Page 38 of The Alien Noble's Little Human

I turn my face to the snow-swept mountain valley, trying to piece together any scrap of information Rylan gave us about our destination in the mountains.

“Something about a violet glow…” I mutter.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing. Just trying to remember what it was Rylan actually said about how we’d know.”

“I got the impression from him that it’s something you’ll know when you see it somehow, but that’s not very satisfying when we have nothing.”

“Sounds like something mythical, like the beans and the pylorx. Maybe it’s just a make-believe story.”

“No. There are some things that are, in equal measure, both mythical and true.” He looks straight at me, with a searching expression that I don’t quite understand. “Something tells me that finding roxolite is like that.”

I realize I’m getting out of breath from talking. On Earth, they also had supplemental oxygen for situations like this.

Focus, Zaya.

The night is stalking in, bringing with it fresh dread as its icy fingers creep beneath my furs and suck the last of the energy from my bones.

I don’t even realize I’ve stumbled until the cold snow hits me in the face. Strong arms lift me to my feet and hold me close. Taurek’s warm body brings blessed warmth to my cold numbed one. I bury my face into the furs at his throat, breathing in his warmth and animal scent. I’m desperately trying to hold back the bitter tears of frustration and defeat.

“That spot there, with the little overhang. Let’s make camp. We’ve already done too much today.” Taurek steadies me with his arms.

I stand swaying and stare bleakly into the night, wondering how I’ll live with myself if I fail. I barely have the strength to help Taurek. What am I doing here besides slowing things down?

“We’ll have a quick meal over the fire once it’s lit, and then we can try to clear our minds and think, Zaya.”

Think about how we’re going to face ourselves once we’ve failed, I finish in my head.

My mind spins, thinking about what I should have done differently. I could have insisted on doing research in Mountain Kingdom libraries. I didn’t even bring notes excerpting the reference materials. I could have talked with geologists or medical experts there in Cygoth.

We could have gathered a bigger team, one consisting of more than a desperate Prince, a half-feral mountain guide, and an idealistic human artisan in way over her head.

It’s getting so dark that soon we won’t be able to survey the landscape visually. All I have to comfort me is his body, but even that feels hollow. I don’t know how I could enjoy physical pleasure while a young girl’s life ebbs away, and I’m in control of the tides.

I can barely see my own hands, although my eyes seem to be adjusting to the dark quickly. I wonder if our time in the mountains has sharpened my vision because it’s notably better tonight than before.

Maybe I’m finally losing my mind from oxygen deprivation and high altitude, and hallucinations are replacing the material world. Because everything around seems like it’s glowing.

“Taurek, are you seeing –” My teeth are chattering, and my body’s shaking.

“Good, you see it, too. I thought I might be imagining it.”

The snow a little further across the mountains is gently ablaze with a violet luminescence, like embers. The glow changes in hue and intensity like a living being, turning from soft orchid to deep amethyst.

“Do you think…?” I start to ask.

“I wonder if this is what Rylan meant. Violet glow.”

I laugh, even though it makes me weaker. I can’t help myself.

It’s a short distance away, requiring a small climb relative to the peaks we’ve ascended and then a slight trek down to the bend in the bedrock, just like the books said. But then we’re there.

“We have to get over there,” I gasp.

Now that it’s marked with a trail of purple, the fold in the valley is easy to see. The shadow cast by the glowing mauve snow clearly defines the change in the landscape.

I’m exhausted, but the knowledge that we’re so close animates my body like the strings of a marionette. If the roxolite reveals itself most at night, we’d have to wait a full day to get as good a look.

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