Prince of the Vale (Silver Crown Chronicles #2)

Chapter 1: Deceit

Caelfel Gyssedlues was far away from home, stuck in the company of a cantankerous she-elf, and in a direction that stretched further than the huntsman they spoke to had initially indicated.  Tired and ill-tempered did not even begin to describe her mood.  She trudged onward, her friend Garvanna Hunithrae close at her heels.

“I don’t see why we have to go to Palpses,” Garvanna complained, not for the first time.

Caelfel sighed patiently as she recited her answer again.  “The humans are holding a celebration for one of their goddesses.  When I asked you to come with me to see the world, seeing the humans was one of those things I wanted to see.”

“You said we were going to the coast.  The sea.  The ocean.  Not some dirty forest.”

Caelfel sighed again and decided not to answer her friend this time.

It was true.  When Caelfel first invited Garvanna along, she had promised the coast.  But the coast was still some distance away, so Caelfel decided a few detours to see other things would not be misplaced.  She was having trouble getting Garvanna to see that.

It had been two weeks since they left the Cromlech Palace, the desert fortress where Caelfel had been kidnapped and held prisoner.  Due to the efforts of her family, Garvanna, and others, she had survived the incident.  But there was one elf she owed everything to, for he had crossed the desert alone and faced the Admiral Grimault and his malicious sorcerer on his own.

And his name was Feraan.

But Feraan was an elf she presently did not want to remember, though her broken heart did well enough to hold her memories.  She took a deep breath to brace herself against the flow of emotional pain and pushed Feraan from her mind.  Garvanna had glimpsed her anguished expression and knew well enough than to bring that conversation to light, for Garvanna suffered similarly.

Garvanna plowed through an uncharacteristically cheerful commentary on their dank surroundings, which helped distract Caelfel sufficiently. 

            It had been two weeks since they set off on this journey.  The worst of it had been crossing the Amhsis desert, which was unforgiveable in its heat and nearly impossible to navigate through the bleak landscape.  A week later, they found themselves at the opening to the Farpass, a mountain pass in the Baetic Mountains.  It led them to the border of their own Fey Forest, the mainland for the Honey Water Empire, the realm of the wood elves.  They continued east to the Pirinac Forest, chancing upon the huntsman who inquired if they were on their way to Palpses for the Celebration for Strigi, a venerated goddess of the forest.

            And so Caelfel had decided on this destination, while Garvanna could be counted upon to voice her quarrels with the idea.  Once Caelfel mentioned a feast, Garvanna’s complaints had mostly quelled.  They weren’t starving, but Caelfel could admit that a meal other than foreign roots and berries would be much welcomed.  Elves were ultimately food-foragers at heart, so there had not been a need to pack very much in the way of sustenance.  Even so, Caelfel and Garvanna had learned in their two weeks together to appreciate the convenience of food readiness in the city.

Palpses was a city, promising all the luxuries of one, so soon Garvanna exhausted her supply of arguments to the notion.  Soon she would take even a human city over the wilderness.

“There is supposed to be a pass somewhere,” Caelfel noted, consulting a worn map the huntsman had given them.  “The Ruxlitta Pass, in the mountains.”

Caelfel glanced around.  This forest was unusually dark, so much different than the forest of their home.  The Fey Forest had great trees, taller than the evergreens in the Pirinac Forest.  Very little light reached through the spindly leaves to the forest floor.  And there was a nasty, thick smell of mud and pine, spruce and juniper.  And though the arrival of spring had already passed, the air of the forest was damp and chilled.  Had Caelfel not known any better, she would have mistaken it for autumn or even winter.