Heart of Ash (The Dark Arcane Series: Book 1)

Chapter Thirty Nine

"We've got something!"

The excited announcement came in the late morning, as they trudged through the Red Jae, delivered by a flint who ran on foot, cheeks rosy.

It had been several further days of travelling through the northern forest in the biting cold, looking for any signs of either an army or the Tegye San. But the ghost army lived up to its namesake and they had no idea what signs would point them towards the World Tree.

Kade flexed his fingers in his gloves to retain their circulation, tightening and loosening his grip around the reins until his horse snorted loudly.

Ashyn might have known how to look for the tree but she was apparently too busy running away. And the Ender was too busy running after her. He tried not to be bitter.

"Your Majesty, we've got—we've got something." The scout gulped down air as quickly as he could, his breath rushing out as white smoke.

"Breathe, child, what is it?" Yeona commanded, despite being of a similar age to the man. She held up a hand to halt the rest of their group.

She wore a fur lined leather coat that reached her knees, every inch stitched with practicality. Her tunic just peaked out from beneath her coat. Her deadly spear lay in two halves across her horse.

"We didn't think we would actually find it—Your Majesty, it's real. The Tegye San. Some way north of here, beside a small lake."

"Great Mothers—"

This was the first time Kade had seen real emotion on her face—unprepared and raw—and she suddenly looked far younger for it. She couldn't have been more than a few summers older than him.

She gaped for a few moments—as did they all.

Nala, still sharing Conan's horse, mouthed a prayer up to the Great Mothers while Conan stared in wonder. Surprisingly, it was Sariem who's face still wore doubt. Even Darius, as Kade sneaked a glance to him, seemed eager as opposed to apprehensive.

"Are you certain?" Yeona asked, regaining composure in an instant, lifting her reins.

The scout nodded fervently.

He could see the options flitting across her mind. With impressive speed, she collected her thoughts. "Right. I want three runners to go back to the camp and tell them to come to our location immediately. The rest of us will head on out to the Tegye San and make another camp nearby. And you"—she looked to the scout—"thank you, please accompany us on horseback."

The only time Kade had seen trust this strong was in the Shadows.

The scout set a fast pace but they were all more than willing to keep up.

The Tegye San was the stuff of legends—in the stories of stars, gods, and oceans, in the dreams of city burners, unmakers, and world stealers.

Never once before had Kade actually believed it to be real.

Then he set eyes on it.

Great and powerful and wise, it stood at the height of two houses perhaps, though the top was still visible. The ground rippled into mountains under the stress of the far reaching roots, and was rife with long grass and—even in the icy cold—several sturdy flowers were tucked close to the land, bracing the weather.

The roots burst from the ground as they met the trunk, which was wider than any four men could wrap their hands around. The umber trunk itself had deep ridges that spiralled gently upwards, as if someone had twisted the tree many years ago. The trunk went up and up and spread into boughs as thick as his torso.