Page 58 of The Curse of a Kingdom
She moved her freckled hands over the fading bruises on her neck as she inspected her reflection. Her cool touch was a contrast to her feverish skin. What tomorrow’s solstice would bring to her and Ark was . . . worrisome, as if she needed anything else added to her already complicated life.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
NAVA
Apolished black carriage with gold trim awaited them by the entrance of the castle, down dozens of narrow stone steps that were lined with cement banisters. Two guards wearing polished copper armor and long blue capes stood at the bottom.
The beasts pulling their transportation were not horses, nor bulls. They were as wide as the latter, with shiny hides of charcoal gray and ebony. Their necks had long, thick, wavy hair that reminded her of sheep.
“The orrus.” Fael’s voice had her heart jumping out of her chest. “The beasts are bred by the fae in the high mountains. Stronger than a bull and faster than any horse. Stubborn and the males can get . . . scary if females are around.”
“I have never seen one before. Are they bred as a mix between a bull and a horse?”
Fael shrugged. “I’m sure they took inspiration from that, but the high mountain fae are known to have the gift of creation. Once a century or so, they bring to life something new. A plant with medicinal powers never seen before. A creature like this.”
“So magic is no issue for them?” That thought alone had Nava perking up. It was a disease that affected every corner of the world. The dwindling of magic, the main reason the Society of Crows was wreaking havoc on people's lives.
“No, they are also affected. Before, they were able to create every decade—then every fifty years, and so on.” Fael moved toward the door, and the footman made haste from his path, clearly not wanting to interact with the guard. “It’s rumored their magic is not as strong as it used to be.”
“Oh.”
“Either way, these creatures are protected by our laws because they are made by our magic, and they don’t reproduce easily. It’s forbidden to hunt or trade them, and they are to stay in our kingdom. Of course, poachers happen, but it’s not common that they go unpunished.” Fael held the door open for her.
Another poor living creature having difficulty procreating in this kingdom. Nava wondered if it had something to do with the water or maybe the magic that fed the lands.
The orrus snorted loudly, their two-fingered hooves lifting rock and dirt from where they stood, clearly not pleased to be holding still while the three of them got in the carriage.
Standing straight and looking forward, the guards with their impressive dark wings shaded the gravel path; they were taller than even Fael, their mists billowing around them like a campfire. Their gazes burned the nape of her neck as she turned around to get into the carriage, past the footman in orange regalia who didn’t say a word and avoided her eyes.
It had been a long while since she’d ridden a carriage. Last time had been in the Iron City, when she and her family had been running from Arkimedes and Devon. She could still remember her mother tightening the ropes that had held their sparse belongings to the back of their wooden ride. Her mother’s dark chestnut hair had billowed in the wind, wild, much like her own.
If Nava closed her eyes tightly, she could almost smell the soft notes of rose from her mother’s body oil. But as she sat on these black velvet seats, the only scent that surrounded her was leather and musk.
The Copper City revealed itself as the carriage pulled past a tall archway under the castle’s outside walls, layered in tiers that descended in circular patterns. Tall, century-old trees lined the streets here, with black lamp posts and uneven cobbled roads.
Nava held the leather handle by the roof as the carriage rushed past impressive-sized manors on either side of them.
“The high fae live here,” Leela said and intertwined her fingers over her legs, her blue gaze flashing from Nava to the outside. “Are you well, miss? You are looking rather pale.”
Her stomach churned as nausea hit her in waves, coming and going with the rocking of the wood that encased her, closing in like an unwelcome hug. “I usually walk everywhere.”
They crossed past another archway, the stone walls shorter than the ones that surrounded the castle, but here the color of the city exploded around her. Bright yellow and beige homes loomed over them. Every inch of the city was covered by a stucco building or ones made with burnt-orange bricks and framed in wood.
The city was alive with people. Unlike what she had seen in the castle, they all wore different colors. Reds, yellows, whites, and browns. Beautiful patterned silk fabric hung from a particular store, with greens that reminded her of the forest in the Grey Island.
Children played on the sidewalks; some had wings, some did not. The streets were packed full of other carriages being pulled by less-impressive orrus or by horses. Nava swore she even saw a donkey somewhere.
Her nose touched the cool glass of the window, and her breath caught in her throat when the turquoise water of the canal appeared behind the buildings.
“We are close now, miss,” Leela said.
Nava met the eyes of a young man with long, camel-blond hair held down by a tall hat. A polished gray suit fit like it had been tailored to him. He smile at her from the sidewalk, tilting his hat up and revealing perfectly rounded ears. Nava blinked and sat back, finally meeting both Fael’s and Leela’s amused expressions.
“They are not all fae,” Nava murmured.
“We have a large population of humans in the city, and in outer towns of our kingdom, there are other fae races and shifters.” Fael placed his helmet over his head, covering his salt-and-pepper tresses.
The carriage shook as they went over a large bump on the road, and Nava struggled to keep herself seated and not lose her breakfast all over the place. The damn thing moved even faster than the steam vehicles from the Iron City.
