Chapter Twenty-Seven
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Even at our fastest pace, it took us a day and a half to get to the Stiriae Palace. I was anxious about entering. Last time, they had thrown me into their icy dungeon. However, I did not have much of a choice. I entered the city, but this time, I had Liam and his sword by my side.
I caused an uproar at once.
"It's that human who escaped our dungeon!" a stiria said.
"This time, she won't escape!"
A few large stiria started towards me.
Liam stepped in front of me, drawing his sword. "Let her speak!"
The stiria quieted. Perhaps it was because Liam made a frightening picture with fury in his eyes and his sword pointed at the crowd. Or perhaps it was because Urora started through the crowd, walking to me with a smile on her face. Whatever the reason, it was such a relief to me when they quieted.
"I am Evelin Fendway," I said loudly. "I am the Enchanta. I have gathered all of the races in the southwest corner of Havane. If you want the Enchantment to be broken, go south and find a small sailboat. That is where we will break the Enchantment."
"We do not have an Enchanter," declared a stiriae.
"Yes, you do." I nodded towards Urora. She formed a sphere of silver light in her hands and threw it upwards. It fell back down in silvery snowflakes.
The crowd gasped.
"Urora is your Enchanter," I said. "That is why she has visions. And I know one of her visions is correct. If you help break the Enchantment, your bloodline will be restored, and you will be able to have children again.
"We should," a member of the crowd announced. "What risk is there? Let's go try to break the Enchantment, and we'll be able to live freely again."
A cheer rose up, and the stiria left to pack their things.
I turned to Liam. "I believe our work here is done."
He nodded. "Let's go find those faerires." He sheathed his sword.
Urora came running and gave me a hug. "That was a nice display of magic back there," I told her.
Her blush was even more prominent on her pale cheeks. "Thank you. I've been practicing."
I ruffled her white-blond hair. "See you in a couple days, yes?"
She nodded eagerly. "I hope so!"
Her mother called for her to come pack. She waved to me and ran off.
"Let's go, Liam," I said.
We took off, following the direction of the mountain.
"This one will be hardest of all," I told Liam.
"Why?"
"Because the faeries are in the middle of a civil war."
"You climbed a mountain that contained faeries amongst a war?" he said, almost angrily. "What were you thinking?"
I held out my hands defensively. "I didn't know they were in war. And I found a friend who kept me safely within her cottage. She was neutral and didn't fight at all. The other faeries never even knew I was there. And then Spectra sent me to the shore of the Western Sea using her wind."
"Why didn't we just go to them first?" Liam asked. "Then, they could've sent us to the elves and the stiria quickly."
"Yes," I said. "But the faeries are farthest away, and the other stops were on our way. Also, the faeries will be able to send us back to the sailboat more quickly."
Liam nodded. "Very well."
We continued walking in silence, with me in front, Liam following. I wished there would be some kind of conversation, so it wouldn't be awkward.
It seemed the Forbidden Land was out to kill us. For once the nighttime came, a new creature emerged. It wasn't deceptive like the kelpie and dryad. It was large and frightening.
A cry from the sky caused Liam and I to look up. A large bird created a shadow on the forest, blocking out the sun. A roc.
"By the Fates," Liam murmured, drawing his sword.
"I don't think we should try and fight it," I said. "Let's hide from it until it leaves."
It was legend that a roc could pick up an entire house with its talons. I did not want to have to try to go against this massive creature. I pulled Liam behind a tree. We sat there, as quietly as possible. In the darkness, I noticed I was still clutching his arm. Usually, I would've let go, but I was frightened. I clutched it with two hands instead, as if holding on would protect me. Liam looked down at me in surprise. I did not pull away. Last time, with the kelpie, Liam had almost died. I wouldn't let that happen this time.
The bird landed, and shook the ground. I teetered, but my grip on Liam kept me sturdy. I felt my breath hitch. I did not want to face something again.
I was being a fool, frightened an all, but I believed I was allowed to be afraid. I'd been brave the entire time, but this time, I wanted to curl up into a ball and cry.
The roc shook the ground with every step as it edged toward us. I looked up at Liam. His grip on the hilt of his sword was tight. The roc came closer and closer.
Liam looked down at me. "I cannot wait for it to attack me. Please, run to the faeries. You need to stay safe, my Enchanta."
I swallowed. There was no way I was going to be the damsel in distress. I took a deep breath and ran out from the trees. I grabbed my dagger and charged the roc.
The beast was twenty times my size. It's beak was sharp and pointed. Its eyes found mine, and it let out a squawk. It turned its wing. The feathers looked razor sharp. I ducked, and the wing did not hit me.
What was I thinking? I thought. I can't do anything about this bird. It'll kill me in the blink of an eye.
I darted backwards, and Liam stepped forward, blocking hits from the giant bird's beak and wings. I looked for some sort of weakness. It's eyes, perhaps? It's belly?
It hit me. The inside. I took out Jax's dagger and silently apologized.
I'm sorry, Jax.
When Liam had an opening, I threw the dagger to him. He caught it. "In its mouth!" I called.
He understood. He continued to slash at the monster, until it let out a cry. Then, he threw the dagger into the roc's mouth. The dagger sliced up its throat, and it let out a strangled cry. It spun in a circle, and its wing hit my head, causing momentary blackness. I recovered and watched as the roc flapped its wings, trying to get a gulp of air. It flew up, and in a circle, until it was out of sight.
I collapsed out of exhaustion. "Evelin!" Liam cried. He ran over to me.
I took deep breaths. "I'm fine," I said. "I'm just . . . tired and thirsty."
Liam put an arm around me. "Let's set up camp and regain our strength."
I nodded. Liam glimpsed the other side of my head. "You're bleeding!"
"It's nothing," I said. But I was feeling kind of dazed.
We set up camp, and Liam bandaged and cleaned my wound.
"You're hurt, too," I said.
He shook his head. "Just scrapes and bruises."
I shivered.
"I'll go get firewood," Liam said. "Then we can get some sleep."
He left, and I tried not to cry, but I was frightened. How could I accomplish such a daunting task? I walked away to cry. I found a nice tree to sit in, remembering the way Girec had called me Squirrel. I sobbed at the thought of my dead brother. I hugged my knees to my chest, feeling too small for such a big mission. I missed home and familiarity and comfort and company. I hardly counted Liam as company.
Soon, Liam came looking for me, and followed the sound of my weeping. He looked at me, but I buried my face in my knees and hands, shaking with sobs, not wanting him to see my weakness. I commanded myself to stop acting like a little girl, and I reduced my sobs to quivering breaths and silent tears. A voice below me startled me.
Liam was climbing the tree. He called my name as he neared my branch. "Evelin," he said, "scoot over and let me sit up there with you."
I did as he asked, but once he sat down next to me, I glared at him with all the loathing I could muster. With my tear-stained, blotchy face, I must've looked quite terrifying. But Liam's calm composure didn't break. He stared at me with his wide, silver-blue eyes, and spoke softly. "When I tried to learn about the Enchanters," he started, "I sought out a witch I'd seen in my old village when I was younger. She keeps herself locked up in an old house with no visitors. I knocked on her door and asked her about the lands to the west. I was scared, I admit, because she looked the part of a witch, and acted as one, as well. But she told me this story:
" 'When the world was first formed, plants grew wild and animals roamed freely. But it seemed incomplete, uninteresting. The centuries passed with no unusual activity. Until . . . one day, six stars fell from the sky and to the earth. One crashed into a fire. From its ashes, trolls emerged, and so started their existence. Another star fell into the waves of the sea. It produced an aquatic race of merrow. The third star plummeted into a glacier, therefore, creating the stiriae. The forth fell into the forest, starting the elves. The fifth hovered in the skies, and fell into the sun as it was rising, and the faeries were born. The last star dropped from the sky into dirt and clay, creating the first human.
" 'The races stayed separated, fighting wars among each other, until they began to live together in a Golden Age of peace. The races stayed content for a thousand years. But the humans desired power. With the help of a powerful Enchanter, the humans used enchantments to hold power over the other five races. They rebelled, naturally, and the humans believed the other races were too dangerous to live among mankind. They magically banished and exiled the five races to a land to the west. A king among the humans tried to destroy all evidences that the five races existed, not wanting his people to be afraid. He believed the races would die out on the uncharted lands to the west . . . ' "
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "Incredible," I whispered.
Liam nodded. "I know." It was dark out now, and shadows crossed his face, yet his silvery-blue eyes seemed to be illuminated in the darkness. "I don't know how much of that myth is true," he said, "but it is amazing."
I agreed.
"Though my brother-in-law, the scholar, says stars are just spheres of fire and light," Liam continued.
"Your sister is married?" I questioned. I thought Mally was younger than I was.
"Not Mally, no. I have two sisters. Ailla is married. I think you'd like her very much. She's always so lively and stubborn."
A little break is silence followed. I spoke up. "Liam, why did you join the bandits? Weren't you supposed to inherit your father's title?"
He shook his head. "My father was a carpenter when I was younger, before Mally was born. He and Ailla and I struggled to find food. That's when my dislike of the king began. I hated it when Ailla moaned in her sleep from hunger. The local baroness was a widow, and she'd taken a fancy to my father, who is quite handsome. Eventually, the two grew close, and they married. We moved into the large manor, and my younger sister was born. Half-sister. But my father and I still remembered the hunger we had felt. He told my stepmother about it. She decided to secretly join the bandits. We all did. They want the King off his throne as much as I do."
"It must be nice to have a family that cares about you," I said. "All I had was Girec." Tears welled up in my eyes again.
Liam tried to comfort me. He pointed up, through the thick tree branches. "Look," he breathed. I tilted my head backwards and gasped. Visible through the tree's boughs was a constellation of six stars.
"If one of those fell, I imagine it would fall silently, with the tinkle of a bell once it reached the surface," I said, the artist from me emerging. "Like a diamond."
The corners of Liam's lips turned up slightly. I couldn't believe my eyes. A full smile from Liam was more rare than a falling star. "Beautiful," he said, speaking of my words, yet staring into my eyes. His round ones sparkled like the stars above.
I allowed a corner of my mouth to turn up as well. "Thank you," I whispered. I scurried down the branches and hopped off the tree, trying to memorize the image of Liam, eyes shining bright, looking up at equally-bright stars in a tree. My smile grew, and I believe I fell asleep smiling that night.
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Awwwww . . .
I was so excited to write this chapter. Thanks for reading!