by Trudie Skies
“The courtesy of leaving our land with your swords intact. The King may entertain Fire Walkers in his court, but we do not.”
“And if the King or the Sword of Solus commanded you?”
“The King and his wardens are feeble old men. They tire of war games. It will be Fellbani steel, Nasiri horses, and Darasi blood that wins this war. And when the crown sits on our Prince’s head, we’ll march and win the battles to come against his enemies.”
His words were a threat, and he made no attempt to disguise it.
Guards crowded around the city gates, gripping sword hilts or javelins. Their eyes washed over her with suspicion. It didn’t matter that she was a Houseman, a priestess, or Talin’s flesh and blood. To them, she was a Fire Walker.
A monster.
Samira had tried to warn her that Fire Walkers weren’t just locked away for the protection of themselves and society—they were prisoners being punished for existing, blamed for Sandair’s woes. They’d tortured her. The King had allowed it. Leila had ignored it.
Warmth tingled in Mina’s fingertips and she wrung her reins. “How much fire would it take to melt your steel wall?”
“Consider your position,” Lord Darian called. “We know how to track and kill Fire Walkers. We know how to make them bleed. We’ve become rather efficient at it.” He raised his hand.
Something flashed in the Rahnlight. Arrowheads. More guardsmen leaned over the wall, their arrows nocked and pointed at her.
“We need to go,” Alistar murmured. “Before this gets ugly.”
She cast a scathing look at the men. “It’s already ugly.”
“Let’s not make it worse, Arl.”
“We still need supplies.”
“We can ride elsewhere,” Raj whispered, his voice panicked and urgent. “Saraani or Fellbani.”
Either city would add extra days to their journey. And if the Houses of the Solands were allowed to kill their Fire Walkers with impunity, a place like Fellbani—home to Farzad Fellbond and his goat-offspring—was likely to seize the opportunity. How many more Houses murdered their own people for possessing Rahn’s gift? How many Houses did the King allow to practice such depravity?
“Priestess,” Garr said, his eyes bright. “As much as I’d like to burn these dogs to the ground, getting shot full of arrows won’t help our cause. Not here. Not now.”
He was right. Threatening to destroy their legendary city would only serve to damn her people. I am the master of my own self.
Mina turned Luna away from the steel wall but glared over her shoulder. “You defy Rahn by hurting his children. He watches over you and your dead. Let’s hope your people fare well in this war, Lord Darian, because neither I nor my Fire Walkers will burn their rotting corpses.”
30
THE EMERALD PATH
No matter how far they rode from Darasus, Mina couldn’t forget the angry eyes that looked at her as less than human, or the hateful whispers that clung to her skin like an oil she couldn’t wash off. The others said nothing, but they watched her. Alistar tugged on his braid and looked ready to bolt. Raj radiated guilt, as though he couldn’t find the words to say, and Garr… Garr looked how she felt: a volcano ready to explode and burn the world down.
And so, on they rode west.
Three days passed. The sparse pockets of woodland grew thicker, and they abandoned both the road and the Giant’s Arm to head directly west toward a different wall—not stone or steel, but wood. Thick trees as tall as the poles on Lune’s Path.
They’d reached Gaisland.
Raj whooped a laugh. “We’re here!”
Alistar sidled his horse into the shade. “It’s all woodland from here on.”
Garr followed suit. “So, is this the part where we hold hands and skip merrily among the flowers?”
Mina pulled a face. Rahnlight easily filtered between branches on the outskirts of the forest, but darkened farther in. How would they see? “It’s all like this? For how far?”
“For days and days.”
She couldn’t stop herself from staring. “It’s that big?”
“Don’t worry. There are roads through the forest, you know. The Emerald Path should be easy to find if we keep travelling due west,” Alistar explained.
“You’ve ridden this path before?”
“A few times. My family prefers sailing along the Ruby Coast to Saraani and riding from there. Will you be able to keep your fire under control?”
His question caught her off guard. “What?”
Alistar tugged on his braid. “Well, it’s… the forests are thick. If any of the trees go up in flames, the fire will be able to move a lot quicker than we can.”
His words churned in her stomach. “I’ve not lost control of my fire around you.”
“You burned down our tents, Arl.”
“That was an accident.”
“Will you be having any other accidents?”
His expression looked innocent enough, though his eyes twitched to the trees. Gods, he wasn’t even being subtle about it. During their travels across the Solands, she’d noticed the way he’d run off to hunt their supper the moment she summoned her flame. They’d barely shared a word since their encounter with House Sarabond. And after leaving Darasus, he couldn’t even look her in the eye.
Raj chewed his lip and fidgeted in his seat. Garr smirked with his brows raised, and his face said everything: See, this is what Housemen think of us.
She snapped her fingers and a single flame sparked in her palm.
Alistar yelped and near fell off his horse. “Put that out!”
“Look at it! It’s fire. It’s gods-damn fire, and I’m not some monster. You know me, Ali.”
He righted himself in his saddle and ran a calming hand across his horse’s neck. “Do I, Malik? Stars, we trained together. We fought in the tournament together. I supported you against the Prince, of all people. I don’t even care that you’re a priestess now, whatever that even means, but the least you could do is not flaunt it.”
“Flaunt it? Are you serious? You think I’m flaunting my fire?”
“Yes! Stars above, we got caught in a riot, House Sarabond almost shot you, those Darabond guards were itching for a fight, and you burned down our tents!”
“That’s not fair, Ali,” Raj said. “She didn’t mean to burn them—”
“Exactly! What if next time it’s a tree? And she sets fire to the entire Emerald Forest? What if next time—”
“It’s you?” she said.
He sucked in a breath but said nothing. He didn’t have to.
“You’re scared of me.”
Her flame fizzled out. There was a part of her that wanted to scream and burn. Blood fire was more common than the Houses cared to admit, and yet Housemen still thought they could lock them away and ignore the issue. It made her want to laugh. Even the gods-damn Princess was one of them. How would Alistar cope when he found out?
Another part of her, a deeper part, wanted to lie down and close her eyes. Gods, this was exhausting. All of it. And the war hadn’t even started yet. She should have known things couldn’t continue as before. In her eyes, Malik and Mina were no different. But the same old Malik wasn’t who Alistar saw. Who Prince Rais saw. Who any of them saw.
A monster.
“Alistar of House Myrbond, I formally release you as my sorran. Go back to your princess.” She cracked Luna’s reins and passed the first trees, ignoring the open stares from Raj and Garr. She’d find the Emerald Path and make her own way.
It’s not like the bond meant anything. Alistar had never truly been her sorran.
The hooves of a single horse thumped behind her. “Arl, stop. You can’t get through this forest alone.”
“Are you following me in case I burn it down?”
“No! Stars, I’m trying! Didn’t I tell you about my helbond? When my sword master burned down my ship? You’ve seen my scars. He was carel
ess with his fire, and it cost him and me. Have I asked you to stop using your fire? I’m just asking you to be careful.”
She stopped her horse and scowled. “I am careful. And don’t you dare mention the tents.”
“Look, I…” He glanced back among the trees but neither Raj nor Garr had followed. “War is coming, and Fire Walkers don’t always make the best judgment when under pressure.”
“You’re questioning my judgment now?”
“Well, you brought him. You know the tales of Ash Makers and how strong their fire magic is. And you brought one to Sandair’s largest forest!”
“You don’t trust him because he’s a Fire Walker.”
“I don’t trust him because he acts like a pampered Solaran prince.”
“Isn’t that what you’re about to become? A pampered Solaran prince?”
He grimaced. “You know about Princess Aniya?”
Why else would Mina have given him so much space? She edged Luna forward. “They asked me to release you as my sorran.”
His horse trotted alongside hers. “But you didn’t.”
“You didn’t ask me to. You didn’t trust my judgment enough to talk to me.”
“I—I was going to tell you. Stars, I’ve not been allowed to tell anyone. My father forced me to pander to the Bright Solara and win their favor. You know how miserable it is being trapped in that palace with them? They act like they’ve scraped me from their boot. Prince Ravel invents a new threat every day and I’m supposed to bow and thank him for it. I’m sure the Prince would be happier if I got myself killed in war. I’d sooner face a hundred Hartnords than marry his gods-damn sister.” He sucked in a breath.
“You don’t like the Princess?”
“Well, she’s… she’s kind, not like her brother. But marrying her? My family never cared about my future, until they could sell me to the royal family. I only agreed because you…” His cheeks turned red. “I said I’d do it if my father supported the Fire Walkers. That’s why he voted in the King’s favor.”
“You did that for me?”
“I said I would.” He fiddled with his horse’s reins. “And what about you? The way Prince Rais speaks about you, it sounded like you were already betrothed, not that you told me. And then you become a priestess? I don’t know what’s going on with you, Arl.”
“I never agreed to marry Prince Rais. The High Priestess takes a vow of celibacy, so he can push his delusions onto someone else.”
Hooves thumped the ground behind them. Raj and Garr had caught up.
“You’re going the wrong way,” Raj called.
Garr glanced between her and Alistar. “Finished your lovers’ quarrel?”
Alistar spluttered but Raj shushed him. “You can’t go galloping off into the forest without understanding it first.” He thrust out his lip in defiance, though it wobbled slightly. “At least listen to me before you start arguing again.”
Mina nodded. “Go ahead, Raj.”
Raj sagged in his saddle as though the effort of assuming command deflated him. “Okay. First, you can’t use your fire. Not until we reach the Emerald Path. It’s not about controlling your power; the light attracts flies.” He rummaged in his sahn and pulled out a tiny bottle with a pale liquid. “This is lavender oil. It helps keep the bitey bugs away.”
“The bitey bugs?” Garr asked.
“The ones that drink blood.”
Alistar gave Garr a look. “We found your people, Ash Maker.”
“If the bitey bugs get you, there’ll be no blood left for me.” Garr licked his lips. “And I’m feeling so thirsty.”
Mina drummed her fingers against her saddle. “No fire, no bugs. What else?”
“Until we reach the Path, it’s easy to get lost. We need to stick together.”
“I know the way,” Alistar said. “I’ve travelled this forest before.”
Garr waved a hand. “Then lead on, but watch out for those bitey bugs.” He gnashed his teeth.
Alistar took point. She was grateful he’d remained; they’d both said words they couldn’t take back. Their friendship had changed, no matter how much they tried to ignore it and pretend it hadn’t. Even if they both survived war, what then? Their friendship would end when he married, and then he’d be the Princess’s problem.
The thick woods forced them to split into single file. Mina rode behind Alistar and left Raj and Garr to make up the rear. Soon they were wrapped in the embrace of Gai’s forest. Moss, leaves, and tree roots covered the uneven ground, slowing Luna’s pace. Eventually the trees thinned, and the sodden earth turned to stone underneath her horse’s hooves.
Strange green lights danced ahead. A canopy of leaves blocked out natural Rahnlight, but the lights came from lanterns that marked a road of worn cobblestone.
“The Emerald Path,” Alistar confirmed.
Each lantern dangled from a metal pole not unlike the ones on Lune’s Path, but shorter and decorated in mosaic stones in a hundred shades of green. The lanterns’ flames burned a bright emerald, reminding her of the undying brazier in the foyer of Talin’s home in Arlent.
And Raj’s warning rang true—the light drew in a miasma of flies.
“Is that lantern glowing green?” Garr asked.
“House Grebond,” Alistar said. “It’s their House flame which lights the path, and has done for hundreds of years.”
“Whoever lights the lanterns rules the forest,” Raj mused to himself.
“Aren’t they worried anyone could force their way into their bond?” she said. House bonds were permanent; one couldn’t just leave a House.
“The lanterns are secure,” Alistar said. “And if opened, the light goes out. Only a member of House Grebond can relight it.”
“And the Guardian of Gai patrols the path,” Raj added.
The warden of Gaisland, and a man she needed to convince to help the Fire Walkers.
Alistar pressed on ahead as their guide. Raj and Garr hung back. The two of them chatted as Raj searched for lavender and pointed out purple flowers along the way. Garr was the kind of fool who didn’t stay quiet for long, and Raj was the sort to talk incessantly once the topic shifted to plants. At least the two of them found something to keep them occupied.
The air hugged her skin with no reprieve. Jonan was right—this was a damp sort of heat that clung to her back. She didn’t want to imagine how miserable it would be during the rains of Lune’s Shadow. Flies buzzed past and she swatted them away. Other insects chirped all around her as though Gai hummed a tune and the forest echoed it. She’d never seen so much green in her life, but this was a wild, untamed green compared to the Keep’s cultivated gardens.
Fez would have loved hunting the bugs, but she’d lose him quicker than in a city bazaar.
They crossed a small cobblestone bridge over a river that wove through the forest. Reeds covered the riverbed, making it impossible to tell where the green ended and the murky brown water began, but the dancing green lights of the Emerald Path didn’t lead them astray.
Then Gai's embrace opened into a clearing. Mina gasped aloud.
Shafts of Rahnlight highlighted a gigantic tree which filled the clearing, twice as tall as her mansion back in Arlent. Its leaves were as wide as her waist, and plump fruit hung from its branches in various shades of ripeness from lime green to dark purple. More littered the ground beneath.
Garr whistled. “That’s one big god-damn tree.”
“The Tree of Gai,” Raj said as he came up behind her. “The largest tree in all Sandair.”
“Neu Bosa has larger trees,” Alistar said as he dropped from his horse.
Raj did the same. “One day you’ll show me.” He approached the tree and grabbed a plump fruit. “Figs. It’s considered good fortune to take one on your way past.”
She dismounted and approached his side. The tree towered above her, even larger on foot. “What stops people from looting it?”
“The Gu
ardian of Gai. Anyone caught defacing the tree faces a good flogging, or worse. But no one would dare. This is Gai’s tree, and this is her forest.”
She reached up to a branch but couldn’t quite touch it, even on tiptoes. Raj grabbed the branch and angled it down for her. Her cheeks warmed, but she grabbed the nearest offering.
“Now you have to make a wish,” Raj said. “It’s part of the tradition.”
“Malik the Merciless himself rode past this tree.” Alistar snatched a fig and tossed it in his hand. “Malik took one fruit, no more, and offered a prayer to Gai. In return, Gai granted him a single wish.”
A thrill fluttered in her stomach. Malik the Merciless came here on another of his adventures? She hadn’t heard that tale, but she supposed her great Lunei ancestor had travelled all over Sandair. There’d be tales of him everywhere. She’d ask Alistar to share it later. “What do you wish for?”
Raj wiped juice from his chin. “To keep my family and friends safe in war.”
One wish. What would she even wish for? She gazed up at the tree and its dizzying height dwarfed her. For most of her life, she grew up believing her mother was a Green Hand. She’d spent her early years in the Temple of Gai, once as a young babe, then later to earn scraps of bread. She’d sat through their sermons and had those teachings drilled into her.
Gai had been a force in her life as much as Rahn’s fire and blood, and as much as Lune’s guidance. Mina was a child of Gai’s Seed, whether she liked it or not, though she still didn’t believe that it made her anything less than who she wanted to be.
Garr picked up a fig and sniffed it as though he’d never seen one before. “Do Ash Makers get a wish?”
“Try it and see if Gai favors you,” Raj said.
Garr bit into the fruit and hummed. “Then I wish for the coldest, finest ale to help me cope with this god-damn heat and its god-damn bugs.” He swiped at a bug flying past.
Alistar snorted a laugh.
“There’s good wine in Grenai,” Raj said. “I’ve got a small bottle in my saddlebags with the lavender oil if you need it?”
Garr scratched his neck. “You’re a messenger from god.”
