“It does look more like a ballroom than anything else, at least to me,” Tadrick said, looking around slowly. “It’d be ideal for a festival, wouldn’t it? Even if it’s a bit cold for my taste.”
“Believe me, that doesn’t matter to them,” Ruethwyn said, shaking her head quickly. “While I can feel that it’s cold, it isn’t uncomfortable in the slightest for me anymore, and I’m only partly fey. I imagine that most of the fair folk are like me, not caring about the cold.”
“That’s about right,” Davek agreed, grinning. “I’m half sylph myself, so my cold tolerance isn’t as high as most others around here, but even I find it comfortable most of the time. I do have to bundle up in the winter, but even then, it isn’t too bad.”
“Half sylph? Aren’t those air elementals?” Sella asked, her eyes brightening. “Is that the source of your air magic?”
“I wouldn’t call it the source of my magic, but it did give me a better grasp of it,” Davek told her, his smile warm. “And yes, sylphs are air elementals. We don’t get a lot of them in our area, but one or two show up every now and then.”
“I’ve heard that they’re kind of flighty!” Korima chimed in, and suddenly everyone was silent for a moment. Ruethwyn groaned internally, then Davek chuckled.
“Yes, you can certainly say that about them. Not that I recommend saying that in front of one, Korima,” the fair folk said, grinning at her.
“Of course not! I just had it pop into my head and had to say it,” the kitsune replied with a smile of her own.
Ruethwyn sighed, but it was Sella who spoke first. “Maybe so, but could you hold back a little next time? That was a bad joke, Korima.”
“Maybe I will. It just depends on my mood.” Korima shrugged as she approached the second set of doors, which were also open. While other doors were along the walls, Ruethwyn had seen that Davek was heading for the throne room, and her steps slowed slightly.
Moments later, Davek and Tadrick reached the room, followed by the others as Ruethwyn trailed behind them. As they stepped in, they stopped and Tadrick gasped. “Oh, wow. This is amazing.”
Ruethwyn looked into the room a moment later, and she could kind of understand their opinions, even if she disagreed with them. The throne room was beautiful, even composed of marble and ice rather than the pure ice that she remembered, and glittering motes of blue light illuminated the room, almost looking like the starry sky against the ice above them. The throne at the back was exquisitely carved and pulsed with power on its dais, glowing from within as she watched. Yet the room felt almost empty, despite the other people inside. After all, when Ruethwyn had visited the throne room on the other side of the portal, the presence of Imris had overwhelmed everything else.
It took a few moments for Ruethwyn to notice that there was another woman in the room, this one looking almost human, aside from the goat horns that poked through her brown hair. The woman looked more middle-aged, which surprised Ruethwyn, but otherwise was moderately attractive and fairly normal. Davek approached her and offered her the basket with a smile.
“Here’s your lunch,” the fair folk said, his voice cheerful. “How’s the day going?”
“Well enough. The wind isn’t too bad, and there haven’t been many guests, at least until now,” the woman replied calmly, taking the basket with a smile. “Thank you for the meal. Who might these youngsters be?”
“Ah, this is Ruethwyn Sylaris, Korima Lightweaver, Sella Vintas, and Tadrick Daskar. For all of you, this is Ultin the Horned, caretaker of the palace,” Davek said, gesturing to each of them in turn.
“Indeed. Welcome, and avoid the throne, please. Cleaning up the blood always takes hours,” Ultin said, nodding at them pleasantly, though her gaze lingered on Ruethwyn.
Ruethwyn nodded politely, though she saw the look the others exchanged at the warning and suppressed a smile. Whether they believed Ultin or not, at least it didn’t look like they were going to test her warning.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ultin. I just have to ask… are you the only person who takes care of the palace? It seems like a large place for just one person,” Sella asked, looking around slowly, a slight frown on her face.
“Just me? Hardly that. Plenty of others help here and there, and I have assistants as well,” the woman replied, unpacking her lunch. The basket was filled with a variety of pastries, sliced fruit and vegetables, and other finger-foods, which the woman began to eat with quick, precise bites. The odd thing was that the glimpses of her teeth revealed that Ultin had a mouth filled with sharp fangs, which certainly didn’t suit the vegetables Ruethwyn saw.
Regardless of Ruethwyn’s thoughts, Ultin kept eating happily, and Tadrick looked around, nodding slowly. “That sounds far more reasonable. Still, this feels… odd, to me. It seems like a throne room more than anything else, at least to me.”
“Truly?” Davek asked, tilting his head curiously, but Ruethwyn caught the flicker of amusement in his eyes. No one else seemed to notice as he continued. “I’ve never seen a monarch’s court before, so I’m relying on your opinion.”
“Err, yes? Come to think of it, I suppose none of you have seen one, either,” Tadrick said, looking at Korima, Sella, and Ruethwyn uncomfortably, to Ruethwyn’s rising amusement. “It’s smaller than the throne room of Selwyn, but in a lot of ways its more elaborate. Maybe there’s more gilding and the like there, but this is really impressive.”
“Hm, I’ll have to take your word for it. Still, this room has always been impressive to me,” Davek agreed, looking around calmly. “Alas, how our leadership works isn’t something we share with outsiders, so I’m afraid you’re going to have to remain ignorant.”
“And thus Davek shows how friendly he is. That’s more than I’d tell you,” Ultin added, looking up from her basket to regard Ruethwyn intently. “Well, more than I’d tell most of you, at least. Ruethwyn’s position is far more complicated.”
“Why’s that?” Korima asked, almost pouncing on the comment, her ears rising quickly.
“I’m part fey now,” Ruethwyn said simply, hesitating a moment before shrugging. “I’m not sure how much of that’s the reason, but I suspect it’s a large part of it. I can’t talk about any other reasons.”
Korima frowned, but Ultin laughed and nodded, speaking quickly. “Precisely. Many things remain secret, in large part, because if they’re shared, they’ll no longer be secret, and others can use them against us. We prefer to avoid that.”
Nodding reluctantly, Korima spoke slowly. “I suppose. I just like knowing things.”
“Unfortunately, we’re probably never going to find out,” Sella interjected. She looked around for a moment, considering the room before asking Davek, “Is there anything else of particular interest here, Davek? I mean, I saw the side rooms, but I don’t know if they’re interesting.”
“Most of those are storerooms, housing for emergencies, and similar sorts of rooms. I think there’s a kitchen and one room with instruments, but nothing else that’s particularly exciting,” Davek said. He was about to continue, but Korima perked up suddenly, a grin on her face.
“Instruments? Can I see them, please?” the kitsune asked eagerly.
“Really, Korima?” Sella asked, her eyebrows rising.
“Of course! Music is one of the most important things to a play, and every species tends to have their own quirks to instruments. I’d love to see them myself,” Korima explained quickly.
“Well, if you’re that interested, I suppose I can show them to you,” Davek agreed, smiling and heading for the door. “Follow me.”
The others followed Davek, and Ruethwyn started after them. However, just before she reached the door, but only once the others were out, Ultin spoke.
“How far did you get, Ruethwyn?” the fair folk asked softly.
“Pardon me?” Ruethwyn asked, looking back at her in surprise.
“You obviously reached your goal. How far did you manage to go?” Ultin asked, studying Ruethwyn.<
br />
For a long moment, Ruethwyn hesitated, then she shrugged and smiled in return. “The weight was too much for me, and I knelt. Not that I object to that, but as to where I knelt… it was here.”
She crouched down and touched the spot just barely inside the doors where she’d hit the ground. It didn’t feel any different than the other spots around it, but Ruethwyn remembered it with startling clarity.
Ultin didn’t eat anything more for a long moment, studying Ruethwyn. Then she nodded slowly, smiling again and just barely showing her fangs as she did so, speaking calmly. “Well done. Not many could go so far. May Her blessing go with you.”
“Thank you,” Ruethwyn replied, flushing slightly.
“Rue? Are you coming?” Tadrick called back, and Ruethwyn quickly straightened.
“Be right there!” Ruethwyn called out and hurried after him, leaving Ultin and the copy of the goddess’s throne room behind.
Chapter 3
“Mistress Essryl! I’m so glad to see you!” Leticia’s relief was obvious, and the discomfort on her face caused Essryl to pause and frown at her.
“What’s wrong, Leticia? I noticed that the palace seemed more active when I returned, but that’s all I know,” Essryl said, her tone brisk as she set down her pouch. She’d unpack her things later, but there was a distinctly different air about the palace, that was for certain.
“His Excellency has emerged from seclusion, and he also brought two new women with him, both elven, Mistress Essryl,” Leticia explained quickly, the redhead quickly regaining her composure as she spoke. “The two are named Minerva and Sinera, and based on their conversations, they’re sisters and magi. Each have been quartered near His Excellency’s rooms, and initially, we were directed to be their servants. The ladies in question didn’t want servants, however, so we were released from those duties quickly. However, we’re currently assisting in the main wings far more often than we formerly did.”
“I see. Interesting…” Essryl murmured, considering the situation. Now that she knew that Ruethwyn was Sinera’s student, it was an interesting development. She’d been expecting their resurrection, or quasi-resurrection, for quite some time, so that much wasn’t a surprise. The increased activity was slightly more concerning, but not too much. After a moment, she nodded. “I see. Is anything causing problems? You seemed quite concerned.”
“No, not really. It’s just… disconcerting. I’ve grown used to the routines, and this changed them while you were gone. I’ve done my best to organize things, but I’m not certain how well I did,” Leticia replied, her voice slightly anxious. “Between that and taking care of the new girls, I’ve been a touch stressed. Would you look over my decisions and give me your opinion?”
“Of course I will,” Essryl said, smiling at the woman. “However, that will have to wait for a time. I’ve just returned, and if My Lord has emerged from his laboratory, that means that things have changed. I’d best visit him and ensure that I know what his desires are before going over your arrangements. It wouldn’t do any good to adjust them, only to have to change them still more, would it?”
“Yes, of course,” Leticia agreed, looking even more relieved. “I should have thought of that myself, Mistress Essryl.”
“You’ve been stressed, it’s perfectly understandable,” Essryl assured her. She paused, then asked, “Speaking of stress… what about the demon, Hekara? Has she caused any problems while I was gone? Or any of the girls, for that matter.”
“No, not really. Ever since the incident with the hounds, I’ve barely seen her. I thank the heavens for that… and you, of course,” Leticia quickly said, smiling warmly. “Anara has kept up her training as well, and some of the others have been doing so with her. Not much else has occurred in your absence, though. How was your trip?”
“It went very well, and was quite interesting,” Essryl said, satisfaction improving her mood. “Ruethwyn managed something quite impressive, which made the trip still better.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Leticia said, smiling more. “Will you be leaving again soon?”
“Such is unlikely,” Essryl demurred, shaking her head. “Unless My Lord commands it, of course. Now, go on. I need to meet with him and I’ll find you afterward.”
“Of course, Mistress Essryl,” Leticia said, curtseying deeply, then leaving the room.
Essryl glanced into her mirror to ensure that she was presentable. Her armor didn’t look like she’d been hit by any of the blood from several shadow monsters that had confronted her on her way back to the palace, so she nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave. She’d expected to go see Resvarygrath from the beginning, so it wasn’t as though this changed her plans.
Making her way through the palace was simple. Despite the three wings of the palace being deliberately separated, the layout was straightforward and most of the halls were broad. Essryl had heard some of the soldiers mutter about how difficult the palace would be to defend, but considering Resvarygrath’s size, she could understand why the dragon preferred larger hallways.
Locating Resvarygrath would be more difficult for most people, but Essryl’s keen sense of smell solved that problem quite simply, and before long, she found herself outside a door, and she paused as she took a breath, hearing voices within. The rumble of Resvarygrath’s voice indicated he was in the shape of a human, which made a certain amount of sense. More interesting was the scent of his two companions.
“Shadow elementals,” Essryl murmured, placing the odd scent after a few moments. It was the strangely flat scent of shadow elementals combined with elves, and it was far different than what she’d expect from a half-breed. She should know, since Essryl was a half-breed herself. Shrugging, she knocked and announced. “My Lord, I’ve returned.”
“Come in, Essryl,” Resvarygrath called out.
Opening the door, Essryl stepped into the sitting room and her gaze immediately played over the two women before fixing on Resvarygrath himself. The two women were sitting on a sofa, while Resvarygrath was reclining in a large, over-stuffed chair which wouldn’t survive a moment under his natural form. A fire crackled in the hearth, and Essryl noted that, for the first time in her memory, Resvarygrath looked almost smugly pleased with himself, without even appearing to have done anything.
Essryl would’ve known the elven women were related even without Leticia’s warning. She remembered the dark-haired one from the attack on Mellesyn, as Essryl had seen the woman kill twelve soldiers with a chaining lightning spell, but she’d only seen a glimpse of the woman. Sinera had straight black hair that reached the middle of her back, her facial structure was fine-boned and her skin pale and perfect. In fact, it looked a touch more perfect than Essryl remembered, and she suspected that was Resvarygrath’s doing. The woman wore a set of simple black robes held closed by a silver belt, and she was looking at Essryl curiously, a slight wariness in her blue eyes.
The other woman had similar facial features, but her hair was slightly curlier and was a dark auburn rather than black, while her eyes were a near-identical blue. That must be Minerva, and she looked more curious than Sinera, which was interesting. Still, Essryl set their attention aside to focus on Resvarygrath. While both felt moderately dangerous, she was confident in her own strength.
“Welcome back, Essryl. I’m curious how your trip went, since you’ve been absent a surprising amount of late,” Resvarygrath said calmly, looking at her.
“Resver, don’t you think you should introduce us first?” Minerva interrupted, her voice mellow as she spoke. Essryl spotted the near-imperceptible wince of the dragon at the nickname, which amused her. “I don’t believe that we’ve met.”
“Ah, of course. Ladies, this is Essryl Demara, an Illisyr of clan Shadowfire and one of my most powerful servants, as well as the trainer of my trophies. Essryl, these are Minerva and Sinera Kor, old friends of mine who I’ve returned to life,” Resvarygrath said, nodding politely to Minerva.
“A pleasure to meet you,” Mine
rva said, smiling warmly at Essryl.
“Indeed, it’s interesting to meet an Illisyr again. I’ve only met a handful of your people before, but they were quite different from you,” Sinera added, her voice a bit higher, but also more measured.
“I’m not surprised. Each clan has their own attitude toward others, and I’m considered strange even by our standards,” Essryl replied, smiling slightly as she nodded. “Also, it is a pleasure to meet the pair of you. I heard that you were here from Leticia and was looking forward to meeting you.”
“Ah? Interesting, I hadn’t realized she was under your command,” Sinera said, her eyebrows rising.
“That would be because Leticia is one of my trophies. One of the older ones, in fact,” Resvarygrath explained quickly, frowning briefly. “She shouldn’t have been talking about you.”
“She wasn’t. I asked her if anything had changed in my absence, and she mentioned that you had the girls acting as servants more, and was asking me to look over her arrangements,” Essryl explained calmly. “She’s grown used to the routine, and I wasn’t here to adjust it. She simply wished for things to be done correctly, My Lord.”
“Ah,” Sinera said, nodding as if enlightened, her gaze still following Essryl.
“Hm, I suppose so. Well, what of my question, Essryl?” Resvarygrath asked, frowning. “I don’t recall you saying what you were doing, either.”
“You were sequestered with your project at the time, My Lord. As for that, I returned from a visit to Valisair,” Essryl replied calmly, meeting his eyes.
The Obsidian Palace (Through the Fire Book 3) Page 3
