Page 169 of A Kingdom of Wild and Power
Kage ignored the question. ‘Where am I?’
‘Velunthar.’
‘Where exactly in Velunthar am I?’
He had studied the place once, its strange nature spoken of throughout the kingdoms. Velunthar was a curiosity among cities, a place that puzzled travellers and scholars alike—because Velunthar was not truly a city at all.
No.
Velunthar was a vault, carved deep into the mountain.
The palace itself was vast, so vast that it might easily be mistaken for a city in its own right. It stretched through the mountain like the bones of some ancient titan, descending deep beneath the earth before rising again towards the summit. At the mountain’s face, broad balconies had been carved into the stone, overlooking the dense jungle that spread beyond. From that green wilderness, enemies might creep unseen beneath the tangled canopy. But between the jungle and Velunthar lay a great, barren expanse.
An enormous field of nothingness.
It had been crafted so with deliberate cunning by the Fae: a strip of exposed earth where no army could hide, where any force emerging from the jungle would be forced to cross open ground. From the mountain’s towering height, Velunthar’s defenders would watch them approach like prey wandering into the open, clear targets beneath the vigilant glare of those who held the high ground.
And when war approached, arriving at Velunthar’s doorstep, the palace could be locked, turning into an impenetrable vault. No enemy entered. And no Fae left. Kage had heard whispers ofsecret tunnels that led out into wolverian lands, whispers of tales long forgotten. Or perhaps made so by the Fae.
‘In the central hall,’ the valkyrian said at last.
Kage knocked the sword aside with a sharp motion, the metal ringing faintly as it was forced away. The movement made the valkyrian’s eyes widen, if only slightly.
He ignored her reaction entirely.
Rising to his feet, Kage cast a slow glance around the hall.
The walls soared upward, broken by graceful arches that opened into circular windows of exquisite Fae craftsmanship. Each pane was shaped like intertwining leaves and blossoms, delicate as lace carved from stone and glass. The columns that lined the central hall were colossal things, great beasts of stone rising towards the vaulted ceiling, each one etched with the same intricate patterns that adorned the windows.
Not every wall bore such openings. Only those that reached the mountain’s outer face allowed the light to spill through; the others lay pressed against the living rock above, sealed within the mountain’s ancient heart.
It was unmistakably a Fae stronghold.
Wherever Kage looked, small birds flitted through the vast space, their wings catching the lanternlight, while smaller animals darted across the polished floor or vanished into creeping greenery. Fae architecture had a beauty unlike any other. Less rigid, less severe. It was something softer, something grown rather than built.
Vines climbed the towering columns, their tendrils winding through the carved stone, while plants spilt across the window frames as though the palace itself had invited the forest inside.
The palace was alive.
A living, breathing thing, just as every structure shaped by Fae hands seemed to be.
‘Where is Bryn Wynter?’ Kage asked.
‘He is currently being interrogated to ensure he is not a warlock,’ the valkyrian replied.
Kage muttered a string of curses beneath his breath before turning sharply and striding deeper into the central hall, where an enormous staircase spiralled upward into the mountain’s shadowed depths.
‘Where do you think you are going?’ she called after him.
‘To find him.’
‘He is with the queen.’
‘Then take me to them.’
The valkyrian stared at him for a long moment, her glare cold and measuring. At last she turned on her heel and began to walk.
For a heartbeat Kage was uncertain whether she meant for him to follow, but she paused only a few steps later and cast a glacial look back over her shoulder.
