They would have to make up time somehow.
There was a marked difference between the two kingdoms—making the border easy to recognize. éadrolan was a riot of color: jeweled flowers and bursts of sunlight, emerald grasses and jade trees. Dorjhalon was just as lush, but it was shadowed, even in summer. The trees grew close, evergreen needles weaving together into a nearly impenetrable wall at times, blocking much of the brightness of the sun. Even the bushes crowded in on one another. There were flowers, but they were muted compared to those in éadrolan. Palest of pinks and deep, rich purple. Dusky whites that bordered on gray. And Evelayn’s favorite—the wild black roses that grew in clumps throughout the Dorjhalon forests, with the crimson corollas at the center of the petals that looked like pricks of blood on velvet. Her father used to bring her bouquets of them as a child when he would visit Dorjhalon. Back when there had been peace and free travel between the two kingdoms.
Evelayn stared into the shadows of King Bain’s kingdom and took a deep breath. They didn’t have time to waste on apprehension. Her only option was to press forward. She closed her eyes as she stepped across the border into Dorjhalon, bracing for—she wasn’t sure what. A shock? A wave of debilitating pain?
But nothing came. When she opened her eyes, she stood on Dorjhalon soil for the first time in her life.
Kel and Tanvir quickly followed. She turned to them and gestured. They nodded in unspoken agreement, and the trio took off running toward the east. It seemed dangerous to speak now, to risk alerting any Dark Draíolon to their presence.
They had to travel quickly. And silently.
The sun had set, throwing the forest into even darker shadow, when Kel finally spoke from behind Evelayn.
“We should stop. It’ll be too dark to see soon.”
But she ignored him—and the burn of her muscles—and kept going.
“Your Majesty,” Kel’s voice was strained. “Please.”
But Evelayn pressed on. If they ran through the night, they could reach the lair by dawn. They could still negotiate for the silk and possibly get back to the border in time before the priestesses closed the gap.
Darkness fell faster in Dorjhalon, and it felt all-encompassing. Evelayn almost had to squint, sharpening her vision as much as possible, to keep from getting hit by wayward branches or tripping over roots. She’d heard that Dark Draíolon could see better at night than Light Draíolon could, which she supposed made sense, since it was the power of the darkness they wielded. Just as the brightness of the sun didn’t bother her at all, but irritated the Dark Draíolon’s eyes.
She felt someone closing in on her from behind and she kicked her heels up, pushing herself even faster. But whoever it was didn’t give up. He grabbed her elbow and yanked them both to an abrupt halt.
Evelayn whirled to face Tanvir, who still gripped her arm.
A wave of anger rose, drawing with it a surge of power, making her stone burn hot in her sternum.
“We have to stop before someone gets hurt.” Tanvir spoke quietly but urgently. “Or worse.” He gestured behind them and Evelayn looked past his sweat-streaked face to see Kel quite a distance away, leaning against a tree.
Her heart sank. If she’d pushed him too hard—
She shook off Tanvir’s hand and sprinted back the way she’d come, skidding to a halt beside the general who had come to mean so much to her after her father’s death, and hesitantly reached out to touch his shoulder.
He didn’t react, not so much as a flinch or a glance in her direction. He merely kept his forehead pressed into the arm he had lifted against the bark of the trunk, breathing in and out. In and out. A sound that was much more labored than it should have been.
“I’m sorry, Kel,” Evelayn whispered.
He finally turned to look at her, his face flushed. She’d barely ever seen him break a sweat before. “No, my queen. It is I who am sorry. For failing you. For not being up to the task.”
Evelayn shook her head, a strangling sense of despair choking back a response.
She felt more than heard Tanvir drawing closer to them.
“I’ll start setting up camp,” he offered softly.
They were silent for a long moment, the only sounds that of Tanvir preparing a place to sleep and Kel’s still-harsh breathing. Finally, she managed to say, “You haven’t failed me. It was foolish of me to think I could do this at all, let alone so quickly. I’ve pushed us too hard and we still won’t make it back in time.” She paused and her shoulders sagged in defeat. “I don’t know how to get through the wards. Even if I am somehow successful at bargaining for the silk, we may very well be stuck in Dorjhalon. Rather than helping my people, I may have just served myself on a platter to Bain.”
At that Kel looked directly at her. “Don’t you dare give up. I followed you here because I could see the determination in your eyes, I could feel your certainty that this would work. True, we aren’t going to make it back to the border in time, but you are the queen. You have access to all the Light Power in éadrolan—including that which the priestesses wield. You have passed every test thrown at you so far, and I know you will get us through this one, as well.” Kel straightened, pushing away from the tree to stand at his full height—a good three or four inches taller than Evelayn. “I apologize for my moment of weakness. It won’t happen again, Your Majesty. Perhaps if we sleep for just a few hours, we can begin again before the sun rises?”
Evelayn merely nodded, too overcome to speak. Kel bowed to her and turned to help Tanvir prepare a meager dinner from what was left of the supplies they’d brought.
They didn’t dare light a fire, so it was dried fruits and hard cheese to help stave off the hunger that gnawed at their bellies and sapped their strength. They ate in silence.
The distant cry of a hawk sent a shudder down Evelayn’s spine as they finished their small meal. She knew hawks were more plentiful in Dorjhalon, but it was an unfamiliar sound to her. The haunting call set her nerves on edge.
“You two go to sleep. I’ll keep watch,” Tanvir said quietly.
“But you need to sleep, too,” Evelayn pointed out.
“I’ll switch with him,” Kel offered. “That way we can both get some rest.”
“But you need—”
“You need your strength the most, Your Majesty. For what lies ahead tomorrow.”
Evelayn fell silent once more at the reminder of what she had to do in the morning—and who she had to face.
“I’ll be fine,” Kel added. “I just needed a little rest. We don’t have far to go now.”