His voice dropped and he leaned in. “Tessa, you have only to say the word and I will race you back to Desmondin.”
I held his gaze, regretting the emotion I knew flashed over my face. “I have to go home. No matter how afraid I am. No matter what I will face. The guard, this wall… this journey has done nothing but solidify my resolve.”
“If you change your mind, even if we are on the palace steps, my offer still stands.”
I smiled, I couldn’t help it. “Thank you.”
His answering smile was brief but tender. I felt it move through me, setting butterflies to riot in my belly.
He let go of my hand and I breathed in renewed peace. Yes, I had fears and reservations. I had doubts and so many insecurities I thought they would choke me. But I also had Taelon.
23
I felt like weeping when we rode into Sarasonet. The former glory of the capital city had all but been erased.
The Elysia of my childhood was a collage of waving white and gold banners atop pointed roofs in the villages and towns spread out along the mountainside. The streets were steep and from a distance, the houses and shops seemed built on top of each other.
I remembered looking down at Sarasonet from the palace towers and counting the flags and banners as they waved in the wind. On holidays, the villagers would add more colors, representing the festival. During the Days of Light, pink banners would wave next to orange flags. Over the First Night of Winter, navy blue banners with gold etching and white embroidery would be tied to the point.
The wind gusted sharply this high in the mountains, so the flags always seemed to have a life of their own. They danced and fought the whipping wind.
But as we moved through Sarasonet, not a flag could be found. The tiles of the shop rooftops were sad and worn. The streets were not kept. Trash blew from one side of the road to the other while our horses picked over the steep terrain.
We rode by the well in the center of the city, a place that was once the heartbeat of the village, now abandoned and void of life. Unlike the village we’d driven by at the border, the people in Sarasonet did come to watch us as we passed. They did not smile or wave or shout their hellos. They merely glared at us.
More doubts piled on. How had things changed so drastically in the last eight years? Was I only remembering what I wanted to see? Had things truly been as bright and jovial as my nine-year-old mind pictured?
Oliver whistled through his teeth. “This cannot be right. This cannot be the capital of the realm.”
“Something’s happened,” I announced. “This is not how it’s supposed to be.”
“I think you misunderstand, Tessana. Something is happening. But not just to Elysia. This, whatever this is, is overtaking the entire realm. It looks as though you’ve arrived just in time.”
A weight descended over me. “I think you’re right.”
Just then, a raven landed on the top of the nearest building. I jumped when it cawed. I felt its beady-eyed stare follow us down the road, even though I knew it couldn’t see me through the distorted, hazy glass.
“Have you noticed all the birds along the way?” I asked Oliver when I was sure he would hear me.
“Mmm,” he grunted. “There have been a few. And all of the same breed.” He had been leaning back with arms folded over his chest, but now he pressed into the window to watch another few ravens hopping from rooftop to rooftop. “Heprin didn’t seem to be overrun with them. Are they mountain birds?”
I hadn’t thought of that. “I don’t know. I suppose they could be. But I remember them from Tenovia and Soravale as well.”
“Are they crows?”
“Ravens, I think.”
He looked at me. “What’s the difference between a crow and a raven?”
I shrugged as the carriage rolled to a stop. “I have no idea. But I know these are ravens.”
“How do you know?”
I sighed impatiently. “I don’t know how I know. I just do. I’ve dreamt about them. And in my dreams, I always know they’re ravens.”
Oliver’s gaze narrowed. “How scientific of you.”
I stuck out my tongue at him and that was the precise moment the carriage door opened.
The footman, unamused, cleared his throat. “The Palace Extentia,” he announced.
It was my turn to clear my throat. “Thank you,” I answered primly.
I straightened my traveling gown and pressed shaking hands to my hair. I wished for time to change, freshen my face, and gather my wits. But there was none.
I shared one last look with Oliver, knowing this would be the last time I spoke with him for a while. He would not be allowed to see Tyrn, and so he had to stay with Taelon’s people until I could summon him.
I hated leaving him. I hated even more that he’d come all this way only to have to wait outside like a servant.
“Be smart,” he whispered as I stood. “Only take the heads of those who most deserve it.”
I smiled. “I’ll try,” I promised. “But you know how I like collecting heads.”
He winked at me one last time. I descended the stairs, feeling marginally more confident. Taelon waited for me on the ground. His cheeks were wind-whipped and tanned and his hair tumbled over his head in wild waves. His clothing was much like mine, dirty from travel, slightly askew, and not nearly proper enough to enter court. He was the most handsome man I had ever seen.
He held his hand out to me and we entered the castle proper. Servants lined the carpet leading inside and down the hallway as a different footman led Taelon and me into the foyer with Haemon and a handful of guards trailing in our wake.
Memories flooded my mind and made each step harder to take.
I remembered running these halls as
