Page 5 of A Court of Ash and Midnight
A couple of the Guardians turn towards the gate, and the rest stay clustered around me as we start to make our way toward it. What kind of irony had me survive capture by the barest thread last night, only to be rendered unconscious by some stranger and wake up to find myself prisoner of someone else?
The sky is gray and oppressive overhead, a stiff wind whipping the banners that hang from turrets on either side of the gate. The banners are black like the Guardians’ garb, with the same sigil: two swords crossing inside the circumference of a crown. Protectors of the realm. A bit on the nose, perhaps. Queen Sarielle’s husband had been her guardian when they first met, and in the centuries they’d ruled since, the Guardians had grown in strength and numbers. I shiver as I look up at the banners, and the impenetrable wall I’m about the pass beyond.
As we get closer, it’s hard to see much beyond the circle of riders around me, all of whom are blocking my view. Between their suffocating closeness and the wall soaring over my head, I feel almost claustrophobic as I pass beneath the portcullis, it’s pointed metal bars like teeth ready to slam down on me. It feelsvery much like passing between the jaws of a giant beast. My heart races and beads of sweat form along my spine. My throat is tight as I try to swallow the fear clawing up from my belly.
There’s a sudden gust of warm air from my left, and when I turn to see the source, I nearly die on the spot.
Just inside the walls of the compound stands anactualbeast. A monster. A nightmare.
It rises nearly half the height of the wall itself, which is stunningly high. Its body is a shade of purple that is nearly black, and it’s covered in scales that undulate as if the thing is under water. Two sets of wings are folded neatly along its back, the top pair slightly larger than the second pair. A sharp claw tips each of the wings. Black eyes within a ring of lemon-yellow around the pupil are fixed hungrily on my face.
I can’t help it. In my shock, I stagger sideways into one of the horses, drawing a sharp rebuke from its rider. I’ve never seen a nightmare before. The Queen employs them, of course, she is the Queen of Nightmares after all. But they all live in Valaron, off the southern coast of Eldare. It’s one thing to know of their existence, to hear tales, and another thing entirely to meet one face to face. Apparently, this one is on loan for use by the Guardians. What exactly are they trying to keep out, mighty warriors that they are?
Or, are they trying to keep somethingwithinthe walls?
The Guardians turn to the right, and the nightmare lets out a low growl that sounds almost like disappointment; its prey escaped. We march along the wall toward a building in the distance, a castle or fortress. I’m not sure I know the difference, just that I’ve never been inside one. Off to the left, I catch sight of the wall, which continues around a huge area of land on either side and then disappears into the distance. There must be hundreds of acres inside this compound. I catch flashes of green fields, and beyond, a river splits the area, leading up into a lushvalley at the foothills of the mountains. Even in early autumn the place is green and verdant, though in the hills I catch flashes of yellow and orange in the trees.
My attention is brought back to my immediate surroundings as the procession stops outside the fortress. The rider in the lead, the one who said I had to see the Commander, dismounts and gestures for me to follow. Two others flank me, as if I’m in any shape to give them trouble. As we move beyond the circle of horses and I have an unobstructed view, I can’t help but cast a glance back to the nightmare guarding the gate. The portcullis is just lowering back into place with an audibleboomof finality.
Something else catches my eye as I look back, movement on the parapet above the wall beyond the gate. A lone figure stands there, black cloak flung back in the wind. Even though they’re far too distant for me to make out any details, I can’t help but feel like their eyes are locked on mine. A shiver of recognition moves over me inexplicably. I feel certain, though I can’t explain why, that it’s the man from the night before. The man who bespelled me.
Which means, if I’m right, he’s the one who brought me here.
One of the Guardians grabs my arm, mistaking my pause for resistance, and pulls me through the yawning door of the castle. But despite my predicament, what rolls through my head is not the man I’m about to meet. The Commander.
It’s a pair of piercing jade eyes, and a question that flames in my chest like a lantern.
Why was I brought here?
Chapter Four
The Commander’s officeis on the second floor of the castle. The Commander, however, is not inside it.
One of the Guardians points to an empty chair in front of a massive fireplace on the far wall. I look to the fireplace and then back at the Guardians escorting me, because it seems odd to wait in the Commander’s office when he’s not there, but they gesture again and wait by the door as I walk across the large room. My boots echo against the stone floor as I move. The room has two large windows to my left, and the interior wall on the right is lined with mahogany shelves laden with books and maps and vintage weapons.
Despite the pounding of my heart, when I reach the fire, my muscles relax ever so slightly. Heat, warm and familiar, flushes over my skin. The ever-present pain in my joints lessens in the light of the flames. I hesitate a moment before sitting down, holding my hands out over the flames, too close probably. Butfire is my friend. Years of working as a blacksmith taught me not to fear it.
Just as I sit down in one of the leather-backed chairs, I hear footsteps in the hallway outside.
A man strides in past the guards, who open and close their mouths as if they’re about to say something. “Sir—” one calls after him, but he beelines for me, ignoring them completely. He is tall and thin, with graying chestnut hair, thick and lustrous. He wears an emerald-green cloak and a pair of gold spectacles. He doesn’t look anything like what I expected.
“Oh, dear,” he says, stopping in front of me as I rise from my chair again. “This really is incredibly odd. I came as soon as I heard we had a visitor. What’s your name, child?”
“Embyr,” I say, trying to cover my surprise.
“And you have no memory of how you got here?”
“No, I—”
My words are cut short as another man enters the room. This man is another half foot taller even than the first, broad-shouldered, a massive oak tree of a man. His hair is dark, as is his beard and his expression. Everything about him reminds me of a fast-moving storm. Even his cloak is black, like the other Guardians.
“Professor Julian, what are you doing here?” he barks, his words the boom of thunder.
“Well, I heard what happened, so naturally I came as soon as I could,” says the first man, sounding somewhat flustered.
“I don’t believe I invited you to my office.”
They stop in front of me and my heart pounds anew as they square off, staring each other in the eyes with the intensity of two dragons. The thin man, despite looking frail in comparison to the second man, who is clearly the Commander, holds his ground with surprising grit.
