Embers to Flames (Fates Entwined #1)

Chapter Three

By lunch time, Tanathil is bustling with business. The Human market stays busy with all different types of vendors and merchants. Residents from all the towns and villages in the western territory line up and down the streets selling whatever they think will make them coin. Tanathil is the last of the larger cities that the King has allowed us Humans to continue to use for the selling and trading of our goods and services. Endia, Kaladis, Lansington, Paeris, and the capital of Quillyan, Eirina, are now home to only the Elves.

Everyone has taken notice of the change in weather and started preparing for the coming cold. My attention is caught by a seller pushing a cart filled with yader meat. He must live near the Forest of Thereah. Nowhere else in the realm could you find a yader. They are an enormous, formidable beast, with horns the size of a grown man’s leg and thick, black fur capable of resisting normal iron.

I read somewhere that a yader can only be killed by a skilled warrior—trained in the art of sound magic. With the ability to stun and kill the beast using frequencies only high enough to explode the yader’s heart from within. The meat is extremely valuable since it is so difficult to come by.

Oh, how I wish I could afford a few pounds of that Yader meat.

The smaller animals that I can trap and catch in the woods near home will have to do. It’s a breeze to skin chipmunks and squirrels, and they freeze well during the winter months when stored in the icehouse. Every day, I venture out to check the traps in hopes of finding a deer, praying that luck will finally be on my side. But deep down, I know it’s unlikely. In the past few years, all the deer have been hunted and killed. They are practically extinct now.

I can hear Mikyl’s voice. His cart is pitiful in comparison to some of the others. Our harvest of vegetables was not as large as in previous years. I was able to convince him to let me keep many of the tomatoes, potatoes, and beans for canning. Although his main priority has been to sell as much as possible.

“What are you doing down here? Shouldn’t you be working?” He says to me in a flemy voice as I approach.

“I am working. I’m picking up some provisions for Erhorn’s kitchen, but I need to talk to you. ”

I had high hopes that if we were in public he would be less likely to start an argument.

“Well, what is it?”

I pull him aside and check for other listening ears, then begin in a hushed tone, “You want to explain to me what exactly happened last night? I saw the blood on your coat. Lord Erhorn mentioned a death in Mara.”

His face is blank. He rubs the back of his neck and refuses to look me in the eye. I wish I could get a read on him.

“I heard about it too. But I wasn’t even in Mara last night.”

His tone was stiff and surly. I could almost feel the guilt and conviction in his attitude.

“Don’t lie to me Mikyl. If you weren’t there, then where were you? Where did the blood come from?”

“I’m not! Now is not the time to discuss this. We can talk about it later.”

He pushes me to the side and goes back to his cart.

“Later then.” I say rolling my emerald eyes. Even if there is a later, I still don’t think he will tell me the truth.

The library is nearly empty, as per usual. A few of the older Human villagers—scholars—who can be seen sifting through tomes, studying the reasons behind how we had let our land go to the Elves so easily. Some believe we can still win it back. I am not so sure. Few young people enjoy reading anymore. I’ll never understand why. It’s an escape from this cruel reality we are now forced to live in. Probably has something to do with the library now being run by the Elves.

There are limits on certain books that mortals are allowed to read because of the sacred and secretive information contained within them. Elves don’t want us to know anything about their true abilities.

The library is thousands of years old. The ceiling is made of glass and through it shines the bright light of the day. It is ten levels high. Wall to wall lined with a variety of tomes and scrolls. Stories of war and love. Histories, centuries old, can be found between the pages of these texts. The histories don’t interest me much. It is fictitious romances that I get lost in.

I am almost always on a time restraint to get in and out of here though. Thankfully Alyndra is always prepared with a new novel for me. I find her deep within the third level. Pulling some rather large and old-looking publications from the restricted archives.

“Psst!” I whisp with my lips pursed tightly.

Alyndra, ever stoic, doesn’t so much as flinch.

“You know this is the forbidden zone for Humans, right? Nothing but boring Elf stuff back here,” she says, finally turning to me with a smirk. “But I bet I know what you’re really after.” She turns her head towards me and tucks a strand of her short blond hair behind a pointed ear.

“Well hurry up and trade me then, I’ve got to get back to Erhorn. I’ve been gone too long already.” I say as I set the book she had given me last week down on the desk closest to me.

“This one was fantastic! So much romance, so much passion. Gods above how I miss that!”

“I know, why do you think I offered it to you?” she replies with a grin. “I have another for you, but I’m not sure how you will take to it. It’s a bit more adventurous than the others.”

“I always like what you offer me, but please don’t tell me it is one of those old dusty manuals.” I reply, pointing towards the tomes she had been stacking on the cart before her.

“Oh no, these are being sent to Dragon’s Edge. Lord Ailwin has requested them for the upcoming Fire Rites—but I probably shouldn’t have told you that.” She bit her lip, realizing her mistake.

“The Fire Rites?” I ask.

Alyndra scrunches her face realizing she has already said too much, but it’s too late now.

“Yes,” she whispers. “It’s an ancient ritual performed by our kind every fifty years, at the first sign of frost.”

“A ritual? A ritual for what purpose?”

“Questions like that will land us both in Malon’s cozy cells. I hope you like bread and water twice a day.”

“Come on Alyndra, you know your secrets are always safe with me.” I plead for her to continue.

She lets out a long breath with puffed cheeks, knowing I won’t let this go .

She exhales dramatically, her cheeks puffing out like a squirrel’s. “Fine, you nosy little Human. But if we end up sharing a cell, you’re taking the lumpy cot.” She leans in closer to me. Her whispering voice is barely audible, carrying an air of secrecy that tingles my curiosity.

“It is believed—by our people—that someday the chosen one will be born.”

She quickly scans our surroundings once more, making sure we are alone before she continues.

“The chosen one, being he who will once again ride on the backs of Dragons. Forever protecting us from the plight that is feared to return to these lands. A vengeful creature that can wipe out our entire existence. The ritual is performed every fifty years between the autumn and winter season.”

I raised an eyebrow, trying to stifle a giggle—and failed to do so.

Alyndra’s eyes narrowed. “Mock if you must, but Dragons are no laughing matter.”

“Right, because nothing says, ‘wise and ancient race’ like believing in overgrown lizards,” I snorted, crossing my arms. “Come on, Alyndra. If Dragons were so formidable… then why are they all dead?”

She huffed, practically shoving the new book into my hands. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to Erhorn? Before he sends a search party for his favorite Human? ”

“Alright, alright,” I conceded, backing away with my hands up in surrender. “I’m going. But next time, bring me a book about unicorns. I hear they’re great for garden parties.”

Alyndra’s exasperated sigh followed me as I sauntered towards the exit. “See you in a few days!” I called over my shoulder.

I can’t help but open the front cover of the book she has given me and start reading the first chapter before I am even out the door.

As I stroll back towards Kaladis, I can hardly pay attention to where I am walking. My head is already deep into the words on the pages in front of me. A warm breeze lifts my skirt slightly and a shadow from something flying overhead catches my attention. I look up and my mouth gapes open as I take in what my eyes see. A winged man—soaring above me. Gliding towards Kaladis.

That can only be Lord Erhorn’s infamous nephew.

I’ve heard stories of Elves with wings. But never in my wildest imagination did I think I would ever see one. Seems like a creature out of legends rather than reality. The sight of him soaring effortlessly through the sky stirs up a sense of wonder within me.

My amazement quickly turns to panic as I realize I should probably stop dawdling if I am to greet this mysterious nephew at the mansion. Although at the pace he is flying, he’ll definitely arrive there before I will.