Evenfall, p.2
Evenfall, page 2
My fingers itched to grab hold of the pendant, slow the passing of time so I could move around freely and explore the unknown town without constantly looking over my shoulder or jumping at every hastily spoken word. But the power had barely worked out there in the fields. I couldn’t trust it to last me the needed amount—or at least give ample warning before it faded.
A person moving from one end of the road to the other in the blink of an eye would attract far more attention than infiltrating the crowds.
I exhaled, the resolve pooling deep and steady in my stomach, then closed the distance to the largest group walking up ahead.
As we milled out onto one of the diagonal avenues, merging with the throng of people already flowing down the cobblestones, the blue gleam became brighter. Its sapphire shade softened into an even turquoise, and I was ashamed it took me so long to realize what the light was.
Not only the glint of winter but an imitation of the sky.
My sky.
The dome stretched above the buildings, a translucent sheen of brilliant blue that somehow didn’t smother the glistening stars, only painted the dark canvas on which they lay a different color. Lips parted, I gazed up. How was this even possible?
It didn’t feel like a portal, and the shape certainly wasn’t one I’d ever seen. Not to mention the sheer size of it. Yet at the same time, I could taste the hint of power in the air, a soft thrumming that revealed this wasn’t some natural occurrence.
“The Illusionists really gave it their best this year,” a young dark-haired woman whispered to her companion, her head tilted up much the same way as mine.
He mumbled something I couldn’t quite catch, though it definitely sounded like agreement, then added, “They accepted more practitioners into the main fray this year. The Magicians, too.”
“Ohh!” The woman linked elbows with the man, who flashed her a wide smile. “Do you think they’ve set up the Summer tent again? My skin stayed tanned for a whole month the last time!”
I squinted up at the sky, trying to make sense of their conversation.
Illusionists. Magicians. They were the ones…conjuring this?
And what was a Summer tent?
The name was telling enough, true, but with the false sky looming over me, a reminder that there were things here I hadn’t even considered, it would be more effort than it was worth to lose myself in speculations. Still, I strained my ears, hoping to catch more.
Right as the man commented on grabbing a drink first, another group walked by, whisking away the pair and drowning their conversation in a roll of boisterous chatter.
Knowing there was only one way to get my answers, I followed.
My mother always chided me that I was too curious for my own good. She claimed that the only reason I got away with such tendencies was because my father was a High Master, and that meant others were obligated to overlook my excessive thirst for knowledge instead of reprimanding me for it. It wasn’t a trait valued in girls, usually snuffed out before it could develop, but my desire to learn about anything and everything that caught my interest wasn’t something I could just stuff into a portal and send away.
Not that I could even make a portal.
A ridiculous rule—and one in the long line of many—that forbade women from using objects of power.
I stroked my necklace absentmindedly. It was a wonder no one had ever become aware of the strength hidden in its silver-and-gemstone-encrusted form.
Then again, I was cautious to never use it in front of an audience, regardless of how tempted I often was.
I let my hand fall down to my side, and continued down the street, ensconced from all sides by Nysa denizens. I didn’t have to fake excitement to match their mood.
Everything inside me buzzed with anticipation.
None of us knew what, exactly, waited in the heart of the town, even if our ignorance was of various degrees. But their good spirits were more than enough to convince me it wasn’t anything sinister. A Solstice celebration, if one cloaked in different entertainment than what I was used to.
With no High Masters around to look down their noses at me or parents to shoot me warning glances, I let the atmosphere claim me.
When the crowd tightened at the end of the street, shoulders bumping as laughter rose up front and fueled our curiosity, as well as urge to see, I felt no need to separate myself from the fray. On the contrary, I allowed the current to take me where it wished. It was oddly…liberating to forgo control.
Moments later, I finally saw what the bottleneck was—an elegant arch we had to stream through. Its stone surface was chiseled, boasting numerous ornaments that blended into a seamless whole from afar but stood out each on their own when I passed by them. Swirls and stars, with the phases of the moon fanning out over the passage.
I would have stopped to examine the details if not for the press of bodies from behind.
A large square opened up ahead once I emerged on the other side of the arch, and when the crowd parted, scattering in every possible direction save from the one we came from, the air collectively left my lungs.
What…
This…
Everywhere I looked, people converged around gazebos and stalls, laughing, chatting, and releasing little sounds of wonder as every bit of the square offered its very own sight. On the left, butterflies fluttered their colorful wings and danced over upturned faces in a graceful, flirty rhythm. Beside them, a tent served steaming pitchers, the patrons cradling them in their hands as dainty, glimmering snowflakes descended from above. Just a few steps away, a display of effervescent mirrors sat, distorting the image of whoever peered into the glass.
I took another step, twirling around in an attempt to take it all in.
Trees made of crystal ice, the only dash of color the blossoms adorning the tips of their frosty branches; a green, fiery ring through which children jumped, giggling as the embers reached for them, only to settle down once more as they landed on their feet on the other side. But what truly drew my gaze was a fountain of starlight, pure and mesmerizing, a work of art that commanded the space with singular grace.
I was stunned by its simplicity, by the beauty of thousands of minuscule stars, cascading down the three levels before they were drawn up to the top again to repeat the cycle. I wanted to sit down before it, stare at this wonder until the flickering specks were imprinted on the backs of my lids…
And yet there was more. So much more to see.
Nysa reminded me of something from a dream. Only I knew even the deepest, wildest pockets of my imagination couldn’t create something as breathtaking as this.
My world might have the gold of sunlight, but it was Nysa that shone.
These weren’t some jester’s tricks or stacked portals to create mosaics of living pictures—windows into different parts of our lands.
It wasn’t reality reused. But facets of it created.
And it was beautiful.
I scanned the illuminated storefronts, the dresses, treats, and numerous peculiarities they displayed. There wasn’t a single shop devoid of customers, and I yearned to join them. To buy myself one of the gilded masks, or the small, shimmering cupcakes designed to be eaten in a single bite. My stomach whined at the thought.
How long ago was it that I’d had my last meal?
I started moving towards the patisserie, the sweet touch of strawberries, vanilla, and sugar a tempting presence in the air when I remembered I had no coin. Nothing to offer in exchange for the wonderful items.
Even my jewelry was limited to my necklace, and that was one thing I would never part with, regardless of what I would gain in exchange.
I hurried away from the scent of baked goods but continued to walk alongside the storefronts. Admiring the wares kept my hunger at bay, although an undercurrent of longing remained.
Three girls in masks that radiated rainbow-tinted light burst through one of the doors, nearly sweeping me away. I tensed, but their matching apologetic expressions soothed the onset of nerves. With a smile, I stepped aside to let them pass, then pushed on, their voices disappearing as cheerful music from one of the stalls ensnared my senses. I slowed to catch more of the tune but didn’t stop.
Once I reached the end of the square, I noticed an archway similar to the one I had come through, the phases of the moon stretching over the gate. Only where the previous arch marked the passage into the quiet and dark of the outskirts, this one was bathed in blue.
Intrigued, I padded forward.
Several people came from the other direction, so I kept to the edge, running my fingers over the chiseled grooves in the stone as I made my way to the other side. The widest avenue I had ever seen spilled out ahead, a smooth road separating the two stretches of cobblestones, lined with more icy trees. With the open space and fewer people crammed together, I instinctively rubbed my hands down my arms—but there was no chill to swat away.
If anything, I felt pleasantly warm, as if a phantom sun was laying its caresses upon my skin.
I glanced up, wondering if there was more to the dome-like imitation of my sky than color. It certainly seemed like the warmth was coming from there, although that left me with more questions than answers. I eyed the frosty trees and shook my head.
Trying to grasp everything at once rarely worked.
I stuck to the left side of the avenue, moving between the inner line of the open stalls and the bustling shops. Faintly, I could see the spiked tips of tents rising in the distance, their white-capped tops darkening into a silver-lined black.
These had to be the same tents the girl had been talking about.
“An illusion for an illusion?” an elderly man called out to me from up ahead, a smile fixed on his gradually shifting face. “A blooming dress, perhaps? Or hair of sun-kissed yellow?”
I returned his smile as I approached his iron-and-glass stall, noting how his features settled—save for the eyes.
They vacillated between various shades of green, as if they—he?—couldn’t decide which hue would complement his gold-embroidered jade tunic best. Oddly, it wasn’t unsettling.
How would it feel if he modified a part of me? Would I sense the change? Or only appear changed from the outside?
If only I had an illusion to offer.
I wanted to utter the words, maybe work out some other payment, but somehow knew it would be the wrong thing to say.
Every person I met, even that pair, watching the blue dome in awe, not unlike mine, felt different. They seemed to thrum with life, with some essence I couldn’t quite place but was fairly certain shared the same core as the illusions on display around me.
The Illusionists and Magicians might have been responsible for the beauty filling Nysa’s center, but I had a suspicion they weren’t the only ones who possessed power. In fact, I was willing to bet I was the sole person here with nothing but a plain heartbeat in her chest and an almost useless pendant resting above it.
So I shook my head, even as a part of me ached to do so. “Nothing right now, thank you.”
The man shrugged with a lightness to the gesture that showed even refusals were part of the business, then went on to dabble with the length of his hair.
When a thick group of gray-haired women shuffled from a stall seemingly made of candy into a small bakery on the other side, and a narrow pathway opened up ahead, I used the opportunity to push forward. Without any idea how late it was or how much time I had already spent here, I hurried towards those illustrious tents, hoping to sneak a peek inside before they would close.
There was a persistent, weak voice at the back of my mind, warning that the longer I remained in Nysa, the harder it would be to find my way back home. But I didn’t have it in me to return to that barren stretch of land just yet.
I told myself that it was purely pragmatic. Ada could still be waiting there, and I refused to come anywhere near that girl and her knife. Yet my heart spoke of the true reason.
I wasn’t willing to give all of this up.
Streets veered off the avenue, all bathed in the same blue light, some of them ending in smaller versions of the two arches I’d walked through, while others twisted away and out of sight. I liked their somewhat quieter atmosphere, the intimacy of the small taverns with tables set up out front. Under different circumstances, that’s where I would be, curled up with some book I wasn’t supposed to read, alternating between losing myself in its lines and sneaking glimpses into other people’s lives. But today, it was the pulse of the crowd that lured me in.
Three small girls rushed past me in a blur of wind that ruffled my dress. They giggled wildly as delicate, periwinkle birds followed in their wake, finding them regardless of how quickly they darted around vendors and icy trees. A short distance behind, their parents followed, elbows locked and bodies leaning towards one another as if to part were a burden neither of them wanted to bear. I stared after the amorous couple, longing dragging its vicious claws down my insides.
I would never have that.
I would never get to share that kind of affection with someone—at least not someone of my choosing. My father only needed to make the final decision between the two High Master’s sons he deemed most appropriate, and that would be it.
A groan rose in my chest. I forced myself to look at the frosty, translucent trees, to follow the weaving path of snowflakes circling around a vendor’s stall. But the bitterness in my chest remained.
I’d done my best to lessen my value, even took up a lover on my seventeenth year instead of waiting for marriage as I was supposed to—although Magnus had been far more than just a means to an end, even if it had been my resentment that had given me the initial courage to approach him.
The rest, however, was free of that particular taint.
Magnus was sweet, caring, supportive of my whims the others frowned upon. But he was also a commoner.
We knew our tryst and friendship couldn’t last indefinitely. So we made the most of what we had.
Often, I wondered where his life had taken him. If he was happy.
I also knew better than to try and find out.
It was a miracle enough that Father had never learned his name after a nosy servant had told him of my indiscretion. He simply banished all seasonal workers from the estate and cut off my privileges for wandering around the grounds unchaperoned.
I still remembered the glimpse of Magnus’s face I’d caught when our guards had escorted the lot of them away—the expression that hinted at absolutely no regrets for the time we had spent together. He’d marched off with his shoulders squared and head held high to some new part of Soltzen where he would start over.
No ties. No weight to slow him down.
A smile tugged on the corners of my lips, filling me with fleeting warmth. Magnus would have liked it here.
And, I realized with stark clarity, I did, too.
It was more than the illusions or the starlit sky—I could forge my own life here.
Maybe staying in this world wouldn’t be so bad. I could keep my head down, find work somewhere, somehow, and—
A deafening silence pressed against my ears.
The crowd went still, as if the entire avenue was holding its collective breath. Even the illusions seemed to dull their brimming nature, becoming subdued, mute—a carefully shielded joy that continued to burn while doing its best to go unnoticed.
Keeping my back to the buildings, I craned my neck, hoping to see what had stopped the town’s pulse. Hooves clicked against the cobblestones, merging with the too-loud pounding of my heart.
The previously immobile crowd pushed back as one, the avenue perfectly empty within the span of a few seconds.
No, not empty.
Cleared.
Riders in black leathers guided their steeds down the smooth stone of the corridor, their advance slow and every move—regardless how small—demanding attention. Some of the townsfolk averted their eyes, some lowered their heads, but no one dared to turn away despite their rigid postures bluntly projecting their need in a voiceless scream.
I saw him then.
A young man sitting atop a dark stallion, his pale features sharp, framed by a spill of silken, obsidian hair, just short enough to reveal the tattooed moon phases creeping up his neck from beneath the collar of his black jacket.
Regal and stern, with a presence that saturated the very air, he was without a doubt the most handsome man I had ever seen. And yet it wasn’t his face or elegant demeanor that stole away my breath.
It was the shadows—tendrils of pure silver that seemed to unfurl from his body and dance in his wake.
Horrifying. And beautiful.
Fear stirred inside me, entwining with deep, silent admiration. I wanted to look away, but couldn’t.
Wanted to distance myself from the coiling tongues of silver and brush my fingers against their curving form at the same time.
His blue gaze scanned the crowd as he rode farther, seeming to take in each and every face as if he were looking for someone.
The blood in my veins froze.
He searches for you, Ember, every year.
Ada’s warning crashed against the walls of my mind until I felt as if the weight of her voice would bury me.
It was him. The Crescent Prince.
And his gaze was inches from locking onto mine.
Chapter Three
My legs refused to obey. I was tucked behind a wall of people just thick enough that maybe—maybe I could have moved without him noticing.
Had I been capable of moving at all.
The Crescent Prince’s sapphire gaze skimmed those standing to my left.
Three bodies away.
Two.
Something caught his attention, and he hesitated—a small halting in his progression I somehow felt more than saw. It was my last chance.
I didn’t take it.
Pinned to the cobblestones, I failed to do anything but stare at that devastatingly handsome face, at the silver shadows unspooling behind him and creating a stark contrast to his obsidian hair.
