Page 26 of House of Gilded Nightmares

The next day I begin to wonder how long these mountains continue. I can see nothing else behind us and nothing else ahead. It’s beginning to seem as if they will continue forever.

I voice this to Zyren as we ride.

“The mountains do not continue forever, I assure you,” he chuckles. “But this range is indeed the largest in all of Valaron. They are not called the Forever Mountains for nothing.”

“The Forever Mountains…” I echo. Beneath me, Arrow strides steadily along the narrow, rocky pass we traverse. Stone rises to either side, so close I could reach out and touch it. We’ve been climbing all day, and the air has taken on an iciness the last two hours.

“Up ahead, I’ll show you something that will make you feel better,” Zyren says.

“What?”

He smiles. “You’ll see. It’s not far now.”

A quarter-hour later, the stone walls fall away and we emerge onto a rocky ridge that crosses the mountain. Here, at the very tip-top, a light snow falls, collecting along the path and in the crevices between boulders. My breath leaves my body in one big rush as I take in the scene beyond.

I can see everything. The whole of Valaron, it seems. Purple mountains for miles and miles, nearly to the horizon, but not quite. And in the distance, a stretch of green hills and golden sand, and beyond, an azure ripple that can only be an ocean.

“This is…” I can’t find words for the feeling inside me.

“The best view in Valaron, to be sure,” Zyren says, stopping his gelding next to Arrow so he’s shoulder to shoulder with me.

“Before this, I never traveled beyond the palace walls,” I say softly. “Well, Lilette and I would sneak up to our small valley nearby, but other than that, I never saw…any of this. Not towns or deserts or oceans. I’ve only ever read about them in books.”

Zyren’s smile falls. “You should not have been kept behind the palace walls like that. But that changes now. If you wish to see the ocean, we will see the ocean.”

I turn my gaze to his for a moment, a strange feeling fluttering through my chest. “Why is it that Valaron is not entirely overrun by nightmares? So much of it is light and beautiful…just as Eldare.”

His expression grows even more serious. “Long ago, Valaron was a realm of Aureon just like all the others. But the nightmares grew restless and tired of being caged inside their realm, so they overthrew their queen, and their realm merged with Valaron. A great war began. The nightmares were not content even then, and the destruction would have continued to the rest of Aureon. But your ancestor, Isadahlia of House Otreyas, used her blood and magic and the power of the Obsidian Moon to seal the monsters back where they belonged with a powerful spell. She could not return Valaron to how it had been, but she could at least save the other realms of Aureon. She became Queen of Nightmares, and that spell has protected Valaron and Aureon ever since.”

I turn and look out across the land once again. “My bloodline…and my fate sealed,” I murmur.

“Your house and blood, and that of the king, made a great and noble sacrifice to save the rest of Aureon,” Zyren says. “Your blood runs through the very bones of these mountains.”

Tears sting at the corners of my eyes, but I nod, refusing to let them spill over.

“Look,” Zyren says, raising a gloved hand. “This is what I really wanted to show you. See that river in the distance? And the lake beyond?”

I lean closer to him and follow the line of his arm, my eyes roving over the mountains until I see the wide silver ribbon of river he’s pointing to, far, far away, and the large oval beyond, which looks almost like a mirror from this distance. I nod.

“In the peaks above that lake is Selaye, our city. Home to the Court of Nightmares.” He darts a glance over at me. “I thought it might make you feel better to see that there is, in fact, an end to our journey. We will not be lost in the wilderness forever.”

It does make me feel somewhat better, but it also fills me with a wave of uncertainty. Because when we reach our destination, I must wed a stranger. “How long will it take to reach Selaye?”

“Ten days if the weather holds and nothing else slows us down.”

I turn to meet his eyes. “I am sure you’re anxious to get back home after this very unexpected detour.”

Zyren shrugs. “I do have those that I miss and who are no doubt worried about me.”

For the first time, I wonder if Zyren has a family. “Are you yourself married?”

He shakes his head, his face wiped clean of emotion. “A blood guardian cannot marry. It is against the vow we take when we bond with the one we protect. I cannot have any conflicts, nothing I might place in higher regard.”

My throat runs dry and my heart goes still. “I’m sorry, Zyren. I feel as if…”

“I am happy to fulfill my duty,” he says gruffly. “It is not your fault. You were young when I was bonded to you.”

“But still…”

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