nalyx. I’d be honoured to be your wife.”

“Well, thank goodness for that,” he said, rising to his feet. “I was beginning to worry.” He held out the bag again, and Gantalla took it. She opened it, and then nearly dropped it in surprise. It was filled to the brim with coins, dozens and dozens of silvers… and then she spotted a handful of gold ones, nestled in along the side. “Great gods, there’s a small fortune in here!” she blurted out. “Where did you get this?”

“I’ve been saving for a while,” Nalyx said, sounding deliberately casual about it. “Warriors are paid pretty well, after all. And aside from a nice piece of jewellery, there should be enough in there to put down a deposit on a house. I thought we could find a small cottage, a little way outside Palashran. Maybe with a couple of acres, so we’re not too close to the neighbours. Plenty of trees, for privacy. And then in the evenings, when it’s quiet and we’re alone, both of you could just… be yourselves.”

Gantalla’s heart was so full, she thought it was about to leap right out of her chest. “You’re amazing,” she said, heat rushing to her face. Every time she thought he’d done all he could for her, he came up with something new. A private cottage, where she and Alithmain could spend time in their native forms, with no humans around to worry about them finding out. It was more than she could have ever dreamed.

She threw her arms around Nalyx’s neck, hugging him as tightly as she could. “Thank you. A thousand times, thank you. You’re amazing.”

“I love you, Gantalla,” he said, holding her just as tightly in return. “It took me far too long to realise it, but there it is.”

She pulled back, looking him in the eye. “I love you too.” She kissed him then, savouring the taste of him, the feel of his strong body against hers.

“All right, lover birds,” Alithmain interrupted them finally. “This is all well and good, but we have a long walk to get where we’re going. And I don’t like the idea that someone will figure out what we’ve done and come after us.”

Nalyx and Gantalla managed to pull themselves apart, but Gantalla was well aware of the sappy smile on her face. A matching grin was on Nalyx’s face, while Alithmain just rolled her eyes in amused forbearance. Gantalla took Nalyx’s hand in her own and the three of them headed off down the road towards Palashran.

◊          ◊          ◊

Watching the dawn arrive as they walked along the road was a surprisingly beautiful sight. The sky turned pale grey, then golden, then finally, the sun lifted above the horizon as birds began to call in the trees. Small patches of mist rose off the grass of the surrounding fields, and the few fluffy clouds in the sky turned from pink to white.

“Something I never got around to asking,” Gantalla said to her sister, “is why you ended up deciding to leave the palace in Ranaka. When I left, you were so adamant about staying.” In the hours that had passed, she’d told Alithmain all about her experiences in Minia, her brief stint as one of the serving women, her work at the hospital, and her friendship with all the nurses, but she hadn’t yet dared to ask why – or how – her sister had crossed the gate.

“There was no other choice,” Alithmain said sadly. “And I’m rather embarrassed about the way it came about in the end. After you left, a lot of people were saying the same thing, that there was no hope left, that our only chance to survive was to try and cross the gate. I kept trying to talk people out of it, but in the end, everyone just left. All the servants, the cooks, the groundskeepers. Even the guards. They all just gave up, packed up their things, and headed for Iddishmeil. It’s the last outpost before the gate, and the Stone King is still offering protection for any travellers trying to cross the desert.

“So there I was, sitting in an empty palace, with the last of my fancy dresses and a little pile of jewels, clinging to the ridiculous idea that the mages were miraculously going to fix everything. And at some point, I was forced to realise how unbelievably foolish I was being.

“But even then, I was still living in a delusion. I packed a bag with all the jewels that were left, but I didn’t think to take any water with me. I got about three miles down the road before I realised I needed to go back and get some. And when I got to the border of hadathmet land, I realised I hadn’t even thought to bring a weapon, so I was set upon by a band of raiders and lost the bag of jewels.” She shrugged, but Gantalla could see the tears welling up in her eyes. “I wouldn’t have made it at all, except that a ragion found me. Seemed to take pity on me, for reasons I don’t quite understand.”

“A ragion is what you’d call a troll,” Gantalla said as an aside to Nalyx, who was listening attentively to the story. “They’re over nine feet tall, with a hide an inch thick. They’re usually employed as guards to protect noble families.”

“This one was heading for Iddishmeil, so he took me with him,” Alithmain went on. “Then the Stone King arranged an escort for a group of us to cross the desert. He still honoured the old treaty between him and our father, which is really the only thing that got me through. And then when I reached the gate, I waited until nightfall. There were some salases there with their vreki. They were sent there by the Stone King, to try and help people cross. Five or six of them all burst through the gate and made a ruckus with the humans, drew their attention, so that a handful of us could sneak through and try to get away in the dark. Then once we were clear, the salases just turned around and retreated through the gate. They’ll probably try it again a couple more times before they actually make a real attempt themselves.

“I made it into the forest, but I wasn’t careful enough. A group of warriors found me. I had this stupid idea that I could just surrender and then try to reason with them, but they tied me up, then dragged me to the human city, and I ended up in a cage. I can’t believe you found me,” she said to Gantalla, reaching out to give her shoulder a squeeze. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

“I very nearly missed you,” Gantalla said. “I was about to leave town when I heard all the commotion, and then one of the nurses from the hospital dragged me back to have a look at the ‘demon’. It’s only luck that meant I hadn’t already left.”

They walked in silence for a while, until they reached a marker beside the road. It told them that they only had two more miles to go before they reached Red Hill. “Thank the gods,” Gantalla said, breathing a sigh of relief. “My legs are killing me. And I’m sure we could all do with a good meal.” With the bag of coin the people of Minia had donated, they no longer had to be quite as careful about money.

“What are we going to do once we reach Palashran?” Alithmain asked.

“I’m going to try and get a job at the hospital,” Gantalla replied. “I enjoyed being a nurse. And we’ll need a way to earn money.”

“I was thinking I might learn to be a farrier,” Nalyx said. He’d been quiet for a while, his expression thoughtful. “I like horses. And there are plenty of working horses out on the farms. It should be a good trade to learn. What about you?” he asked, turning to Alithmain. “Any ideas what you’d like to do?”

“I want to learn to grow food,” Alithmain said. “In the last few years, there’s been a growing famine in Chalandros. It would mean a lot to me to be able to grow my own.”

“If we get a few acres of land, there should be plenty of space for a vegetable garden,” Nalyx said.

“We could have some apple trees,” Gantalla said, smiling at the idea. “You have to try some,” she told Alithmain. “They’re a bit like grenfruit, but sweeter.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Alithmain said. She turned to Gantalla with a smile, then reached out to squeeze her hand. “It’s exciting, isn’t it? A whole new start? A new house for us all. A new husband for you. We’re at the beginning of a brand new adventure.”