Page 37 of Vardaesia
Giving a rude gesture over her shoulder that only had them laughing louder, Alex stomped to her room, relieved that Kaiden had already left—even if his amused wink meant he’d knownexactlywhat Jordan had been implying.
“I hate my life,” Alex muttered as she sunk onto the safety of her bed, wanting to cocoon herself in the blankets and only emerge once she’d turned into a butterfly that could fly away.
“Be that as it may, until you’re dead, you’ll just have to keep suffering through it,” Zaylin said primly, with Alex not having realised she was already in her room. “I’ve no doubt you’ll find a way, as resourceful as you’ve so far proved to be. For a mortal, at least.”
The helper continued to move around, readying the outfit Alex was to wear that day, but Alex had frozen. And that was because, while Zaylin had spoken in Tia Auran, she’d stillrepliedto Alex’s words.
Calivere had said none of the helpers were able to understand the common tongue, but Zaylin had just proved otherwise. All along the Tia Auran had been able to understand Alex—just as all along Alex had been able to understand her.
Alex wanted to laugh at the irony; both of them having been acting like they couldn’t understand the other. But even now, as much as she wanted to make Zaylin aware of their mutual deceit, Alex couldn’t risk doing so. It was one thing for Zaylin to know the common tongue, yet it was another entirely for Alex to know the language of the Tia Aurans—something she could only explain by revealing hervaelianabond.
Alex’s eyes widened and she sat up quickly, staring at her hand as another realisation hit her. The reason for her exhaustion of late—it wasn’t because she was battling an illness, nor was it caused by the physical strain and emotional rollercoaster of the last few days. Rather, it was because of her stifledvaelianalink and the ring she wore to hide her bond from the Tia Aurans.
Athora had told her that the ring drew its energy straight from the wearer and that she would begin to feel its effects after a few days. It had now been four days since she’d left Medora— enough to explain her unnatural fatigue that not evenlaendrahad been able to cure. Furthermore, Athora had warned that long-term wear could lead to significant weakening, possibly even death.
While Alex didn’t think another few days would harm her drastically, now that she understood the origin of her lethargy, it was enough to put her on edge. All she wanted was to yank the ring off her finger and throw it across the room, but with Zaylin there, it wasn’t an option.
Instead, she shook aside her anxiety and allowed the Tia Auran to help her into her clothes, burying her smile when she saw that Zaylin had procured pants for her, as requested. That, coupled with the compassion she’d offered last night, made Alex soften significantly towards the helper, even if today she was back to her normal, ill-tempered self.
Alex still had no idea why the woman had been so contemptuous upon her arrival, but at least Zaylin had warmed up—slightly—since then. She wasn’t sure what might have prompted the change, but whatever the reason, there was no denying that the Tia Auran had showed hints of humanity when it had mattered most, and for that, Alex was grateful.
Soon dressed in a similar outfit to the one she’d worn while climbing the mountain—supple, leathery black pants and top, with comfortable yet sturdy boots—Alex re-joined her friends, their faces sombre as they waited to discover what was in store for them next.
“After today, we’ll be halfway through,” Alex said, trying to inject some optimism into the group. “A few more days and we’ll be homeward bound.”
Presuming they continued to pass the tasks, otherwise they’d be returning much sooner—something she refrained from adding.
“Wonder if we’ll get that death, plague and tragedy option today?” Bear said, covering a yawn.
Seeing yet more evidence that he wasn’t sleeping, Alex made a mental note to check in with him as soon as she could to find out how he was coping with…everything.
Offering what she hoped was a sardonic grin to keep the atmosphere light, she replied, “I think I’d prefer any of those over another foray into my mind. As we’ve discovered, it’s a scary, scary place.”
Thankfully, her friends chuckled rather than turning melancholy—or worse, offering more apologies. But before anyone could say more, they were flash-transported to the stadium.
This time the stands were already full—fullerthan full— when they arrived, the Tia Aurans screaming loudly enough that Alex winced and had to tone back her heightened hearing to non-Meyarin levels.
Saefii stood and offered her now familiar greeting, after which the Gates rose, spun, revealed their words, spun some more, and then lowered to rest in the cloud gap beside the dais.
Alex wasn’t thrilled by their three options that day—the Gate of Courage, the Gate of Shame and the Gate of Temptation— but after sharing a resigned look with her friends, she picked an arch and strode purposefully towards it, leaping across the gap and through the fiery gateway.
When she tumbled out the other side, she had to blink, then blink again, just to process what she was seeing.
“Well… this looks like it’ll be interesting.”
Jordan’s words upon his arrival couldn’t have been more accurate.
“Let me guess, Gate of Courage?” Declan asked dryly from Alex’s side, to which she mutely nodded, while D.C. swore a most un-princess-like word under her breath.
Alex nearly did the same, given what was before them.
She and her friends had been transported to the drop-off edge of the clouded land that held Vardaesia aloft. Barelya few feet from where they stood, the clouds vanished from underfoot, giving way to an emptiness so vast that it was impossible to see how far beneath them lay the ground. If there evenwasa ground. Alex presumed the desert was down there somewhere, but all she could see was how the suns and shooting stars above shone into the empty air, their light changing as the atmospheric colours steadily merged from light to dark to nothing but unfathomable blackness. It was just like looking into the deepest, darkest ocean.
But that wasn’t the reason for D.C.’s strong reaction. Because while the view looking down inspired heart palpitations, the view upwards was perhaps worse, given all that it implied.
“No. No, no, no,no-no-no-no-no,” D.C. whispered, shaking her head over and over. The mountain climbing task had forced her to face her fear of heights, but this went way,waybeyond that.
Beginning just a few feet out from the drop-off edge were hundreds of small, cottony platforms floating in the empty space, like miniature bursts of clouds, each barely as wide as a single person. Spread short distances apart from each other, they rose up and up and up like some kind of otherworldly stairway to heaven, continuing high over their heads and into a new stretch of clouded land far—far—above them.
