Page 37 of Feathers and Thorns

“I love you guys, too,” Soren replied then whispered up to the stars, “I love you tons, too, Dad.”

* * *

The entrance to Olecastor lay at the apex of the rocky expanse. The city itself spanned the entire mountain range, but the royals resided in the castle built into the eastern side. The cliff faces loomed up ahead of them, and their pace slowed as they reached the large stone door flanked by a guard on either side.

Soren could not help but feel intimidated. These were not the simple guards of Tree City. These men were huge, and the early morning sun glinted off their armor. Soren held up her hand to shield her eyes as they approached, unsure of what to expect.

As they reached the threshold, the guards shifted, lifting their long swords into the ready position and holding out their hands to halt them.

“Speak your business.”

It took Soren a moment to respond. Their accents were harsh, and their voices were so low that she struggled to take their meaning. She opened her mouth to reply when Enara came to her rescue.

“We have come to hold court with King Elias.”

The bearded guard to her left raised a brow, eyeing the group with suspicion. “What business do you have that would require a meeting with the king?”

“We have news from the House of Drekar, King of Patrivah.” Baztien’s voice was strong and firm, and Enara blinked at him in surprise.

The guards seemed to consider this and exchanged a look. Then the bearded one nodded, startling them by yelling, “Kedaestach!” in his native tongue.

They braced themselves as the twenty-foot-high door shifted open, the stone grinding against the massive metal hinges.

The two armored men stood aside, and the second one spoke in the common tongue. “You may enter.” Then he nodded to his bearded comrade. “Callan will go with you.”

“Thank you,” they responded and rushed after the man named Callan, who was already ten strides ahead of them.

Soren quickened her pace to match the lumbering giant and looked up at him. He was younger than she had first thought. His dark blond hair held a reddish hue, and the front pieces were pulled back from his face in braids and twists affixed with small metal clips. The length of it fell just past his shoulders, and his beard was fashioned to match.

“How long have you guarded the gate?” Soren asked, curious about these people she knew so little of.

Surprised at the question, he looked down at her with eyes the color of a cornflower field. He cleared his throat before responding in his deep baritone, “This is not my normal post, but the secondary guard’s wife is birthing their youngling and requested his presence.”

“You speak common tongue well,” Soren observed.

“Yes, my father forced lessons upon us all.”

“What is your normal post?”

“You ask a lot of questions,” he said in annoyance.

She was about to continue when Enara grabbed her sleeve, pulling her back to where her and Baz had followed behind them.

“What are you doing?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.

“What? I was just curious,” Soren replied.

“We have to keep these people happy if they are going to help us. We have to tread carefully.”

“Yeah, okay, I guess you’re right.” Soren looked down, as if scolded, and picked at her fingernails.

The trio followed Callan along the narrow valley floor until they reached a secondary door. The guards there took one look at the large man and opened it immediately, bowing low as they walked past.

The trail opened up into a wide valley that connected multiple mountain ranges. There was a river of the clearest blue flowing down from the farthest one, cutting through the thick rock and trailing out the base of the castle built into the cliffside.

The air tasted of iron and smelled of molten metal and crushed stone. Plumes of smoke drifted from deep within the walls of rock, no doubt stemming from the forges that lay beneath.

Everything in the city seemed to be carved out of stone, from the houses that snaked back and forth up the mountainsides to the castle that looked like it was part of the range itself. All harsh lines, and thick walls, the greens and grays were the only color amongst the black rock.

---