Chapter 14
Since my arrival in Avenlore, the weather had been near perfect. It wasn’t too hot or too cold. A light breeze blew occasionally and the nights were only marginally cooler than the days. The sun cast warm and golden rays toward the earth and I was beginning to think the weather was persistently perfect here.
That was an incorrect assumption.
While this day had started out a little overcast, the sun was still making regular appearances and the temperature only felt maybe a few degrees cooler.
By midday, all of that changed. The light breeze morphed into a wind, driving thick gray clouds across the sky, effectively cloaking the sun. The air dampened and the temperature had to have dropped by twenty degrees. Chills sprang up over my arms and my legs and I thought I’d have to get my hands on a razor soon. That, or braid the hair that was growing on my legs. Or maybe sell them as Christmas trees. Then I looked to the skies and remembered where hairy legs fell in the scheme of things.
The clouds loomed overhead, threatening to drench us at any given moment. We had ridden out of what cover the trees could provide and were making our way over a flat expanse of golden wheat fields. We kept to a sparse path, no doubt used by those who tended the land. My eyes alternated between scanning the clouds above for the start of rain and the fields of wheat for something far worse.
I felt like we were sitting ducks in multiple ways. Far in the distance, the flat land gave way to rolling hills again, spotted with trees. But, for the moment, there was nowhere to hide, not from rain or Black Knights.
We trotted across the fields at a steady pace and I listened as birds sang somewhere close by. I shivered as a cold wind beat against us. Nikolas pulled the reigns taught and his feet hit the ground before the horse had come to a complete stop. In response, my heart rate kicked up and my eyes darted around to all corners of the wide fields.
“What is it?” I asked around the lump in my throat, eyes still shifting uneasily.
Nikolas was already hauling himself up behind me again. “It’s cool, I did not want you to be uncomfortable.” He said as he wrapped the thick gray blanket around me again.
Relief washed over me and I smiled to myself at his thoughtfulness. Looking over my shoulder I gave him a small smile as well. “Thank you.”
The warmth in his eyes did more for my temperature than the blanket could.
“Shall we?” He asked, eyes sparkling.
I nodded and we were covering ground again with a quickness. To my great happiness, we made the spotty trees without being attacked by water droplets or anything else. On the hills, I could make out a blue mountain rising, not too terribly far in the distance. It wasn’t particularly tall as far as mountains go, only reaching far enough to obscure the view of what lay beyond it.
We talked about simple, easy things to pass the time, like how the landscape was beautiful and that his horse’s name was Drift (which I thought was awesome). The storm clouds decided to leave us in peace, but I still heard when the down pour started somewhere behind us.
We pressed on, deciding to skip out on meals and by dusk, we had almost crested the blue mountain. The clouds had abated, and the sun made its return, splashing the sky with deep pinks, pale purples and blues, and yellowish-oranges. The wind died down, a calm breeze replacing it once again.
Right before we’d made the top of the mountain, Nikolas pulled the horse to a stop and jumped down from the saddle. Facing me, he reached out his arms. “May I?”
“What are we doing?” I asked, glancing around in search of the reason for this unexpected stop.
A traffic stopping smile spread across his face. “Allow me to show you something?” he asked, eyes twinkling.
Dumbstruck by him, I simply nodded.
He lifted me down from saddle carefully, eyes never leaving mine. Setting me safely on the ground, he looked down at me with a full on grin as he leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Close your eyes.” I could smell the salt on his skin he was so close.
I blinked at him.
He cocked his head to the side, mouth still pulled up at one corner. “Dani, close your eyes.”
I stared at him for a few seconds before obeying. The moment my eyes closed, I felt his hand at my elbow and his touch slid lightly down my arm until he had my hand in his. Goosebumps rose along my skin in the wake of his fingers and I could feel the tingles gliding over my body. He towed me forward silently and I could feel the ground rise beneath my feet.
Instead of concentrating on my footing, I was solely focused on his skin against mine. Our fingers weren’t interlocked, but the way he held to my hand felt more intimate than that. My fingers were draped over his and his thumb spread across the space between my knuckles, like being led onto the floor for a slow dance. I could hear his breath, slightly ragged just like my, reacting to the electricity we seemed to conduct between our bodies.
When the ground leveled off, he pulled me to him and I could feel his breath against my temple when he spoke. “Open your eyes.”
I obeyed and inhaled sharply at the scene before me. The ground sloped down from us in deep green rolling hills that gave way to fields bordered by low rock walls that contained fruit bearing trees, their bounty glimmering like jewels in the light.
Fat, stone houses were clustered together here and there, widows glowing with flickering light. I could see children running and hear their laughter as it carried up the mountain. A carriage rolled down one of pebbled roadways. Lanterns were hung from high rock columns and I watched as they began glowing into life, seemingly of their own accord.
A wide river, at least a mile across, flowed slowly through the land. I followed it with my eyes until it split around an island.
Then, I saw it. Seated on top of the island was a lavish castle the color of ivory. The stone had a smooth, almost glassy quality as it reflected the evening sun. A high wall surrounded the castle, two long, deep red drawbridges at its front laid across the river in welcome. To get to the second, you had to cross the first to a small island where a cylindrical tower stood.
Light shone from the windows of the castle like a warm beacon and behind it, a boundless lake, so still it mirrored the pinks and blues and oranges of the sunset sky.
The cream colored banners bearing the golden sun of Castle Lux flapped in the wind atop the many turrets and I felt a grin break across my face. On each side of the river, buildings, some several stories high, sat clustered together as people milled around the streets that cut through them. In the distance, beyond the rivers and remaining valley, mountains in deep purple and blue reached toward the sky.
“Do you like it?” Nikolas whispered.
I turned to face him and realized our hands were still linked. Butterflies took flight inside chest. “Its…its amazing. Thank you.” I surprised myself by squeezing his hand.
“It is my great honor.” He told me quietly. “It is called…the Valley of Light.”
“That’s a beautiful name.”
I felt nervous and happy and afraid all at once. I thought of Liam and I felt guilty somehow for standing here, being happy, even if it was mixed in with nerves and fear. My stomach got heavier, like it had filled with bricks, and I thought I should break this contact with Nikolas, slide my hand slowly from his but, my hand wouldn’t move. I didn’t want it to move.
I thought of my father and wondered if he was here, waiting for my return all over again. And my mother, she would be here too. And yet, here I stood, hand in hand with Nikolas and I had the nerve to be happy.
Nikolas must’ve read the worry on my face and stepped over to plant himself directly in front of me, peering into my eyes. “What troubles you, Dani?”
I couldn’t very well tell him that my heart was soaring because he was touching me, looking at me, standing so close I could feel the chemistry, the electricity as it flowed between us. That I wondered what kind of person it made me to f
eel that way when 24 hours ago I’d been staring into Liam’s eyes, hoping he would cover my mouth with his. That my father and Liam and countless others could be injured or worse, and here I stood like a giddy little school girl.
So, I settled for a half-truth. “I just feel so many things now, I’m not sure how to process it all.”
He stared at me a moment, waiting for me to continue. When I didn’t, his eyes shifted to follow a few strands of hair that were blowing lightly with the wind. He caught the loose strands of hair and tucked them behind my ear. Slowly, his eyes trailed back to mine. “We do not have to go. We can wait, I will wait with you…as long as you need.”
I half smiled, heart beating faster in response to his touch. “No, they need to know we are alright, I’m sure they’re worried.”
He lifted our joined hands, brushing the middle finger of his free hand over my knuckles and I got lost in his eyes again. “I am more concerned with what you need.”
I looked to the ground as I spoke again. “I need to know too, so do you.” I felt uncomfortable in my own skin. I turned to make my way back to Drift, taking my hand with me as I went.
Head swimming in emotions, I grabbed onto the saddle and planted my foot in the stirrup. This time, I managed to put myself in the saddle alone, though I wouldn’t call the action graceful.
Nikolas was right behind me, not interfering, only watching as I conquered the task. He smiled up at me with satisfaction in his eyes from the ground, then he climbed into the saddle as well.
His arms hung loosely at my sides, lingering far enough away as to avoid contact and the bricks inside my stomach churned.
Without a word, Nikolas turned us toward the valley and we began our decent toward the castle.