Raelia (The Medoran Chronicles Book 2) (20 page)

They
really
should have come up with a plan first…

The trees ended abruptly at the top of a cliff overlooking a deep valley that stretched across the horizon. The surrounding cliffs were lined with golden trees that glistened in the sun’s rays. Around the boundary were thunderous waterfalls spilling into a river that encircled the valley like a moat around a castle. Alex could only just see the distant and jagged cliff face that ended the valley from where they stood, but she didn’t stop to wonder just how far the distance was. She was too distracted by her first view of Meya.

“
Whoa
.”

Alex wasn’t sure who said it, but it was the only word to describe what they were seeing. Never in her most creative fantasies could she have imagined such a spectacular place. The entire city blazed, like it was lit from within by a silvery luminescence that seemed to flow out of a massive, spiralling building situated in the middle of the valley.

“Their palace really
is
made out of Myrox!” D.C. whispered in awe.

Alex realised that her friend was right. The huge architectural phenomenon in the middle of the city had to be the palace, shining with the light of a thousand suns. Or apparently just shining from the pure Myrox of which it was made. The glow was so strong that it radiated out into the rest of the impressive city, lighting the entire valley, bouncing across the river and up the waterfalls into the forest.

“Incredible,” Alex breathed.

“You should feel honoured,” the Meyarin said. “Your race hasn’t set foot upon the Golden Cliffs for millennia. It’s only fitting that you should witness such a sight before you meet your end.”

“Could you ease up on the death threats?” Jordan muttered. “If this is meant to be one of our last living moments, you’re kind of ruining it.”

Faster than Alex could track the movement, the Meyarin had her arrow notched and her bowstring taught with the lethal weapon pointing directly into Jordan’s face. If she released it, Jordan would be dead before any of them could blink.

“You’d be wise to watch your words, youngling,” the Meyarin hissed. “You’ll find that those who I’m taking you to are much less tolerant.”

She lowered her weapon, and Alex reached a trembling hand out to squeeze Jordan’s shoulder. He didn’t seem
outwardly rattled, but she knew he must have been shocked by the Meyarin’s quick reaction. Neither he nor Bear had ever interacted with Aven, so they hadn’t witnessed first-hand the speed and strength the immortal race possessed. Not until now, at least.

“Come along, mortals,” the Meyarin said, and she moved closer to the uneven cliff face. “Watch your step, as the remainder of your life will be shortened further if you set a foot out of place.”

“We’re not climbing down there, are we?” D.C. asked, her voice hitching slightly. “We’ll break our necks!”

The Meyarin continued walking until she reached the very edge of the precipice, where she dropped into a crouch. She then balanced on one hand before using it to push herself off the side of the cliff.

“No!” Alex cried, rushing forward in shock. Sure, the Meyarin had threatened their lives, but Alex didn’t want to see her
dead
.

She dropped to her stomach and crawled until she could see out over the edge. Inexplicably, the Meyarin was perched just beneath the cliff top, standing on empty air.

“I have all eternity, but you are aging by the second,” the Meyarin said plainly. “Come along, let’s not waste any more time than we have to.”

Alex gaped at her. “How are you…
levitating
?”

The Meyarin exhaled wearily—it was a sign of frustration rather than anger for a change. She stood up on tiptoes and reached up to grasp Alex’s wrist, yanking her over the cliff.

Alex heard her friends scream her name as she fell, but instead of plummeting to her death, she landed on a solid surface.

“What
is
this?” she asked, standing on wobbly legs and staring at the transparent flooring. Despite what her body was
telling her, she could see no evidence of any kind of support underneath her. It simply looked like she was floating in the middle of the air.

Alex had to close her eyes when the scenery spun around her. They were
very
high up, and having what appeared to be nothing under her feet didn’t agree with her stomach, regardless of the impossibly stable—but invisible—floor.

“Alex! Are you okay?”

She looked up and saw that all three of her friends were leaning over the cliff and staring at her in astonishment.

“Yeah,” she said. “There’s some kind of barrier or something.”

“It’s the
Valispath
,” the Meyarin informed them. “The Eternal Path. It will take us the rest of the way.”

“You guys better get down here before you end up coming over head-first like me,” Alex warned her friends.

One by one they helped each other down until they were all standing on the transparent
Valispath
.

“This is
so
unnatural,” Bear said, looking down.

“I recommend that you all take a seat,” the Meyarin suggested.

With no other warning, they shot forward through the air. Alex felt the breath leave her when she slammed against the transparent force field surrounding them. She barely managed to choke back a scream as they flew along what she could only describe as an invisible rollercoaster. Every twist and turn moved them lower to the ground and closer to the city, passing over the moat-like river and moving so near to one of the waterfalls that Alex felt the water spray through the apparently not-so-solid force field.

The
Valispath
moved so quickly that within seconds they entered the outskirts of the city, and then they soared in and around, above and even below the silver-glowing buildings.
Faces of Meyarins blurred past them, but they sped along too fast to take in any real details other than the fact that they were heading deeper into the city.

“Where are we going?” Alex yelled over the wind. She wondered why—and how—the
Valispath
protected them from falling, when it didn’t keep out the other elements.

“Where do you think?” the Meyarin returned. “Are all mortals so unintelligent?”

For the second time, Alex wasn’t sure how to answer the generalised—and offensive—question. Instead, she looked ahead to what she guessed was their intended destination.

The Meyarin palace was the jewel of the city. It was truly beautiful, with swirling, slimline towers spiralling high into the heavens. The closer they came, the more easily Alex could see past the overwhelming glow of the Myrox and make out the finer details in the architecture.

“Wow,” she breathed when the
Valispath
stopped their forward momentum just near the entrance.

“You can say that again,” Jordan agreed, still collapsed against the barrier beside her.

The palace was made out of Myrox, that they already knew, but it wasn’t
just
made out of Myrox. Golden vine-like designs wrapped around the silvery Meyarin metal, creating the most breathtaking sight Alex had ever seen. The magnificence was utterly indescribable. It was a palace outside the most imaginative of dreams.

Alex could have stared at the architectural masterpiece for days, but their Meyarin escort cleared her throat, breaking her and her friends’ reverential gaze.

“Follow me,” the Meyarin said. “And don’t speak unless addressed.”

Alex and her friends followed their guide up a long set of shining stairs until they reached a massive Myrox and golden-
vined archway that led into the palace. Two fearsome guards stood on either side of the entrance, one male and one female. Both had swords and other glinting weapons attached to their dark, Myrox-infused, leather-like armour, along with quivers of feathered arrows and bows strapped to their backs.

Despite their bulk and authoritative stances, they were still beautiful to behold. The dark skinned male was huge, both in height and muscle mass. He had shoulder-length hair and an amused expression on his ruggedly handsome face, while the female had wavy black hair and intense steel-grey eyes.

It’s really not fair that an entire race of people can be so attractive
, Alex thought.

“
Kyia, frey de gearsa landi?
” the male guard spoke, glancing at Alex and her friends curiously.

“
Hireth en gartha de seafe lae nias
,” their Meyarin guide responded. “
Taern de
Raelia
.”

The female guard scowled and raised her sword threateningly. “
Mae keare vars en hersan
!
Kyia, raesa felin de oarna
Raelia!
”

Their Meyarin escort said something in response, and the unknown female guard stepped forward, her steely eyes blazing with anger.

“Stop, Vaera!” their escort ordered firmly in the common tongue, allowing Alex and her friends to understand. “The humans are under my protection until they’ve been questioned.”

“I don’t take orders from you yet, Kyia,” the female guard— Vaera—spat back.

“But you do take them from me,” came another voice.

Alex sucked in a breath at the sight of the Meyarin who appeared at the entrance to the palace. He was… well, ‘wow’ didn’t quite sum him up. He was not as youthful as the other Meyarins she’d interacted with, but he was just as beautiful, and he stood tall and confident with golden hair and warm, amber-
coloured eyes. His demeanour exuded wisdom and kindness, and for some inexplicable reason, his very presence calmed Alex’s nerves.

Then she noticed the crown on his head.

“Stand down, Vaera,” he ordered.

“Yes, Sire,” the female guard said, lowering her sword and ducking her head respectfully.

“Kyia,” the crowned Meyarin said to their escort, “it seems I’ve come outside for a refreshing walk only to discover humans on my doorstep. I trust you have a good reason for bringing mortals into my city?”

“Yes, my king,” Kyia said. “I need to speak with you, in private.”

Alex was surprised by the lack of deference their escort showed to the ruler of Meya, but he didn’t seem to mind. All he did was tilt his head thoughtfully and say, “You and your companions may join me in my receiving room.”

The king stepped back inside and Kyia looked at Alex and her friends pointedly before following him.

“At least we know he’s not dead,” Jordan said. “That’s good news.”

Jordan was right—that
was
good news. Aven had tried to murder his father and he’d supposedly succeeded in stabbing him with a dagger, so it was a relief to learn that the leader of Meya was still alive and ruling.

Alex waited for her friends to walk through the entrance and followed after them, but as she moved past the two guards, the male Meyarin stiffened. She turned her head to look at him in question just as he reached out and grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around to face him.

“What are you?” he demanded.

She froze to the spot. “I—um… What?”

“
What are you?
” he repeated, shaking her roughly.

Alex winced from his strong grip, but forced herself to respond. “What do you mean? I’m human. Mortal.” She only just managed to stop herself from adding a ‘duh’ at the end of her sentence.

“You smell like one of the
Garseth
,” he said, his dark eyes narrowed and staring into her own.

“I don’t know what that means,” Alex told him, and his fingers tensed even more.

“Zain, release her!” Kyia ordered, storming back through the entrance.

“
Garseth rai tealon fera de leas
,” the male—Zain—said angrily.

“
Caen de taris en loga
,” Kyia replied, her tone firm.

Zain nodded tersely and released Alex. She automatically reached up to rub her shoulder.

The male Meyarin noticed her movement and his eyes softened slightly. “I apologise, little human. You caught me off-guard.”

“Aren’t guards supposed to always be on guard?” Alex muttered under her breath.

Zain’s lip twitch reminded her yet again about the quality of Meyarin hearing. Oops.

“Come, mortal,” Kyia interrupted before Alex could say or do anything else. “The king awaits.”

If Alex hadn’t been so worried about being pulled back and manhandled again, she would have paused upon stepping into the massive entrance room. Instead, she looked around with wide eyes and tried not to trip over her own feet as she hurried after Kyia.

All Alex could think as she took in the elegant Myrox and gold decor was that D.C.’s palace in Tryllin had nothing,
nothing
, on the Casa de Meya.

Kyia led the way along an elaborately decorated hallway that seemed to stretch for miles, but thankfully they didn’t have
to walk too far before she stopped at an intricately sculpted doorway. The door was open and led to a room where Alex’s friends were seated in comfortable-looking chairs.

“They wouldn’t let us wait for you,” D.C. said quietly when Alex sat beside her. “What happened back there?”

“Just a misunderstanding,” Alex whispered back. At least, she hoped that was true.

“A word, if you please, Kyia,” the Meyarin king said, waving their escort into a side room.

Once Kyia had closed the door between them, Alex’s friends turned to her.

“Do you think we should try and sneak out?” Jordan asked.

“What? Why?” Alex asked.

“We were found trespassing upon a sacred site,” he reminded her. “You heard what Kyia said. We could be facing a death sentence. That’s not my idea of a good time.”

“No one said this journey would be easy, Jordan,” Alex returned softly. “You know we can’t leave yet.”

“Why not?” Bear asked, shifting around with agitation.

“For one thing, just because the door is closed doesn’t mean they can’t hear us,” Alex said. “And for another, I’m here for a reason, remember? I have a message to deliver. I have to stay no matter what. But if you want to attempt an escape, I’ll try to cover for you.”

She wasn’t sure how she would do that exactly, but Jordan’s gift could potentially shield the three of them and help get them out without discovery.

“No way,” D.C. said. “We’re staying together.”