For the second time, Alex wasn’t sure how to answer the generalised—and offensive—question. Instead, she looked ahead to what she guessed was their intended destination.
The Meyarin palace was the jewel of the city. It was truly beautiful, with swirling, slimline towers spiralling high into the heavens. The closer they came, the more easily Alex could see past the overwhelming glow of the Myrox and make out the finer details in the architecture.
“Wow,” she breathed when the Valispath stopped their forward momentum just near the entrance.
“You can say that again,” Jordan agreed, still collapsed against the barrier beside her.
The palace was made out of Myrox, that they already knew, but it wasn’t just made out of Myrox. Golden vine-like designs wrapped around the silvery Meyarin metal, creating the most breathtaking sight Alex had ever seen. The magnificence was utterly indescribable. It was a palace outside the most imaginative of dreams.
Alex could have stared at the architectural masterpiece for days, but their Meyarin escort cleared her throat, breaking her and her friends’ reverential gaze.
“Follow me,” the Meyarin said. “And don’t speak unless addressed.”
Alex and her friends followed their guide up a long set of shining stairs until they reached a massive Myrox and golden- vined archway that led into the palace. Two fearsome guards stood on either side of the entrance, one male and one female. Both had swords and other glinting weapons attached to their dark, Myrox-infused, leather-like armour, along with quivers of feathered arrows and bows strapped to their backs.
Despite their bulk and authoritative stances, they were still beautiful to behold. The dark skinned male was huge, both in height and muscle mass. He had shoulder-length hair and an amused expression on his ruggedly handsome face, while the female had wavy black hair and intense steel-grey eyes.
It’s really not fair that an entire race of people can be so attractive, Alex thought.
“Kyia, frey de gearsa landi?” the male guard spoke, glancing at Alex and her friends curiously.
“Hireth en gartha de seafe lae nias,” their Meyarin guide responded. “Taern de Raelia.”
The female guard scowled and raised her sword threateningly. “Mae keare vars en hersan! Kyia, raesa felin de oarna Raelia!”
Their Meyarin escort said something in response, and the unknown female guard stepped forward, her steely eyes blazing with anger.
“Stop, Vaera!” their escort ordered firmly in the common tongue, allowing Alex and her friends to understand. “The humans are under my protection until they’ve been questioned.”
“I don’t take orders from you yet, Kyia,” the female guard— Vaera—spat back.
“But you do take them from me,” came another voice.
Alex sucked in a breath at the sight of the Meyarin who appeared at the entrance to the palace. He was… well, ‘wow’ didn’t quite sum him up. He was not as youthful as the other Meyarins she’d interacted with, but he was just as beautiful, and he stood tall and confident with golden hair and warm, amber- coloured eyes. His demeanour exuded wisdom and kindness, and for some inexplicable reason, his very presence calmed Alex’s nerves.
Then she noticed the crown on his head.
“Stand down, Vaera,” he ordered.
“Yes, Sire,” the female guard said, lowering her sword and ducking her head respectfully.
“Kyia,” the crowned Meyarin said to their escort, “it seems I’ve come outside for a refreshing walk only to discover humans on my doorstep. I trust you have a good reason for bringing mortals into my city?”
“Yes, my king,” Kyia said. “I need to speak with you, in private.”
Alex was surprised by the lack of deference their escort showed to the ruler of Meya, but he didn’t seem to mind. All he did was tilt his head thoughtfully and say, “You and your companions may join me in my receiving room.”
The king stepped back inside and Kyia looked at Alex and her friends pointedly before following him.
“At least we know he’s not dead,” Jordan said. “That’s good news.”
Jordan was right—that was good news. Aven had tried to murder his father and he’d supposedly succeeded in stabbing him with a dagger, so it was a relief to learn that the leader of Meya was still alive and ruling.
Alex waited for her friends to walk through the entrance and followed after them, but as she moved past the two guards, the male Meyarin stiffened. She turned her head to look at him in question just as he reached out and grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around to face him.
“What are you?” he demanded.
She froze to the spot. “I—um… What?”
“What are you?” he repeated, shaking her roughly.
Alex winced from his strong grip, but forced herself to respond. “What do you mean? I’m human. Mortal.” She only just managed to stop herself from adding a ‘duh’ at the end of her sentence.
“You smell like one of the Garseth,” he said, his dark eyes narrowed and staring into her own.
“I don’t know what that means,” Alex told him, and his fingers tensed even more.
“Zain, release her!” Kyia ordered, storming back through the entrance.
“Garseth rai tealon fera de leas,” the male—Zain—said angrily.
“Caen de taris en loga,” Kyia replied, her tone firm.
Zain nodded tersely and released Alex. She automatically reached up to rub her shoulder.
The male Meyarin noticed her movement and his eyes softened slightly. “I apologise, little human. You caught me off-guard.”
“Aren’t guards supposed to always be on guard?” Alex muttered under her breath.
Zain’s lip twitch reminded her yet again about the quality of Meyarin hearing. Oops.
“Come, mortal,” Kyia interrupted before Alex could say or do anything else. “The king awaits.”
If Alex hadn’t been so worried about being pulled back and manhandled again, she would have paused upon stepping into the massive entrance room. Instead, she looked around with wide eyes and tried not to trip over her own feet as she hurried after Kyia.
All Alex could think as she took in the elegant Myrox and gold decor was that D.C.’s palace in Tryllin had nothing, nothing, on the Casa de Meya.
Kyia led the way along an elaborately decorated hallway that seemed to stretch for miles, but thankfully they didn’t have to walk too far before she stopped at an intricately sculpted doorway. The door was open and led to a room where Alex’s friends were seated in comfortable-looking chairs.
“They wouldn’t let us wait for you,” D.C. said quietly when Alex sat beside her. “What happened back there?”
“Just a misunderstanding,” Alex whispered back. At least, she hoped that was true.
“A word, if you please, Kyia,” the Meyarin king said, waving their escort into a side room.
Once Kyia had closed the door between them, Alex’s friends turned to her.
“Do you think we should try and sneak out?” Jordan asked.
“What? Why?” Alex asked.
“We were found trespassing upon a sacred site,” he reminded her. “You heard what Kyia said. We could be facing a death sentence. That’s not my idea of a good time.”