Page 40 of House of Gilded Nightmares

Wyn begins to set out breakfast in the form of small seed cakes, sliced meat, and an assortment of cheeses. Riya takes a piece of cheese before responding.

“When I first came to this mountain over two hundred years ago, I chose it for a variety of reasons. One being the system of caves that runs throughout it.” A pause to take a small bite of her selection. “Using magic, I created a tunnel from the stables to the caverns.”

“And those caverns run beyond this mountain,” Zyren chimes in. “They can take us most of the way to Selaye.”

I nod. “We can make it in the three days remaining before I am to be wed?”

Zyren is silent a moment before he says, “Yes.” His face is impassive as a stone slate.

“Well, then, it sounds like the right choice.” I pause. “Or is there more to it?”

The two of them exchange looks. It’s Riya who answers. “There is very old magic running beneath these mountains. Magic that perhaps, over the eons, has taken on a mind of its own.”

My brows scrunch to my hairline. “Can magic do such a thing?”

“In Valaron, it can,” Zyren says, making a gesture with his hands.

“Is it dangerous?”

“No more dangerous than taking our chances on the road,” he responds. “In the caverns, we might get lucky. On the road, it will be nigh impossible to avoid capture.”

I reach for one of the seed cakes. “I guess I’ll pray for luck, then.”

We finish our meal with no further talk of the journey ahead. I eat my cake and drink a cup of hot tea absentmindedly, my thoughts churning. I’m anxious to leave this place and the memories of last night with Zyren, but also dreading what lies ahead. It seems danger treads a breath behind me at every step, but the only thing ahead is marriage to a man I don’t know, all to save a world I didn’t realize existed two weeks ago.

In the blink of an eye, we’ve finished our food and are prepared to embark. Riya kindly provided us with a clean set of clothing, so I’m dressed in form-fitting black pants and a light blue tunic beneath my cloak and boots. Zyren is in black once again. Our satchels are filled with several days’ worth of bread and seed cakes, along with a generous amount of cheese.

The hardest part is that I have to say goodbye to Arrow.

“You can send for her once you’re settled in Selaye,” Riya says as I pat the mare’s neck from within her stall. She leans in the doorframe, one hand on her hip. “Wyn will take excellent care of her, I promise.”

“Perhaps you both can come visit,” I say. “After the coronation.”

Riya smiles a tad sadly. “I’m not exactly on the palace guest list.”

I look over to Zyren, who is standing in the aisle of the stable a few feet away from us, but his expression gives away nothing. “Well,” I say, “maybe it’s time for some changes.”

Zyren heads down the aisleway toward the tunnel, a clear indication it’s time for us to depart.

“You’ll make a fine queen, Sarielle,” Riya says. “Travel safe and swift. I’d escort you, but my wife is returning from a long voyage any time now, and she’ll have my head if I’m gone when she arrives.”

“Your wife?” I ask in surprise. Riya lets out a laugh, and I say hastily, “I thought that you and Zyren…”

My eyes flick over to him. He’s out of earshot now, at the other end of the stable.

Another laugh, even louder. “Oh goddess, no. I love Zyren. As a dear friend only.” Her voice lowers several octaves. “Take care of him, Sarielle. He carries a heavy burden.”

My gaze drops to the floor. “I know being my guardian isn’t easy…”

“You are not the burden I refer to,” she says, and I can tell by her tone that the conversation is done.

“Thank you for everything,” I say, sliding past her out into the aisle. “I hope we meet again soon.”

“As do I,” Riya says. She makes a gesture that appears to be some sort of blessing, and then she leads me toward where Zyren is anxiously pacing.

At the end of the aisleway, Riya waves her hand, a glimmer of magic illuminating the shadows there. Where there appears to be a solid wall of stone, the mouth of a tunnel appears, stone steps that lead down into darkness. Torches light the way the first few feet, but then the tunnel spirals down and is lost from view.

“Don’t wait another five years next time, hmm?” Riya says saucily to Zyren.

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