Page 80 of Shrine of Fire

Aki patted Cuan’s shoulder. “You did good. You’ll be fine during the heat if you liked that.”

Cuan rumbled, and I shivered.

“And how long will that be?” Cuan looked at me. “Shouldn’t we make a nest or…”

I wiggled against Cuan. “I’m not nesting yet. I want your weight on me. We have more time to prepare.”

More time, but I wasn’t sure exactly how much time.

At least I had the resemblance of a pack to see me through. But at some point, I would have to find a way to talk to Stefan and the others about what they were comfortable sharing.

As much as I wanted to pull into a harbor to wait out the heat, I wanted to get to the Library of Souls more. We needed to see what artifacts might help us. Maybe we could make a quick stop and then find a nice safe place to hole up for my heat.

I doubted it would actually happen like that, but until we reached Tolaga I couldn’t make better plans.

We pulled into the Bay of Antia early in the morning, almost a week later. At the mouth of the bay sat the capital city of Tolaga, one of the richest places in the world. Between the rare exports of exotic fruits and silks no other place in the world could match, and being a popular destination for traders, it was a major port city.

Hashir and the others joined me on the deck to watch our progress into the bay.

The city was also famous for its architecture, hailed as one of the remaining wonders from the time before the world sealed the spirits away.

Hashir put an arm around my waist and pointed ahead of us.

Massive statues made of golden stone stood sentry at the mouth of the bay. One was a man, crown around his head with long draping robes with both hands held out in front of him, palms up. The other statue was also man shaped, but his arms were over his head, holding a giant crystal blue gem, a common way our ancestors depicted spirits. The gem was one of the many crystals the city was famous for. They guarded the locations of their crystal mines closely.

“One of your friends?” Cuan elbowed Kalahar with a grin.

“Sadly, not.” Kalahar gave him a weak smile.

The statues were as high as the cliffs rising above the city. Behind it, there was a waterfall flowing down in a half circle. As we sailed closer, I saw that inside the pool below the waterfall were massive islands.

On those islands, the city of Tolaga was built. Water followed around the brick red and gold buildings of the city, sometimes coming from the top of the roof and down around in small pools.

“They have running water in all the houses,” Hashir said. “As you can image, it’s a popular place to move to.”

“What about during the dry season?”

“It’s usually not dry enough to affect the Catajara falls.”

I leaned against Hashir and inhaled his spicy-sweet scent. “It’s beautiful.”

“We should be able to request a trip to the oasis,” Stefan said. “Maybe not at the welcoming dinner, but soon after.”

We pulled into port, and very much like at Fairuin, there was a large crowd of people waiting for us. Most of them were dressed in long flowing dresses and skirts made of light, nearly sheer fabric, but several also wore colorful cloaks draped over their shoulders.

It was easy to pick out the upper class, since they wore heavy necklaces, bracelets, and earrings made from gemstones.

Lord Baylin approached me. “Please, allow me the honor of introducing you to Duke Antu.”

It was supposed to be Stefan’s honor.

Stefan smiled. “It would be our pleasure, Lord Baylin.”

I resisted the urge to push Lord Baylin overboard and, instead, watched as the ship sailed into port. Docking took a while, and in the meantime, we had to stand around looking at each other with awkward smiles.

We disembarked, and the group waiting for us at the docks approached. Three men wearing cloaks in purple, white, and blue and fastened with a large jewel approached us. They had jet black hair and golden, sun-kissed skin.

Lord Baylin stepped in front of our small group. “Please allow me to introduce the Crown Prince Stefan, and the Princess Callenova, Omega of the Shrine of Everlasting Fire.”

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