“Next.” She sighed.
Chapter 28
Eris
Eris had spent the day reading through the ever-growing stack of texts on the library table she had claimed as her own over the last two months. The late evening sun’s waning rays shone in the window, spilling across the page she was reading. Knox had told her to be ready to leave as soon as the sun set. The days had passed too quickly, and it was time to meet Nolan in the Vord Mountains. After all the training she had undergone the last couple of months, she still wasn’t sure she was strong enough to heal Knox and Soraya from their curses. She closed the book she was reading with a heavy thud.
As usual, Eastmund had stood by her side for the entire day without saying a word. At first, his silent presence had annoyed her. But now, she hardly noticed him at all. Now he felt as constant as her shadow, and she found comfort in that. At the beginning she had made some efforts to get to know him, but it hadn’t gone as well as she had hoped.
One day during her first week at the castle, she had stood reaching her hands over her head, stretching out the stiffness in her shoulders. Knox’s never-ending spell book suggestions were more exhausting than weeding Master Garren’s garden without magic.
“Where are you from?” she’d asked.
Eastmund looked down at her. “The Westlands.”
“I’ve never been there. What are they like?”
“They are mostly farmlands.”
“Do you miss home?”
“No.”
It was clear to her then that Eastmund was not going to be the one she should go to if she was in need of conversation. Still, his constant presence had helped calm the ache that came from the gaping hole in her heart from missing her parents, Soraya, and Darren.
Eris smiled at the memory as she scooped up a few books she hoped to be able to read on the carriage ride to the mountains. “Are you coming with us to the Vord Mountains?” Eris asked, hoping he would say yes.
“If the Prince wills it.”
Way to show some loyalty, Eris thought as the silence filled in between them again. Any type of communication from him was always short-lived. Eris smiled to herself as she followed him out of the library, grateful that her “shadow” would continue to follow her.
The Vord Mountains were a place Eris had never once in her life considered going. No one went to the Vord Mountains unless they wanted to die a painful death. It was well known they were infested with Sligo. After reading about them for the last several weeks, she’d decided they were even scarier than she had originally thought. They not only hated humans, according to the books, they also enjoyed hunting the humans who crossed into their lands.
Eastmund showed her to her door, taking his normal place beside it. She walked into her bedchamber and grabbed her pack. Someone had emptied its contents the day before while she’d been practicing water magic with Knox. Luckily, she had taken the most valuable item out long before the maids had gone through it and left it in her wardrobe.
Eris slid her hand in between the mattresses on her bed and pulled out the wooden box Master Garren had given her before she left Uwen. She opened the lid, revealing the beautiful silver necklace with its large blue crystal in its center. Orielle, she thought. The necklace hummed to life, glowing a faint blue all over, as she picked it up and fastened it around her neck before tucking it under the collar of her shirt.
She still remembered the warning Master Garren had given her before she left. If she used Orielle, it would take a memory, and she had no control over which memory it chose but it would be a precious one. Eris sent up a silent prayer to the gods. She hoped she would have no reason to use Orielle. But if she did, she prayed that the memory it took wasn’t of Soraya. Because there was no one else left who remembered her.
She walked over to the large wardrobe and opened the doors. Her skirt and extra shirts hung there along with a woman’s cloak she hadn’t brought in her things. She packed the shirts and skirt in her bag, then she stuffed the cloak inside it, too. It wasn’t cold in Jara City this time of year, but the mountains were bitter at night all year long. She wished she had packed warmer clothes, even though there had been no way of knowing she would find herself in need of them. Soraya was the planner. She would have packed something warm just in case. Eris’ heart still ached any time she thought of her sister, but she had long ago decided to use that pain as motivation. In the last several weeks, she had read more books and learned more spells than she had in the last year. She was stronger than she had ever been. But was she strong enough to save Soraya? She didn’t know.
A knock sounded at her door. She opened the door to find a maidservant with an arm full of clothes.
“The Prince sent these. May I enter?”
“Sure.” Eris stepped aside.
“He also instructed that I help you pack.”
The maidservant, no older than she was, walked over to the wardrobe and opened a drawer on the bottom. She pulled out a beautiful leather pack, and began neatly packing the clothes inside it with the help of magic. “Is there anything else you would like to be packed, ma’am?”
Eris smiled. She wasn’t sure she was important enough for ma’am. She handed the maidservant her old canvas pack. “Thank you for your help.”
The girl nodded and finished packing the items from her old pack into the leather one. She tied the bag closed and handed it to Eris. “I wish you safe travels and a swift return, ma’am.”
“Thank you.” Eris smiled.
The maidservant left, and Eris took one last look at the room. She would miss having a breakfast tray every morning, spending her days learning more magic, and laughing with Knox. She slung the bag over her shoulders and opened the door. Eastmund nodded at her.
“I suppose I’m as ready as I can be. I don’t suppose you have any words of advice?”
Eastmund shook his head.
After eating alone, Eris stood in the main foyer waiting for Knox. The servants had already lit candles and lanterns throughout the castle, giving it a dreamy glow. She shifted from one foot to the other, thinking. Prince Knox would bring soldiers with them, but would they be safe?
She had lived her whole life hearing scary stories about the Sligo. Stories about the merchant who went a little too close to the mountains, or the farmer who would randomly go missing, never to return. They were the stories that haunted her dreams. Tall and gruesome troll-like creatures with super-human strength, burning anything that got in their way.
“Ready?” Knox said from behind her, pulling her from her thoughts.
She nodded and readjusted her pack.
“This will be fun.” He smiled.
“You may want to revisit the definition of fun, sire.”
Knox laughed. “How many times do I have to ask you to call me Knox?”
Eris returned his smile. “Are you ready for this, Knox?”
Knox nodded. “Of course. Who wouldn’t want to sneak into the Sligos’ land? They might even let us bring home a trinket to show your parents.”
Master Toran appeared and whispered something in the Prince’s ear. Knox’s smile disappeared. “See to it immediately. You know what to do.”
“I wish you both a safe journey.” Toran bowed to Knox and nodded at Eris before disappearing back down the hall.