Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 11

Cole looked up to see a sky a pure blue that did not exist in Soma. Pearly pink clouds hung like heavy cotton above her, and strange looking creatures, almost like dragonflies, with sparkling and translucent wings fluttered past her face. As she slowly turned to take it all in, she saw that what she'd taken for the sound of a waterfall was actually the sound of a bustling city.

"Annwyn," she muttered, taking in the massive buildings made of glittering obsidian, rose quartz, emeralds, and even diamonds. This was the capital of Avallen, a city so magnificent that the legends told tales of men driven to madness after visiting it in dreams. They'd swallow poison in an attempt to return to the golden paved roads where the most gorgeous women walked with their delicate wings folded across their backs. In fact, most stories related to Annwyn resulted in some sort of death. Which made the splendor before Cole feel tainted and dangerous, despite the beauty of it all.

"Follow me," Tanwyn said, still holding her hand and pulling her forward.

If a perfect city existed, it would be Annwyn. It had the perfect amount of buildings, all impeccably clean and made from impossible materials. The roads were indeed paved in golden bricks, and no horse manure or trash cluttered the pathways. The people walking along the roads were perhaps the most stunning of them all, however unlikely that seemed. Absolutely everyone was staggeringly gorgeous, with the high cheekbones and aqua eyes that marked all fae. They all wore silk in glittering colors, and their skin, in shades of pink, brown, or black, seemed almost to shimmer with golden powder. But the most gripping thing of all was their wings, folded behind their backs. The feathers of eagles couldn't have been more majestic. They came in as many varied shades as their skin, with speckles and stripes across the feathers.

Tanwyn, used to his home, didn't seem to find anything at all impressive about the people or the city, and dragged Cole almost immediately to a dark alley where he pushed her against a wall and turned to make sure they weren't being followed.

"What's going on?" she asked, frowning as she rubbed her shoulder.

Tanwyn ignored her as he walked back to her side and held his hand up, palm facing her. She had a brief glance of the same green ring he'd worn before, this time with the liquid in the gem almost filling it entirely, before a strange warmth washed over her body. She grew so dizzy she almost fell over, and had to steady herself on the wall.

"W-what..." she struggled to draw enough breath. "What did you do?"

"I cast a simple glamor spell on you," he replied, gripping her under her arm and helping to prop her up. "You won't always react this way to magic. Your human body just needs to become used to it."

Cole's head flopped onto his shoulder before she could help it, and her dizziness kept it there. She closed her eyes, thankful for the firmness of his shoulder and his hands keeping her steady against her ribs. His breath moved her gently up and down until she finally felt the nausea and swirling leave her.

Her eyes flew open and she pushed herself away from Tanwyn. "I can stand on my own," she said, smacking his hands off her sides.

He stepped back, holding his hands up in surrender.

"What magic did you cast on me?" she asked, a mixture of fear and anger making her stomach roil. "What's a glamor?"

Tanwyn sighed. "It's merely an illusion to make something look like something other than what it is. All the faeries have touches of it. To redden lips or add luster to hair. It's quite common." He looked defensive. "You stick out like a sore thumb, and I'd rather not answer questions every second we're here about why I've brought a human to Avallen. This way you can blend in as a faerie."