Page 32 of Till Kingdom Come

He nodded. “Yes. It’s worse here, because we’re farther north and the sea wind is blowing. It’s why most of the Dark Elves live in caves. These mountains are known as the Concaves, referring to their seemingly hollowed-out interiors, and high ceilings. Whoever made their homes here are long since dead and buried now. They’re really ancient.”

Not long after midday on the second day, we had reached a mountain range that loomed over us more than eight thousand feet high, and it was these Bracca was referring to. The narrow trail around and through the foothills wound very close to the base of the mountains, and we rode in their shadows for most of the day. At least we were away from the constant wind. The trees that grew in the area were stunted-looking white birch trees growing part way up the snowy mountainsides. Bracca had already told me the Elven caves extended deep underneath this mountain range.

“The entrance to the city is through the city gates in a narrow gorge, which is practical for defense against their enemies. It’s still a couple of hours ride ahead of us.”

“I thought the Elves jealously guarded their territory.”

“From each other, yes. There’s no love lost between the Light and Dark Elves. But not the other Fae, except for the Dark Fairies. We’ve had our issues from time to time over the many centuries. Currently, we’re under a truce of sorts. The Dark Elves have traditionally had more communication with the other Fae tribes. They’re primarily miners and tradesmen and have a long coastline on their western border.”

“What do they trade?”

“They mine precious minerals that they find underground. My father has traded with them for copper and silver. Diamonds too.”

“Do the Dark Elves allow visitors?”

“I wouldn’t call them visitors. They allow traders to come in, and some other Fae creatures like trolls and dwarves who work in the mines. Not the Light Elves, but most of the Fae tribes, who buy and trade for their minerals and their gold. We’re deep inside the Liminal here, and near the ocean, so you may see Fae that you’re not used to seeing.”

“Like what? Mermaids?”

“The Mer people are mostly feral creatures and don’t mix all that often with other Fae. You may see Selkies, though, and an occasional sea witch, though they’re rare. The goblins come to trade for their fruits and vegetables and the Woodland Fairies are usually around in the markets too, trading for jewelry and fabrics. Cupids, ogres and others too.”

“I’d like to go to this market.”

He smiled indulgently. “Would you now?”

“Would that be possible?”

“It depends on how well our meeting with Hendris goes.”

“You think it might be hostile?”

“I think I’m arriving out of the blue to tell him I’ve located his long-lost cousin who is the true-blood king. And he needs to vacate the throne and make room for this cousin to take over. Oh, and by the way, I’ve married him and intend to take up residence here too. All things considered, I don’t think he’ll be overjoyed about it, no.”

“Wait. Did you say we’re planning on living there? In the Elven city?”

“Yes. eventually. These things take time and negotiation if we don’t want to start a war.”

“And we don’t,” I said firmly. “That’s the last thing I want.”

“Mm,” he replied, as always, non-committal. “We’ll see how that goes.”

We rode on, but I felt uneasy the rest of the journey.

We reached the city gates by mid-afternoon. They were large and impressive, made of heavy oak and blackened by age and perhaps ancient siege fires. They filled an opening in the base of the mountain that was perhaps fifteen feet tall and at least that wide. I’d never seen anything like it. The gate was wooden with golden hinges. The guards in front of the gate were Elves, of course. They were beautiful and tall, though not as handsome, I thought, as the Fairies as a general rule. They were much harder and tougher looking than the soldiers in Solaria, but not the Dark Fairy soldiers. All of the guards wore daggers and swords at their sides and carried the same kind of bows I used at home, slung over their shoulders. They were crossbows they used to kill the animals that lived in this forest for game, I supposed, and that they would no doubt use on anyone they deemed an enemy.

We rode boldly up to the front and the guards stepped out to challenge us. From this vantage point we could hear the sea, just beyond this mountain. Huge waves were crashing and roaring like conquering sea monsters as they attacked the mountain from the rear. A sudden chill shot through my body. What awaited us inside these gates?

“Inform King Hendris that His Royal Highness, Prince Bracca of the Dark Fairy kingdom is here to speak with him. It’s a matter of great urgency.”

They listened to Bracca respectfully, their eyes traveling down the long column of men we’d brought with us. They quickly conferred and told us to come in the gate but requested that Bracca leave his soldiers in the huge first cave, the one where the stags would be housed. Just for now, they hurried to say, until the king gave them further instructions. Some of them at the gate had already been dispatched to take word of our arrival to King Hendris.

Bracca had stiffly agreed and chosen two of his officers to accompany him to see the king. He came over to me before he left, telling me to stay with the other men and to leave with them if anything happened, or if they hadn’t returned within the hour.

“How he’s going to react to your visit here remains to be seen. In case we have to fight our way out of here, I don’t want to have to worry about you.”

It was fair, if a little rude, so I just agreed with him in order to keep the peace—but he was crazy if he thought I would ever leave him behind. I followed the other soldiers as we rode just inside the interior of the massive cave. We were inside the gates at the visitors’ stables, but the soldiers didn’t unsaddle their beasts and stood beside them, alert and ready for the first sign of any trouble. They had me stand well back among them, and that’s when I began to get worried.

Despite the fact we’d been allowed entrance, this didn’t feel friendly or cordial, but then we’d just arrived at their city gates with a small army. The Elven soldiers were uneasy and kept casting glances at us and a company of Elven soldiers had discreetly arrived and were spreading out around the entrance. At least it was a little warmer here than outside, because of the fires burning constantly everywhere, contained within rock barriers. That meant smoke too, but that was a part of life here, I surmised, and the ceilings were higher than any I’d ever seen. There must have been outlets for the smoke that I couldn’t see in the dark ceilings of the caves. I stood there waiting nervously, hoping to see Bracca returning soon.

---