With a pounding heart, I held my arms out for Hunter. He shot into the sky with the brilliance and speed of a shooting star, but I was too exhausted to feel the thrill. It didn’t help that the rustle of his wings, mixed with the warmth from his body, created a powerful soporific effect. Then, I was dozing.
Two days of mind-numbing travel followed. Hunter became shifty and evasive if I brought up anything remotely interesting. Like details about Morgan or the fae. Instead, he bombarded me with questions about my life in the Gauntlet. On the third day, with the sun high in the sky, I stirred in Hunter’s arms. I’d been drifting in and out of sleep all morning. Now, my eyes opened and slid past his face to the blue, blue sky behind, and to his wings. They still made me gasp. Spread open in their full glory, the sun lit up the delicate skin, illuminating the fragile bones and tapestry of vital veins.
I stared, open-mouthed. And before I could think better of it, said, “They really are incredible.”
He beamed sweetly. Confusion seated itself in my heart. Something had shifted over the past few days: we weren’t enemies any more, but what had we become instead?
I needed a moment to think clearly. Yet there was no chance of putting physical distance between us; avoiding eye contact it was. I let my gaze wander below, and my stomach rolled as Aldar spread itself beneath us.
It was a new landscape. The forest had splintered to become a patchwork of ruby and gold threads that ran through rolling hills and rippling grasses, banking rivers and streams. No sign of any buildings or anything close to a training camp, but the sheer amount of water ribbons making up the countryside led me to guess. “This is the Riverlands, isn’t it?”
I felt the muscles in Hunter’s arms grow taut. “We’re not far from the training camp.”
My gut jumped. “You’ve already decided which one to take me to?” I fixed him with a frown. “I thought you wanted me to have choices.”
“I thought we’d built trust.” He sounded exasperated, maybe even annoyed. “Kasi is the one of the best, if not the best training camp in the Riverlands Court. They don’t separate fae recruits from the humans, and more importantly, they treat them fairly.”
That didn’t stop my panic from climbing. I needed information, fast. “What happens when we get there?”
“I’ll take you to Bert.” Hunter suddenly swerved right. The delicate gray membrane stretched wide, and his wings caught a breeze wrapped up in brininess and the taste of salt. He vaulted forward and rode the wind.
I closed my eyes against the sickening jolt and shouted over the howling air currents. “Who’s he?”
“Bert runs the day-to-day operations of Kasi,” Hunter yelled. “It’ll be better if we see him first. He’s one of the few with direct access to Hilda; otherwise, we’d be waiting for hours.”
“Hilda?”
The wind lessened, enough for Hunter to reply evenly. “She’s in charge. One of her jobs is to assess all new recruits. Once she’s seen you, you won’t have much contact with her.”
Assess. As in a test? Breathing became difficult.
“You didn’t say anything about an assessment.” The words sounded hamstrung with nerves, even to my ears.
“It’s nothing,” he assured. “Hilda rarely turns anyone away. She likes to give everyone a fair chance.”
“But she turns people away sometimes.” My tongue flicked out to wet my lips. “What happens if I fail—will you take me to another camp?”
A nod and a promise. “I won’t give up.”
It didn’t stop me from shifting through various scenarios, each more hideous and grueling than the last. What would she expect? Someone strong, fit, quick; remotely competent? I’d be sure to disappoint on all accounts. The only weapon I’d had practice with was the bow.
“What will I be doing in the training?” Confidence at a low ebb, I had to add, “If they let me stay.”
“The exact training routine isn’t known to outsiders, but I can tell you that Kasi’s dedicated to training recruits to the rank of Iko.” Before I could ask, he clarified. “Iko means ‘foot soldier’ in Kaeli, so I imagine you’ll undergo weapons training, and endurance-building exercises.”
“Kaeli?” I questioned.
“The ancient fae tongue.”
Ah. There was so much—too much—to learn about this new land. This new life.
We settled into silence again. The sun blushed pink with the afternoon light, and I passed the time soaking in the scenery. That was until a shimmering blue line glinted underneath the columns, orbs, and spires of cloud. It filled the horizon and wrapped around the entire right-hand side of the land. I stiffened, and my heart skipped a beat. “What is that?”
“What d’you mean?” he said, bemused. “It’s the Eastern Seas.”
Excitement exploded inside of me. I fought the impulse to lurch forward, but the stretch of water called to me with its siren song. That restless, churning mass of cobalt-blue and white flurries.
Hunter gripped me tighter. “Are you okay? You look like you’re about to leap out into thin air.”
“I’ve never seen the sea.” Too many emotions claimed me at once, reducing my speech to a murmur. “My mother … she promised we’d see it together.”
“If it means that much to you, we could make a detour.”
I whipped my head around and stared. He’d meant it, every word.
A rolling wave of gratitude flooded me. “Thank you …” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
I’d had few aspirations in my life. The only two constants were being free of Elain, and to see the sea. The first had been granted, and he was offering the second as if it were nothing. The temptation was almost overwhelming, but something stopped me. I searched my heart, trying to riddle it out.
Then, it came to me. I didn’t want to live without an unrequited wish and risk the emptiness that might follow. That realization filled me with horror, cutting deep. Had I truly lived in such a hopeless place that I’d never dared to dream a bit bigger?
“I don’t want to go,” I found myself saying. “It feels wrong to see it without her.” Truth or lie? I wasn’t sure.
“Of course. You must miss her very much.”
“Mm.” I lapsed into quiet, keeping my thoughts and memories to myself.
Underneath, the world blurred past and shifted. Hunter soon banked left and shot straight, leaving behind that thin, blue smudge: that dream of mine.
Not wanting to regret my decision, I didn’t look back over Hunter’s shoulder. Instead, I focused on observing and creating a map in my head of what would become my new surroundings. I wasn’t a soldier yet, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t act like one.
I noted the rushing streams flowing down the land, cutting the colored meadows and valleys into segments, and the purple-topped mountains that rose on my left. Eventually, a thin silver blur showed itself on the horizon with forest sitting on either side, and as we got closer, it morphed into a great, snaking river. And there, just beyond, individual matchstick-sized buildings.
I didn’t have to ask, but I did need to hear the answer.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” I looked back at Hunter.
Just a nod and a grimace. As if I wasn’t nervous enough.
“You’re sure?” I croaked.
“Positive. I can see the guards on duty.”
“Really?” I squinted. My mortal eyesight picked up the buildings, but they were blurry at best. I clucked my tongue, annoyed. “Is your kind better at everything?”
“No. Humans beat us in the act of love,” Hunter replied.
That was unexpected. I stared, dumbstruck for a moment, before a whisper of a chuckle made its way out of me. “I wouldn’t have guessed. Not with all your physical advantages.”
I blushed. It wasn’t made better when Hunter let out a soft laugh. “I didn’t mean sex.”
My face was on fire. “Oh.”
“I meant to love another and express it.” He frowned, his earth-brown eyes crinkling. “Your lives may be shorter, but you love more fiercely because of it. It’s said the fae were like that a long, long time ago—slaves to our emotions, perhaps more so than humans.”