Page 53 of Memory of Ashes

“Lead the way,” he said, jumping back onto his horse.

They galloped away as fast as they could and only stopped when the blazing city was like a candle in the distance. The snow disappeared the further they got from the mountain.

“How far until we reach the capital?” Ruven asked.

“Less than half a day’s ride, perhaps, if we push the mounts.”

“We’ll be able to travel faster than the army, at least, and we can hope their route isn’t as direct.” Ruven paused to look at her, his face serious. “Tell me about your army.”

“I don’t really know much about it; we haven’t had a war for a long time.”

“You do have an army?”

“Of course we do,” she said, suddenly unsure. They had to have one. They had city guards and guards at the palace, but it had been a time of peace. There hadn’t been war in Amelia’s lifetime. They had weapons. They’d been experimenting with chrysonium-based weapons, but the lack of miners had caused a delay.

Her legs ached as she rode hard. She hated riding.

The sky grew dark as the stars became their only source of light, their reflections trembling in the stream where they stopped to water the horses.

Amelia knelt and splashed water over her face, trying to wash the ashes of the burning city from her body. The smell of smoke clung to her hair, reminding her of death. She was accustomed to what death left behind. She often excavated ancient remains, but these weren’t ancient strangers. She’d heard them die.

Ruven crouched beside her. “Are you alright?”

“No. I opened the rift.”

“They forced you.”

“The dead will not know the difference.”

Ruven’s reflection shifted beside hers in the dark water.

“You had no choice.”

She turned towards him. His antlers formed a dark silhouette against the starlit sky, and fear coursed through her before she could stop it. She hated herself for it. Ruven followed her gaze. Something in his expression tightened, but he said nothing.

He had tried to save her; he’d suffered beside her, and she’d wanted to save him in return, yet she couldn’t shake the memory of all those fae who’d crossed the rift, their antlers silhouetted against the flames, like his.

Sometimes life gives us very little choice, she had told Casyl. Now the words tasted like an excuse.

“There is always a choice, and choosing still has consequences.”

As they travelled through the dawn and most of the day towards the capital, the air grew warmer. By evening, the green landscape had faded into muted browns.

When they eventually reached the enormous stone walls of the capital, they stopped outside them. What was she going to tell them? Could she just march in there after being missing for the past few months and declare that they were under attack? They’d think she was crazy. She hoped that Ruven’s appearance would convince them. Their best option was to get to the guild and to Emin. He knew what she’d been looking for when she’d gone. He’d seen the unusual skull that she’d brought back from the mine. Even if he doubted her then, he couldn’t doubt Ruven in the flesh.

“Pull up your hood.”

She couldn’t risk people seeing him before they got to the guild’s headquarters, and with his hood hiding his ears and antlers, he could almost pass as human—albeit an unusually tall and muscular one.

She held her breath as they entered the city.

Chapter 12

“Emin,” Amelia whispered from the office doorway.

He looked up from his desk, his eyes wide when he saw it was her. She shushed him before he could speak and slipped into the office, Ruven following, closing the door behind him.

They’d made it through the city without question and into the guild’s headquarters. It was late and there was no one about, but she knew Emin would still be at his desk.