Page 58 of House of Gilded Nightmares

We ride through the day, pushing the horses as hard as we can, with only short breaks in between. The land descends gradually, the Forever Mountains giving way to wooded hills, which eventually turn to rolling grassy hills. Finally, as the sun begins to set, we canter the horses to the edge of a high cliff.

Beyond, sparkling with the rosy hues of the falling sun, is the ocean.

I want to stand and stare at it, but Zyren moves his horse into a trot along the edge of the cliff until we find a path leading down to the shore. We carefully ride down it until we reach the beach below. In the distance, we can see a town sitting at the water’s edge. We pick up a gallop again and push the horses for the last bit of speed they can give us.

We reach the town a few minutes later. A painted wooden sign with the name Oleare hangs on the outskirts. We bring the horses to a walk and ride through the narrow cobblestone streets until we reach the port, where several ships are docked along stone walkways. Within another hour, Zyren has bartered the horses for passage on a small merchant vessel called The Golden Hawk. The ship is sailing along the coast, stopping at each port city until it reaches the northern coast of Valaron, where ice prevents further passage.

“You’re in luck,” the captain says as we climb aboard. “We’re lifting anchor in a quarter-hour.”

After he shows us to our cabin at the aft of the ship, he pauses in the doorway, glancing at my silken dress. “Newlyweds, eh?”

“Yes,” Zyren says with a tense smile before saying farewell and closing the door.

As soon as we’re alone, Zyren strides across the cabin, as far away from me as he can get. The captain’s words are true—we are married now. I’m still in shock at everything that’s transpired in the span of less than a day. My world has been upended multiple times, each more unsettling than the time before.

Two days ago, I would have been elated to marry Zyren and save Valaron. Now, it tastes like bone dust in my mouth. Zyren lied to me, betrayed me, and now clearly wants nothing to do with me. We’d performed the spell to contain the nightmares, but with the Septarus in power now, Valaron is far from safe.

My dreams of traveling the world and figuring out a way to get back to Eldare to stop the High Priest now seem laughable. I’m on the run with magic I can barely control, a man who hates me and likely blames me for his brother’s death, and enemies hunting us. I don’t know how I ever thought anything hopeful could come from this blood that runs through my veins.

But as furious as I am with Zyren, we’re in this together, come what may. We’re going to have to work together, or we have no chance of getting out of this alive.

I walk slowly to where he stands at the small window at the rear of the cabin, next to the bed. Waves splash against the glass as the ship begins to move away from port, out into the dark waters beyond. Moonlight cuts across the ocean in a silvery line like a blade.

“What do you think will happen next?” I ask softly. “Where are we going to find an army to challenge Avonia?”

“I don’t know,” he says, his voice a low rumble of thunder. “I don’t know anything right now.”

The ice around my heart cracks slightly. “Zyren…”

He doesn’t turn, doesn’t speak.

“Zyren, can you at least look at me?”

Slowly, so slowly, he turns. His eyes flicker with pain when they meet mine. “I can’t look at you without seeing my brother,” he says, voice laced with agony.

I suck in a sharp breath. “I’m so sorry for what happened.”

“It’s not your fault,” he says. “I never should have brought you to the Court of Nightmares in the first place. I should have known Avonia would try to intervene.”

“You’re not to blame, either.” Tears prick at the corners of my eyes. “We both did our best to fulfill our duty. We did everything we could, despite how we felt about it.”

“And look where that got us.” Zyren crosses his arms over his chest, pain replaced with anger. “You’re married to someone you don’t trust, and I’m married to someone who reminds me of my deepest, darkest betrayal.”

We fall silent for several long moments.

“If we do not save Valaron,” I say, meeting his burning gaze, “No one will.”

Zyren’s jaw flexes. “Then we continue to fulfill our duty.”

Now I’m the one who walks away. I stride across the cabin and out the door, then I climb the steps to the upper deck of the ship. There are only a few crewmen visible, and they’re down on the main deck, handling the rigging and adjusting the sails. I walk until I can walk no farther, and I stare out at the endless stretch of waves before me. Despite all the terrible things that’ve happened, there are no walls around me, no boundaries, as far as my eyes can see. I am free for the first time in my life. Free to choose, wherever those choices lead me.

I hear the creak of wood a moment before Zyren steps up and leans against the railing.

“Much has changed,” he says, his voice matching the deep, dark of the night around us. “But one thing hasn’t.”

I tilt my chin and look up at him, his strong jaw and his silver eyes reflecting the light of the moon. After a moment, he turns, too, and meets my gaze.

“I am your blood guardian, and we are bound together forever,” Zyren says. “Nothing that’s happened, or will happen in the future, can change that fact. I will protect you until I draw my last breath. I will fight by your side. I will do all in my power to ensure that no harm comes to you.”

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