Aurix the Bold

Aurix put his hands out to his sides and called out. “We know you’re out there. We mean no harm. We don’t want a fight. We only wish for safe passage through the Wraithwood.”

The whispers started again. Aurix thought it sounded like snickering and stifled laughter.

“And maybe something to plug our ears,” Regulus said under his breath.

“There’s no point in continuing to hide yourselves,” Aurix called.

“Who’s hiding?” The voice came from right behind them.

They whirled. At first Aurix couldn’t see anything at all, but after a second he noticed that the light was definitely bending strangely around a vaguely rippling shape standing between them and their steeds.

Regulus stepped in front of Aurix and Inanna protectively. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“Don’t you mean what are you?” The air fluttered. “And does it matter?” The voice was high-pitched and arrogant.

“We heard the screams last night. I’m fairly sure we already know what you are. Rilx.”

“Are you not afraid?”

“You’ve given me no reason to be,” Regulus said. “Unless you plan to blow out my other eardrum.”

“We just want to pass quietly through your forest,” Aurix said, sliding out from behind Regulus’ bulk.

“No one passes quietly through the Wraithwood, boy. Or haven’t you heard how this works?”

“We’re familiar with the stories,” Regulus said.

“Good, that makes it easier. Who’s that tasty little morsel behind you, big man?”

“Enough, Toft,” another voice said from a few feet away. It was steady and confident.

They all turned toward the sound. This figure wasn’t as transparent as the one called Toft. He also wasn’t what Aurix would have called solid, but he was far less indistinct than the other Rilx he’d seen so far. He had form and shape. And he was a man.

Regulus burst out laughing. “You’re human? All of Valeria believes you to be some sort of necronim. Or monsters. And you’re just…men.”

The newcomer tilted his head at Regulus. “There’s no monster more terrible than man, colossus. No deeds more atrocious than those that man can conceive. There is plenty to fear from mere men. Need I prove it to you?”

There were titters from the trees around them.

Aurix put a hand on Regulus’ arm, which had tensed at the implied challenge. “We aren’t looking for a fight,” he said.

“Maybe one is looking for you,” Toft said.

Though Aurix couldn’t see it, he was sure the man was sneering as he spoke. He ignored him and spoke to the man he could see. “I am Aurix. My friends are Regulus and Inanna. What should we call you?”

“I answer to Iryk. And my friends are too numerous to name. I’d not recommend you try anything stupid.”

“What will you do with us, Iryk?” Aurix asked.

“That depends. But first you will come with us.”

“And if we refuse?” Regulus asked.

Aurix thought he caught the hint of a smile on Iryk’s spectral face. “You will come with us,” he repeated.

The caples were led away by beings they could not see. Iryk guided the three of them through the woods, but there were others that glimmered in the light peeking through the trees.

Above them, Nyx made her way through the canopy, hopping from limb to limb. Fortunately, branches were plentiful, and she didn’t need to fly to follow. Every now and again, Iryk’s eyes drifted up into the trees like he knew she was up there.

Wildlife was abundant and seemed entirely unafraid of the Rilx or their prisoners. Wister and stag looked up from their grazing as they passed. Aurix spotted a large silver wolf that watched them warily as it drank from a branch of the stream. There were more kits than he could count, and by the sound of the brush cracking in the distance, there were bears in the woods with them as well. Serpents slithered through the muddy creek beds. It was a place teeming with life.

“This is incredible,” Aurix said, to no one in particular.

“Yes, it is. And we won’t have it ruined,” Iryk said.

If they were still following a path, Aurix could no longer see it, but Iryk expertly led them deeper into the forest. It grew darker as they went, and Aurix realized before long that they wouldn’t be able to escape if they wanted to. He had no idea where they were or even what direction they were heading.

“How—” Inanna began

Iryk cut her off. “Save your questions. I’ll not answer them, lovely though you are.”

Aurix had no sense of how much time had passed when they arrived at the next clearing, but he was weary from the trek. Iryk allowed them a few minutes with the caples and their supplies and suggested they eat and drink, as there was still a long way to go. Aurix watched him have a brief discussion with a few of the more indistinct Rilx and they merged into the darkness of the woods.

“That is so weird,” Inanna whispered. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Me either,” Regulus said. “And why does Iryk…” he struggled for the right word, “…exist more than the others?”

“I have no idea,” Aurix said, as he scratched the spot under Aoni’s ear that she liked.

Iryk stood at the edge of the clearing and watched them closely. Aurix knew there were others nearby but only caught glimpses out of the corner of his eye.

“I don’t like this at all,” Regulus said.

“It could be worse,” Aurix said. “We could be lost this deep in the forest all alone.”

Regulus grunted his assent through a mouthful of meat.

Aurix and Inanna split the last orange from Cragshadow, and each of the caples got an apple. When they’d finished, the mounts were led off, and they once more followed Iryk into the deepening unknown.

Aurix only knew they were into the late afternoon by the rare glimpses he got of the orange sky above them. They’d been walking for several arcs, and he was flirting with the outer edges of exhaustion. Regulus looked like he could plod on forever despite his bulk, and Inanna looked flawless, as usual. Aurix hoped they were more tired than they appeared, or he was really in bad shape.

“Soon,” Iryk said, as if reading his mind.

“Thank the Gods,” Regulus grumbled, and Aurix grinned.

‘Soon’ apparently meant something different to Iryk than it did to them. Another arc came and went, and there was nothing that suggested that they were approaching anything but more of the same endless sea of trees. A break in the treetops told Aurix that Nova had already set, and the sky was beginning to darken.

Knowing what Shura’s set would bring, the three looked at each other with no small amount of concern.

After another few minutes, Iryk stopped. The Rilx leading the caples continued on ahead.

“You’ll want this,” Iryk said, and gave each of them a glob of thick, rubbery paste. “Roll it into a ball and press it into your ears. If you thought it was loud last night, just wait.” He rolled his own wads and jammed them in place. From that point he led them forward with hand gestures.

When the scream came, Aurix felt it in every part of him. It threatened to rattle him apart. His teeth chattered, and his skull vibrated. The paste helped deaden the sound, but not the power of the cry. In another few seconds he saw why.

The forest opened abruptly into a massive basin. Small fires burned on stakes around its perimeter, and a huge bonfire roared at its center. Aurix looked across its length and could just see the flickering of the torches on the other side. He guessed it was a quarter mile at the widest point.

There was a subtle movement in the small valley, like water inside of a disturbed bowl. Dotted among the nearly invisible Rilx were beings of more substance, like Iryk. From a distance, they looked a bit like fish swimming in a clear pond. The only thing Aurix could really tell for sure was that there were hundreds of Rilx there—perhaps more than a thousand.

Structures were built between many of the trees surrounding the basin. Some sat at ground level. Others, beautiful and elaborate, hung amid the branches and leaves. Inanna stepped into the clearing to stand next to Aurix. Her mouth fell open. Regulus’ eyes were wide.

None of them could ever have imagined anything like this. It was a huge city hidden deep within the forest.

The scream finally ended. Aurix and the others removed the plugs from their ears.

“Am I dreaming this?” Inanna asked softly.

“Not unless we all are,” Regulus replied.

“It’s bigger than Midian,” she said, awestruck. “My Gods, look at them all.”

They were led down into the depression. They could feel more than see eyes on them everywhere. Many of the Rilx were all but invisible—others, not invisible at all. Some merely shimmered, like the superheated air roiling off of the bonfire. Most were somewhere in between those extremes—there and yet somehow not there all at once. They were cloaked, to varying degrees, in non-existence.

The crowd parted as Iryk led them on. Whispers as fleeting and illusory as the Rilx’s skin floated on the air. The sound seemed to carry more curiosity than menace, a fact that allowed them to breathe just a bit easier.

At intervals around the base of the hills leading back up from the depression, hollows had been dug out to serve as stalls for a variety of mounts. A few were occupied with stags, and one braka stared stupidly into space, but most were empty.

Further on, Aurix watched as a young woman with dark hair approached the Rilx leading their caples. She looked over Archaeon and Destra quickly, but spent an extra few seconds with Aoni. From their distance, Aurix couldn’t see her well, but she did tilt her head curiously and then looked back past Iryk at them as they approached—with narrowed eyes, Aurix thought. She motioned and the animals were led to vacant stalls.

There was an outburst from the top of the hill—a shriek that made Aurix’s heart sink. They had captured Nyx as well. He could just barely see her flapping her injured wing at the nearly invisible Rilx that held her. He hoped she gave her captor a good smack with it.

They were guided to a small construction flanking the southern wall of the basin and led inside. The interior was modestly decorated with wooden furnishings—a table that would seat a dozen, several chairs and a single high-backed seat with an intricate pattern of stripped, bent branches. Aurix was impressed by the artisan’s skill. Nothing in the room suggested they were in imminent danger.

“What happens now?” Aurix asked.

“You wait,” Iryk said curtly. He held out his hands. “I will hold your weapons.” Regulus’ spear was still strapped to Archaeon’s side, but Aurix and Inanna gave him their sword and rapier.

“I’ll take the dagger from your wrist sheath as well,” Iryk said to Aurix.

Aurix slipped it from the leather pocket and held it out. “This means something to me. I will expect it back.”

Iryk looked at Aurix steadily, his features wavering in the firelight of the room. “You are in no position to negotiate.”

Aurix clenched his jaw, but handed the knife over.

Iryk nodded his head once, satisfied. “It will be returned to you, one way or another. Sit,” he commanded.

They each took chairs at the table and waited, not sure what to expect.

After a time, the door opened. Aurix turned and was relieved to see Nyx on the phantom arm of one of the Rilx. A thin, leather jess hung from her talons, and vanished into her captor’s hand. She was not at all pleased about being leashed and flapped her injured wing at the apparition. She screeched once when she saw Aurix, and then calmed, clearly relieved to be reunited with her companions again.

It was all too easy to imagine that this was where their journey would end, but Aurix didn’t feel apprehensive at all. In fact, it was exhilaration that coursed through him. He was certain that one of the God-Forged Relics was here in the Wraithwood.

The door opened again. Aurix turned and was surprised when the young woman he’d seen earlier stepped inside. Iryk shut the door behind her and almost imperceptibly dipped his chin in her direction. She cast her gaze over the three of them, her face impassive. When it fell on Aurix, it lingered, and he felt something clench around his chest, squeezing. For those few seconds, he couldn’t have breathed even had he wanted to.

She was young—a few revolutions older than he, perhaps—and striking in a way that even Inanna was not. Her dark hair fell in loose ringlets over her shoulders and shone in the firelight thrown from the torches and the hearth on the far wall of the room. Her skin was the color of honeymilk, but her cheeks were flushed a pale pink, as if she’d recently been dancing or laughing. Her cheekbones were high and sharp, and her jaw strong and angular.

Inanna exhaled a short, sharp sigh that may as well have been an hmph.

The woman stood before them, straight as one of Inanna’s arrows for a moment, her face still unreadable, with her hands clasped in front of her. A corner of her mouth dipped, as if she was biting the inside of her lip in thought. Then she took a chair across the table from them, her dark eyes flitting between them.

Aurix’s head was spinning as he tried to figure out why the temperature of the room had risen several degrees in the last minute. He couldn’t keep his eyes on the girl for more than a few seconds at a time, though there wasn’t anyplace he’d rather they be. His throat was so dry, it clicked when he swallowed. He didn’t dare ask for a drink, but was thrilled beyond words when Iryk put a pitcher and four cups on the table. Regulus did the honors without being asked, first filling the dark-haired girl’s cup and finishing with his own.

Aurix drained his mint water in a single long swallow. He thought he saw the hint of a smirk on Regulus’ face when he refilled his cup.

“Who are you?” the young woman asked, focusing on Aurix first. Her voice was silken, yet unyielding, like both water and stone.

Aurix cleared his throat and breathed deep. He desperately didn’t want to sound like a foon. He only partly managed. “I’m, uh—My name is Aurix. These are my friends Inanna and Regulus.” Had they sent an enchantress in to question them? He felt about as steady as a leaf in a windstorm. His stomach twitched and jumped nervously. As far as he could tell, Inanna and Regulus were unaffected by her enchantments. “What are you going to do with us?” he asked.

“That depends upon your answers. Why have you come here?”

“We had little choice. We were chased by a band of Raspula and Xu’ul’s soldiers.”

Aurix thought he saw her eyes flash at the mention of the king’s name, but she didn’t seem surprised by the answer. Aurix guessed she’d already been told as much by the Rilx.

“What did they want with you?” she asked.

“I’m pretty sure they wanted to kill us.” His eyes jumped away from her involuntarily. That was probably not the best way to convince someone of your integrity, so he forced his eyes back to hers. He thought they were every bit as dark as her hair. It wasn’t until she stopped talking that he realized she’d asked him something else.

“Uh, I’m sorry.” His cheeks burned. “What was that again?”

Inanna made the same little sigh of disgust that she’d given a few minutes before.

Fortunately, Regulus jumped in with an answer. He looked only slightly amused. “Aurix seriously injured one of Xu’ul’s generals on Skypierce, miss.”

She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows and regarded Aurix carefully for a moment.

“It was mostly an accident,” he said with a shrug. His cheeks got hotter.

“That’s quite a story. You’ll forgive me if I’m skeptical that you bested one of the king’s guard and managed to survive long enough to get here.” She didn’t take her eyes off of Aurix; he watched the flame from one of the wall sconces dance in them. “I don’t suppose you know who this general was?”

“Banjax,” Aurix said.

The girl drew a sharp breath.

“And it’s not like I did it alone. I had help.”

She was quiet for nearly a full minute. Her next question caught Aurix completely off guard. “Where did you get the painted mare?”

He looked at her, confused and wary. “It belonged to a friend of mine.” He and Regulus shared a glance, their eyes narrowed.

“What was his name? This friend?” she asked.

“What difference does—” Regulus began.

“His name!” She wasn’t quite shouting, but her voice held unmistakable authority.

Aurix held up a hand in surrender. “Shlee. His name was Shlee. The caple is named Aoni.”

The girl exhaled like she’d been punched in the stomach. She slumped forward, her head on her hands with her elbows on the table.

Iryk stepped forward. “Are you alright, mil—”

“Leave us, Iryk.” Her voice was shaking. “Please.”

Aurix, Inanna and Regulus looked around at one another, concerned by the sudden change of events.

Iryk inclined his head. “Of course, milady. We’ll be just outside.” He and the Rilx holding Nyx stepped out.

She looked up at Aurix, her eyes glistening. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

Aurix was shocked. “You knew Shlee?”

“Since the day I was born. He was my father’s counsel.

It took more than an arc to tell their story to Alexa, daughter of Addix. After a few tears that broke Aurix’s heart, she pulled herself together and listened and interjected questions. When it became clear to her that they were not a threat, she requested food be brought in and had Nyx released to Aurix. She sat on his shoulder throughout, smoothing her feathers with her black beak.

“That old foon,” she said, shaking her head.

“He was a little bit crazy. But a good man. Excellent with a sword.”

Alexa’s eyes were distant—far off in an ancient memory, but a hint of a smile was on her lips. It warmed Aurix to the bone. “Yes, he was.”

“How did you come to be here?” Inanna asked.

Alexa sighed. “I came after The Cleaving. Xu’ul wanted me for his bride. I, of course, refused. Told him I would never marry my father’s murderer. He said my choice was his hand, or death. I chose to die. I was to be drowned in the Stryk. The man he sent to do his dirty work couldn’t go through with it. He told me to run and hide and never return. I suppose he told Xu’ul that it had been done. I wandered into the Wraithwood and have been here ever since.”

“Why would you come here of all places?” Regulus asked.

“I knew the stories. I didn’t care. My father was dead. Valeria was lost. I was alone and sad and empty. The cries of the Rilx called to me, I guess.” She shrugged. “I answered.”

A hearty stew and bread was brought in, and they dug in while the stories came full circle.

“People have always believed the Wraithwood haunted.” Alexa said. “And we’ve never given them any reason to stop believing it. A healthy fear of this place is good for us. It’s why we shriek at sundown.”

“You’re all human?” Regulus asked.

“There have been Nulla and Raspula in the past, but they’re rare exceptions. Most of them fear this place much more than dying. We’re mostly humans—exiled, excommunicated, bountied, marked for death, hunted, forgotten, alone.”

“And you’re their leader?” Inanna asked.

Alexa shrugged. “As far as we have one, I suppose so. Many were exiled when Xu’ul stole the throne, and they all knew who I was. Who my father was. The Rilx look to me as their leader, but I’m really no different or better than they are. We are all just criminals and exiles.”

“How many are there?” Regulus asked.

“Thousands.”

Regulus grunted with surprise.

Alexa nodded. “Those you see here are probably only about a third of our number. The rest are spread throughout the forest, living freely or patrolling, keeping our secret safe.”

“Is it true that no one ever leaves?” Regulus asked. “Or leave crazy?”

Alexa smiled. “That’s only partly true. Most never leave the Wraithwood. It’s our home. Those that do leave keep and perpetuate our secret. This place is a sanctuary—a second chance, and it has saved almost everyone here from an otherwise terrible fate. None who know what is here wish to see it destroyed. And it’s true that some leave the wood with their minds broken. Xu’ul’s men mostly. I suppose their stories must sound pretty crazy—shifting light and shadows, phantom whispers, apparitions, necronim, the screams.”

“How does it work? The…” Regulus searched for the right word. “The fading? Why doesn’t it happen to everyone?”

“It took me a long time to understand it,” Alexa said. “Revolutions, actually. When people would tell me their stories, I eventually discovered that those who had no one—no family, no friends—were the ones that were the least there. The Rilx you can see still have loved ones who remember them in Valeria. Those who don’t are just shades of their former selves. It’s almost as if the memories they’ve left with others determines how much they exist here in the Wraithwood. Sometimes, you’ll even see one of them come into greater being for a few seconds, like someone was just thinking about them. Those are happy moments for them.”

“And as they fade?”

Alexa nodded, a little sadly. “It means they’ve been forgotten, or that someone that knew them has died. They told me the story of the day of The Cleaving. It’s horrible. Hundreds of them just winked out in an instant. One minute they were as solid as I am, the next they were…gone. That was when I knew for sure that I’d solved the mystery of the Rilx. They are the Unremembered.”

Aurix shivered at the term. Inanna had tears on her cheeks that glittered like crystals in the firelight.

“What causes it?” Aurix asked.

“That is a good question, and one I can’t answer fully. It is obviously something specific to the Wraithwood.” She paused. “Did you notice anything unusual about the water?”

Inanna sniffed, and answered immediately. “No reflection,” she said, and wiped her face with a forearm.

Regulus frowned and tried to remember. “I didn’t catch that.”

“Me either,” Aurix said.

Inanna shrugged. “It’s a girl thing,” she said.

Regulus laughed, his voice booming. “No, that’s a you thing. You just love to look at yourself.”

“Oh, like you two never check me out?” she said with her eyebrows raised and a smirk on her face.

Aurix looked at the floor and tried to swallow down his horror and embarrassment. When Alexa giggled, the stone in his stomach shattered into smaller things that had wings and fluttered madly. The sound of her laughter trickled down his back like a cool raindrop and left a shudder in its wake. It was instantly his favorite sound in all the world.

“You’re right, Inanna” Alexa said when she stopped laughing. “None of the waters here cast a reflection. No one is sure why that is so, but I doubt it’s a coincidence.”

Aurix thought about the implications of that for a moment.

Alexa shrugged. “Anyway, I imagine you’re all very tired,” Alexa said. “I’ll have Iryk return your things and show you to one of the guest cottages. You’ll be comfortable there and can rest for as long as you wish. If you need anything at all, just ask.”

“That’s most kind, milady.” Regulus said.

Alexa turned to Aurix. “Will you stay for just a little while longer? I’d like to hear more about Shlee.

His heart crashed in his chest. “Uh, well, um… sure.”

She smiled at him.

Regulus took Nyx from Aurix’s shoulder onto his wrist. She hopped up to his shoulder with an effort.

“Oh, and talk to Iryk about your hawk. We have people that can treat her wing if you’d like. I don’t think it’s broken. I also don’t think I’ve ever seen a black hawk before, but she’s beautiful.”

Regulus leaned in and whispered, “Don’t forget—she’s a princess, lad.”

Aurix pretended not to notice when the colossus slipped him a wink before leaving.

“Your friends respect you a great deal,” Alexa said when she and Aurix were alone.

Aurix had never been quite so nervous in all of his life. His foot bounced uncontrollably up and down on the floor. “And I them,” he managed. “They saved my life. Had they come just a little earlier, Shlee might be sitting here with us. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to see you.”

Her smile was sad. “I wish it were so. My father kept him busy at the castle, but he always found time for me. He treated me like family, like a granddaughter.”

“He loved your father. And you. He thought you were dead.”

“As does everyone that isn’t here with me. It would be very bad for me if anyone knew, I’m sure.”

“Well, you are obviously still well remembered. You’re, uh…um, all there.” He flushed. Gods, what a foon, he thought to himself.

“Oh, I’m quite sure Xu’ul remembers me.”

“Because he loved you?”

“No, because I stabbed him in the cheek with a dinner knife when he tried to kiss me.” She grinned. “He thinks of me every time he sees his reflection. That’s how I earned my death sentence, by the way. People like Xu’ul don’t know how to love. Power is their only purpose.”

“Sounds like an empty existence.”

Alexa nodded. “I imagine it is. So what are you planning to do now, Aurix?”

“Nothing has changed. I have to get to Xu’ul and try to stop him.”

“You’ll be killed.”

“Maybe, but someone has to try. Shlee seemed to think that it should be me. And he believed your father thought so too.”

“How could either of them know that? You were a child living clear across Valeria.”

“Just before he died, Shlee told me that he thought Ra Addix might have used the Helm of Ulixes and got my name from it, which is why he was sent to Dren to watch over me.”

“So you believe in the Relics?”

“You don’t?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really have any reason to.”

“Do you remember the Ring Shlee wore?”

She closed her eyes and traveled back into her memories, her face serene. Aurix was certain that she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, surpassing even Inanna.

After a moment, she gasped softly. “I do. I remember being mesmerized by it. The way the air wavered and twisted.” She opened her eyes wide and looked at Aurix. “That’s what the Rilx do.”

“That’s what I thought, too. The Ring stretches time for the wearer. Shlee told me he was nearly 400 revolutions old.”

“You believed that, too?”

“He showed me, Alexa. He took the Ring off for a second, and he aged ten revolutions right before my eyes.”

“Flux?”

He smiled. “That’s exactly what I asked, too, but no. When Banjax killed him, Shlee turned to dust. The Ring was real. Xu’ul will have it soon if he doesn’t already. Along with the Helm.”

“Great, so that sick skane is going to live forever now?”

“The Helm is much more dangerous. With it there will be no hiding the remaining Relics from him. And if I’m right, one of them is here in the Wraithwood. He’ll fell this entire forest and everyone in it with the Sword of Rhexis to get it.”

She considered that for a long moment. Finally she shook her head and looked him in the eye. “I can’t let that happen, Aurix. What can I do?”

“Help me find the Relic before he comes for it.”

“You understand that if you’re wrong about this, it’s over?” Regulus asked between heaping mouthfuls of barrochi eggs. They were all enjoying a huge breakfast after a much-needed full night’s sleep.

“I know the stakes. Alexa knows them as well. But it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“I don’t disagree with you. I just hope you’re right. The Wraithwood is too vast to search otherwise, and there’s no way we will beat Xu’ul to the Tear once Banjax gets back to Glynn with the Helm. He’ll have a map right to it.”

“Unfortunately, that probably won’t stop him from tearing everything down in the process,” Inanna said. “And slaughtering everyone here.”

“We’re right,” Aurix said. “We have to be.”

Iryk led the way north along a meandering course through the wilderness, astride a beautiful red stag. He disturbed hardly a leaf along the way, and seemed to know every potential path without having to think about it. Archaeon and Regulus followed, a bit less graceful, crashing through undergrowth and small trees alike, clearing the way for the rest of them. Aurix was next, astride Aoni. Nyx sat on his shoulder, her injured wing wrapped tight to her body. Alexa could not be persuaded to stay behind. She rode a small silver stag, procured from one of the stalls in the glade. Inanna and Destra took up the rear.

Wildlife was everywhere. Animals of every kind went about their business casually, as if the beings crashing through their woods were not even there. The Rilx had truly developed a symbiotic relationship with their surroundings, somehow becoming a part of it while still respecting the delicate balance of nature.

What might otherwise have taken days was much faster with their expert guide. They stopped only to rest and water the animals until just before complete darkness swallowed the day. When the time came, Aurix, Inanna and Regulus all plugged their ears and took part in the ritual scream, shouting themselves hoarse. Nyx added her shrill cry as well.

“We’ll reach the Stryk tomorrow morning,” Iryk told them as they sat around a warm fire in a small clearing. “If it weren’t for the crackle of the fire, we might be able to hear its rumble on the wind.”

“We’ll need to head east along its banks,” Alexa said.

“Forgive my curiosity, lady,” Iryk said, “but what are we looking for?”

“Our reflection,” she replied.

The night was chilly. They huddled in the glow and warmth of the dying fire. Alexa slept on her side next to Aurix, her back pressed against his chest. He fell asleep with the sweet smell of her hair floating all around him and his heart pounding. He wasn’t the least bit cold.

Aurix’s mother and father visited before first light. He’d not had the night-haunt since before he’d begun his journey, and it was particularly horrible after the interlude.

Alexa woke him with a gentle shake. “Are you alright?” she whispered.

“Fine,” he said softly, glad that she couldn’t see his tears in the near total darkness. “Just a bad dream.” He didn’t sleep again. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was the anguish on his parent’s faces. Instead he listened to the slow, even breathing of a princess and wondered what love felt like.