Page 171 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
A goddess who had chosen to hide.
From what, no one seemed to know.
‘The gods are coming,’ Kage said quietly, his dark eyes locking with the goddess’s green ones as they narrowed in suspicion.
And despite the tensionthickening the room, Kage could not help but smile.
Some have always wondered why witches do not have creatures like the rest of the kingdoms. Wyverians have their wyverns, valkyrians have their winged horses on which to fly on. Even the desert folk have their enormous serpents. And yet, witches have nothing. We do not possess creatures to travel on from city to city. We use carriages and horses.
I asked my mother once about this.
She said that witches would never have permitted a creature to cast them into shadow, to prove that another could be greater than them, greater than their magic.
Tabitha Wysteria
Ylva was sick upon the forest floor the moment she and Hagan appeared upon the lonely road that cut through the trees. The violent wrench of magic-travel left her stomach churning, the world tilting beneath her feet. When Hagan informed his witches and warlocks that they would no longer travel by magic but would continue the journey by carriage, a quiet wave of relief washed over her.
Ylva had no idea where the carriages had come from, though it was plain enough they had been stolen from some nearby town and brought to the clearing where Hagan waited. At thesight of the horses her chest tightened painfully, the memory of her white-winged steed rising unbidden in her mind. For a fleeting moment she could almost see him again, bright as frost beneath the sun. But before she could linger on the thought, Hagan seized her arm and dragged her roughly towards one of the waiting carriages.
Ylva had no chance to search the others for Arden, though she clung to the quiet hope that he was unharmed.
She frowned the moment she realised this carriage would hold only the two of them.
‘Wouldn’t it be quicker to use your magic like before and simply whisk us wherever you intend to go?’ she asked.
‘It consumes too much of our power,’ Hagan replied curtly. ‘And I require everyone fresh when we arrive.’
‘But won’t they be exhausted travelling like this?’
Hagan seemed to remember, all at once, that he was speaking to her at all. His expression hardened instantly, the brief thread of conversation snapping like a frayed rope. ‘Stop asking questions and be silent.’
So Ylva obeyed.
For hours she remained quiet, watching the world pass through the carriage window as they rattled along the narrow forest paths. The trees pressed close on either side, their branches knitting a restless canopy overhead.
They encountered no Fae along the road, which surprised her. But then again, they were likely nowhere near a great city.
‘The city of Floridia was destroyed,’ Hagan said suddenly, as though he had reached into her thoughts and plucked the question from them.
‘Most of the Fae have fled to larger refuges such as Hollowmere, where they may conceal themselves. Those who choose to fight will have gone to Velunthar.’
‘Velunthar,’ Ylva echoed. She had heard the name through Zagreus and Kage in the Underworld, though her knowledge of the place was little more than whispers and fragments.
‘It is their stronghold,’ Hagan explained. ‘Used in times of war, as it is nearly impossible to penetrate.’
‘Then why are we going there?’ Ylva asked.
‘Because we witches possess magic,’ Hagan replied. ‘And magic, if wielded with enough strength, can bring down even the mightiest of mountains.’
‘What about Eris?’
‘What about her?’
‘Are you not worried she might… go against you if she discovers that—’
‘Discovers what?’ He leaned forward as he spoke.
Instinctively, Ylva pressed herself back against the carriage seat, retreating as far as the cramped space would allow, but there was little room to escape. Their knees had been touching for most of the journey, a contact she had loathed from the very beginning.
