1. Seer, Sand, and Secrets-3
726 Words
The next day, Julis startled her again. ‘Ho there! People who snooze on horseback wake up on the ground.’
She rubbed her eyes until they watered. ‘I’m so tired. Just as well Nettle follows the others. Last thing I remember was passing a walled village and I can’t see one now.’
The urge to tell Julis about Gedric had been growing all day. She checked the riders ahead and behind. They were guards sworn to Gedric’s command. The risk of being overheard was too high.
The path was rising steadily. They crested a hill through stands of tall trees and a thick tangle of vines. The horizon opened, and Irenya stared at the sight before her. Forested hills rolled away to a golden haze in which not a single feature stood out. In the middle distance, two stony peaks rose above the hills. Beyond them, from east to west, she could have pencilled a line across the landscape and stepped off the edge. The dramatic change jolted her from dark preoccupations, pushed aside the nightmare memories of Akkod and her suspicions of Gedric. Private, painful ramblings on the subject of Elaaron faded to insignificance. Since leaving Akkod, his flawless manners had dismantled their intimacy more effectively than any reproach. As she contemplated the extraordinary change in the landscape, she silently thanked him for making her departure from Dar Orien easier. Somewhere in this place, I will find the answer and I will go home. She placed her hand over the pocket containing the photo of Mikey.
‘Where are we?’ she asked Julis.
‘We are approaching the most northern border of Ishter.’
‘Then we must be close to Midrash.’
‘One day’s ride and we will be at The Peaks.’
‘Isn’t that where the Sildahni … But where … Oh, I’ve just realised.’ She pointed to the long, golden line. ‘Midrash. The desert. I thought it was just some kind of haze.’
‘Haze there is, but you are looking at Midrash, harsh and mostly empty.’ He pointed to the peaks. ‘The Sildahni settlement is below them, on the northern side. By this time tomorrow, we will be at there.’
‘Have you visited them before?’
‘Not for a long time. The Sildahnis will be overjoyed to see Elaaron.’
‘Leachim said the same.’
‘Elaaron has long been interested in their affairs, especially their desire for a Siladhni princedom. At Akkod, I believe there was a favourable discussion with Jessemesh on the subject. The young prince consented, verbally, to ceding the northern corner of Ishter to the tribes. Since Jessemesh’s soul is now in the keeping of Meia, who knows if his brother will honour the offer.’
‘So, it depends on what Gani does?’
‘Indeed. A great deal depends on it.’
The guards at the head of the party were leading them down into a switchback curve. Julis added, ‘And you, princess, will not need to truncate the Sildahni names. They are already short.’
She cast Julis a guilty look, his comment reminding her she had given little time to the language. ‘Do you speak it? Anyway,’ she side-tracked, having decided on a more intriguing question, one that had been wordlessly floating around her mind for some time, ‘how come a humble horse master—your words, not mine—has been to so many places?’
‘I have had many masters. How are you feeling? You do have more colour in your cheeks.’
‘Tired, that’s all.’
‘And thinner. Your bottom does not fill the saddle the same.’ Julis laughed loudly as Nettle sidled to carry Irenya’s anatomy out of his reach.
Emerging from a sharp bend, Elaaron and Gedric glanced up at the sound. Irenya avoided eye contact with Elaaron, as she had done for days, but allowed Gedric’s expression to register in that inner place where her instinct prevailed. He doesn’t know I overheard his secret meeting. In fact, she guessed he was still coming to terms with the truth that she and his beloved archprince had been lovers. Gedric had either not heard of his daughter’s insinuations that day in the snow, or he’d dismissed them as the sort of tattle he refused to heed.
‘I think we are all looking thinner,’ she said to Julis. ‘Even you. In fact, sometimes I think you are not even the same person, except for your chatter.’
‘If you would sing more often, I would talk less. You have not sung a note in days.’
Oh, I’ll sing. And when I do, it’ll be Home Sweet Home …
- Writer
