Page 71 of Of Serpents and Ruins
"The Gola Resh has controlled too much of our lives." I took Auntie Runa's hand in mine, my thumb pressing to the back of her hand.
A heavy, almost painful confidence had risen within me. Yes, I desperately wanted to see Brandt again, but time was of the essence. This was the right thing to do. This was what I needed to do.
"Girl, can you tell me that this isn't simply because you want to see your beloved?" Auntie Runa asked, her golden eyes hard and her brow furrowed.
The temptation to lie rose at once to my lips.
Just deny it.
Deny everything.
Reassure her that I was clear-minded. But…no.
I shook my head, managing a small smile. "Of course not. I want to see him so much. Just the thought of not seeing himmakes me feel like I can't breathe." My voice shook a little. "But that doesn't change that deep in my core, I know I need to go. We have to resolve this. Any extra time that this might take is time we don't have. You said only if it was necessary, and before this, you said that it might be that, in the end, we would have to work with one another. That's what is happening now. Trust me. Please."
Auntie Runa clasped my face in both her hands. Her eyes searched mine, her lips pinched in a tight line. Then she pressed her forehead to mine. "My darling girl…" Her fingers dug into my cheeks as she wrestled with some deeper question. At last, she shook her head, patting the side of my face gently as she stepped back. "I trust you, but even though I trust you, this won't be easy."
Kine stepped forward, his head bowed with respect. "Auntie Runa, they are also convinced they understand why the rotational element of the king's curse keeps advancing. They believe it comes when he is feeling agitation. The intense earthquakes make this far worse. He has not had any significant skips forward in the curse's seizure. Both times happened after the earthquakes, and in both cases, the force of the earthquakes was unusually high."
"Did a seer spot this?" Auntie Runa asked, her voice tight.
"No," Kine admitted with reluctance, his smile fading as he glanced at Hord for support. Hord simply shook his head. "No, but the sages are relatively certain." He gave a broad shrug. "There has been so much darkness in this time, Auntie Runa. Many seers have hardly been able to see anything when it comes to the Gola Resh and anything attached to her, but the sages are convinced."
"It's because our magic is being drained," Elias murmured. "I can feel it. Reduced to little more than impressions. Next tonothing is left unless it's divinely granted. It goes faster by the day."
"All the more reason for us to get this resolved," I interjected, squeezing Auntie Runa's hands. "We're going to figure out how to stop this curse and the Gola Resh, Auntie Runa. I know we are."
She gripped my hands as well. Tears misted her eyes, but she forced a smile as she took a moment to collect her thoughts. When she spoke, she spoke with only the faintest quaver in her voice. "Remember, love is a powerful thing, my dear. It can be cruel and destructive as much as it can be good and beautiful, and it is not available only to you and your allies. Keep yourself grounded. Don't let it sweep you off your feet and into its current, or else you will be consumed by it, and remember also that not everything has a single solution. Sometimes there will be more than one, and until death, there is hope." She paused as she studied my face, then shook her head. "I got charcoal on your face. Hold still."
Licking her thumb, she scrubbed off the marks. I grimaced but didn’t protest. Of course she would do this.
With a soft smile, she kissed me on the cheek. Then she embraced Kine and Elias, kissing both of them and whispering something to each.
Elias's shoulders eased as she hugged him. He nodded, dipping his head forward as he whispered something back. Whatever it was, she must have appreciated it because she patted him on the arm.
Then, after gathering a few items, we were off.
Hord led the way on a green-backed triceratops with amber eyes and ebony speckles. Four of his other warriors accompanied us. Kine and Elias both rode their parasaurs. As for me, Buttercup barely had to be encouraged to run. She surged ahead so fast I nearly slid out from behind her crest.
The sun shone brightly as we set out, bathing the grasslands in a comforting golden glow though storm clouds built in the east. Dark and heavy as they were, it looked like we would be getting a bad storm in a few hours. Still, the brilliant rays warmed my skin, and the purple cast to the sky seemed a little darker even compensating for the storm.
The grasslands blurred past as Buttercup galloped along them, her powerful legs kicking up small clouds of dust with each thundering step. My heart pounded with exhilaration and nerves.
Hord took us on a roundabout path, actively avoiding anyone who might spot us. If there were any roving factions out and about, I didn't see them.
We hugged the tree line except when we neared the river. Once there, he led us into the shadows of rocky outcroppings. It took almost an hour to reach Castle Serpentfire.
The black castle had been built on a great dark-red cliff above a white sand beach. It was more obvious here than it had been at Auntie Runa’s, but the structure was built with a massive foundation and base and tapered toward the top, giving the towers an odd pyramid shape. The bricks had similar interlocking panels despite being made of stone. The terrain sheared off in deep cliffs leading down to the beaches. Woven ladders hung down the sides. Staircases had been fastened at the treads and sides with a railing that appeared to be wooden, and then a series of ropes and handholds had been fastened and carved into the sides as well.
A harbor of sorts curled around the beach. Large double-hulled ships of dark wood with bright sails were moored in the center, each massive sail painted with a series of crimson and azure symbols, all including some variation of the water serpent. Large metal rings had been worked into the sides of the ship well above the waterline. The prow of every ship, regardlessof size, had been carved to resemble a different water serpent. Even from this distance, I could tell that the craftsmanship was exquisite.
The sea breeze tasted of salt and algae, bracing and familiar. A softer citrus undercurrent was what really brought me into the moment, the scent I had been looking for all my life. Scraps of memory pulsed over me—scraping my knees on the coarse red stone as I shimmied down the cliff walls, running onto the docks, feeding the sea birds and ocean reptiles, watching the sun turn vermilion as it sank below the horizon, and diving into briny waters and letting the warm waters engulf me.
Gulls and pteranodons wheeled in the air above, some diving down to snatch up morsels from the ships and docks. Thunder grumbled as storm clouds built in the distance.
The closer we got, the more I recognized, though it did not feel like home, exactly.
The soaring obsidian towers, the crimson banners snapping in the sea breeze. They felt familiar.
