All Things Wild and Beautiful

12. A Display of Power

"Do you spend a lot of time in Orynth?" Nascha asked Lysandra as they entered another shop.

Elide, Aelin, and Evangeline were further behind, talking amongst themselves. A bag containing three tunics, two sets of pants, and a few undershirts hung from Nascha's shoulder. She also had a smaller bag containing a few different soaps and combs so she wouldn't have to use Fenrys'.

"A fair amount," Lysandra replied. They stopped beside a table displaying leather bound notebooks. Nascha's hickory gaze lit up and she inspected the selections at once. "Aedion is often in the Staghorn Mountains, working with the Bane. Do you remember them?"

Nascha nodded, leafing through a blank notebook. "I heard about them while I was in the Southern Continent. They're Aedion's legion, but I didn't think they were trained soldiers."

"They weren't, but Aedion's been training them for years. They have some new recruits now that the Fae and Demi-Fae are returning to Terrasen. He's spent more time in the camp, helping oversee their training. Caraverre is lonely when Evangeline goes to stay with Darrow and Aedion is gone, so I usually come to Orynth until one of them returns."

"What is Caraverre? It didn't exist when I was growing up."

"Aelin and I created it when I joined her Court. She gave me some territory in the Staghorns and commissioned a house to be built. It's nothing fancy yet, but maybe it will grow someday, when Caraverre is bigger. We have a crest and colors. White, green, and gray, like my ghost leopard." Lysandra held out her hand, letting Nascha see the crest engraved on a ring. It depicted a ghost leopard with a key over its head. "The crest is to remind me that I am the holder of my own freedom."

"Do people live on your lands?" Nascha asked.

Lysandra nodded. "A number of refugees, Fae, and Demi-Fae have moved there."

"And Caraverre is in the mountains. Is it not close to the Bane's camp?"

Lysandra pursed her lips, thinking. "It's close enough that Aedion can ride there in a day, but it would take the same amount of time to ride back."

"I see." They wandered over to another shelf of notebooks. Nascha saw Aelin, Elide, and Evangeline enter from the corner of her eye, but they stayed on the other side of the shop. "Arcelia is very remote. People sometimes referred to it as Terrasen's Hidden City."

"What do you mean?"

Nascha's hands stilled between the pages of the notebook she held. She exhaled slowly, dredging up the memories she'd tried so hard to forget. "The city is carved atop a mountain. The walls around it were hewn to resemble a mountain peak to anyone beyond the city. It's impossible to see unless you're flying over it or already inside it."

"How do people survive so high up?"

"The summit Arcelia is built on is still below the treeline," Nascha explained. "The air is breathable. There is grass, trees, streams, and lakes in and around the city. Most of Arcelia's food supply comes from farms in the surrounding valleys."

"What do the buildings look like?"

"They're built from the same stone that makes up the mountain. The roofs are red and the chimneys are white."

"It sounds beautiful." Lysandra smiled. "I think I'd like to see Arcelia sometime."

Nascha snapped her notebook shut. "I hope I never see that city again." She returned the notebook to its shelf and hurried out the door. Aelin followed her immediately.