Raelia (The Medoran Chronicles Book 2) (5 page)

Although she was practically dying of thirst and ready to drop on her feet, Alex didn’t hesitate to walk across the room and open the glass door that led out to a turret-style balcony.
Earlier that evening she’d watched the sun setting across the shining city of Tryllin, the dying light reflecting off the ocean and bouncing along the windows of the city below. At night it was no less breathtaking, the moon bathing the view with an iridescent glow. The sight was enough to send a wave of relaxation over Alex, helping her shake off the stress of the evening.

With a contented sigh, Alex wandered away from the balcony, heading back into D.C.’s suite for a much needed glass of water before she curled up on the lounge to wait for her friend. She must have been more tired than she’d thought, because she was woken later by D.C. poking her in the shoulder. After a sufficient amount of grumbling, Alex had just enough energy to stumble into bed and fall straight back to sleep.

Three

“What do you say we get out
of here for a while?”

Alex looked at D.C.’s excited face and replied, “I thought we weren’t allowed to leave?”

It was midmorning and they’d been roaming the halls for a few hours, with D.C. giving Alex the official tour. The palace was incredible—and huge—but what both of them wanted most was to get outside. Unfortunately, during breakfast the king had ordered that they remain inside for the day because there was some kind of parade in the city and he was concerned for their safety. The queen, in turn, had sent them both an apologetic look, but she too had agreed with her husband.

Alex had been so awed by the fact that she was sharing a meal with the ruling monarchs of Medora—and the knowledge that they’d both very graciously forgiven her stunt last night— that she’d simply nodded her agreement and ignored D.C.’s huff of annoyance.

“You can’t seriously want to be stuck in here until we have to leave for Akarnae? You haven’t seen any of the city yet!” D.C. said, bringing Alex back to the present.

It was true that Alex desperately wanted to explore at least a small part of Tryllin before they left. Especially after having seen the stunning view from D.C.’s balcony.

“Besides, I sneak away all the time,” D.C. continued,
reminding Alex of how often she’d visited Bear and Jordan in Woodhaven over the holidays. “Trust me, I’m a pro.”

True enough, D.C. did manage to get them out of the palace without being seen, but that was more thanks to the contraband Bubbler vials she’d somehow pilfered rather than any real skill on her part. It helped that both she and Alex had donned disguises in the form of cape-like cloaks made out of a shimmery charcoal-coloured material with hoods that cast shadows over their faces, making them indistinguishable even with light streaming straight into their eyes. D.C. claimed the cloaks were made of Shadow Essence, a special kind of energy used by Shadow Walkers—a race of grey-skinned beings who walked around on swirling clouds of shadows. Caspar Lennox, the professor who taught Alex’s Studies of Society and Culture—or SOSAC—class at Akarnae, was so far the only Shadow Walker she had encountered. It took her a while to move past her inclination to compare him to a vampire, but once she did, she’d ended up becoming rather intrigued by him and his perpetual cloud of wispy darkness.

According to D.C., Shadow Walkers were well known in Medora for being mysterious but also doing exactly what their name implied—walking through shadows to transport themselves to new places. Hearing that, Alex had asked D.C. how it was possible, and her friend’s answer had caused her head to spin.

“You know how the sun gives off energy?” D.C. had said. “Well, long ago there was a race of beings who discovered that darkness also has its own unique energy. They found a way to trap the energy of shadows and refine it to a point where they could use it. They became known as Shadow Walkers, because the first thing they learned was how to use the energy to walk through shadows.”

When Alex had pressed for more details, D.C. had shrugged and said, “I’ve never Walked before, so I can’t tell
you much about how it works. But from what Bear told me, the ring you were given from Blake last Kaldoras has enough Shadow for three Walks, so you can see for yourself what it’s like if you figure out how to access the Shadow Essence inside.”

Even now, wandering around outside under the heat of the sun, Alex glanced down at the ring on her finger, repeating the conversation in her head. It looked the same as it had the day Bear’s brother had surprised her with the gift. The band was black and the onyx-like centre stone of the ring coiled with darkness. Knowing it was infused with Shadow Essence made Alex realise it was more mysterious than she’d originally thought—but she still had no idea what it could actually do.

“What do you want to see?” D.C. asked, reclaiming Alex’s attention from her ring as they walked casually along Tryllin’s harbour.

Alex was entranced by all the sights, sounds and smells surrounding them. Apparently Sunday was the local fish market day, or so she guessed from the not-so-pleasant aroma that came in wafts strong enough for her to wrinkle her nose and hold her breath.

“It’s your city,” Alex responded. “Surprise me. But, uh, let’s maybe go somewhere away from the fish.”

Alex was certain her friend was grinning beneath her Shadow-infused hood, but D.C. didn’t comment as she led them away from the harbour and up one of the well-travelled, cobblestone roads. It made Alex wonder about something.

“Why do you have roads if you don’t have cars?” Then, not sure if D.C. knew what a car was, Alex added, “Or, um, transport vehicles?”

With a shrug, D.C. said, “Back in the days before Technos invented Bubblers, we used horses and carriages to move people and things around. The roads were necessary then, but that was
long before I was born. These days the roads are mostly used as large pathways for walking traffic.”

Alex nodded in understanding as the two of them continued up the cobbled street until they reached the outskirts of the city.

“This road will take us into the centre of the city and then right back to the palace,” D.C. said. “It’s my favourite street in all of Tryllin. There’s so much to look at, with so many people bustling around.”

True enough, the moment they turned around a bend in the road, Alex discovered exactly what she meant. It was as if they’d walked into a whole new world. The noises, the colours—it was overwhelming. There were people everywhere: children running and screaming, adults calling out to one another, street vendors bartering prices with customers. Alex had never experienced anything like it before. The entire street was a trade market. Even the buildings that lined the sides of the roads had salespeople calling out to promote their wares.

There were people
everywhere
.

“Come on, I need to eat,” D.C. said, dragging Alex forward.

They stopped walking after a few minutes and D.C. stepped up to one of the shopfronts on the side of the road and entered the doorway into the building.

Inside, Alex was hit by an aroma so incredible that her mouth instantly began to water.

“This is the best shop in the whole city,” D.C. said with a contented sigh.

Alex looked around the comfortable room with its cosy couches and coffee tables. She followed D.C. to a glass-fronted bench and her eyes widened at the cakes and slices on display behind the

“It’s a bakery?” Alex asked.

“Mmm-hmm, and it’s amazing,” D.C. said.

Alex had visited plenty of bakeries and patisseries, but she decided to humour her friend and see what all the fuss was about. And it turned out that D.C. was right; Mrs. Gribble’s Cupcakes and Nibbles provided them with delicacies that, in Alex’s honest opinion, defined ‘ambrosia’. Food of the gods, indeed.

After half an hour of scrumptiously decadent binging, Alex’s moans of pleasure turned into groans of discomfort.

“I’m never eating again,” she said, pressing her hands to her aching stomach and following D.C. back outside. “But that was incredible.”

D.C. nodded emphatically and asked, “What now?”

“I’m the tourist. You’re the guide,” Alex reminded her as they set off again. The streets remained crowded with people but they seemed less congested than earlier.

“Yeah, but is there anything in particular you want to do before we leave?”

Alex thought about for a moment then said, “I’d like to see the parade your dad mentioned.”

“Sure, we can do that, so long as we keep out of sight. My parents will be able to recognise the cloaks, even if they can’t identify us through them,” D.C. said. “If we keep following this road, it’ll take us right to where we need to go.”

They picked up the pace and continued onwards, with Alex marvelling anew over the energy and vibrancy of the street vendors and their customers, but her focus shifted when the throngs of people became thicker the closer into the city they travelled. The congestion deepened until Alex and D.C. were forced to walk in single file as they pushed their way through the crowd.

“If we get lost, meet back at Mrs. Gribble’s, okay?” D.C. called over her shoulder. “Just follow the street back.”

“Sure thing,” Alex called back.

There were so many people that Alex began to feel claustrophobic. But she continued to follow D.C. and soon enough the noise of the crowd was drowned out by a loud voice speaking through some kind of amplifier.

“… is such an honour, and we hope you enjoy the rest of the festivities.”

Alex and D.C. finally pushed through to a clearer spot that gave them a view up to a platform in the distance where the king and queen stood addressing the crowd.

The sound of cheering and applause drowned out all else and Alex realised they must have just heard the end of the king’s speech. People began to surge towards the stage and Alex was hard-pressed to keep her feet on the ground in the mass of bodies.

“Bad timing, hey?” she called to D.C. over the noise.

D.C. didn’t respond and Alex turned around to get her attention, only to discover that D.C. was nowhere in sight.

“Dix?” Alex called out. But the cheering crowd was too loud for her voice to carry very far.

Despite the clearer area, there were way too many people nearby and D.C. could have easily been swept up in the crowd.

“Dix!” Alex called again, and she started moving forward with the people in the hope of finding her friend. She continued with the flow of bodies for a few minutes before realising that finding D.C. in such a large crowd was on par with finding a needle in a haystack. She knew her best course of action was to head back to Mrs. Gribble’s like they’d agreed and wait for D.C. there. Her friend might already be waiting for her, if she’d taken the wiser option and left straight away.

Alex managed to forge a path through the crowd until she was snugly against the wall of a building. The traffic was still flowing heavily, but the wall next to her made it easier to move than when she’d been in the middle of the mass. She fought to
walk against the tide of bodies and slowly managed to break through the crowd.

“Excuse me, pardon me, sorry, excuse me…”

The apologies poured from her mouth as she pushed against the stream of people. They grumbled and glared, but she didn’t care since she was focused on reaching her destination.

Finally the crowd started to thin out and her excuses were needed less and less. A few minutes later she could see the doorway to Mrs. Gribble’s store about fifty yards away on the other side of the street, and she was relieved to see D.C. standing out the front.

“Di—”

A hand reached out from the doorway she was walking past and covered her mouth, muffling her call. Too shocked to react fast enough, Alex was yanked roughly into the building, the door slamming shut behind her.

“I told you we’d meet again, Alexandra.”

Alex’s blood froze at the sound of Aven’s smooth voice whispering into her ear.

“Mmmfffnn!”

She struggled against his hold but was powerless against his Meyarin strength.

“Uh-uh-ah, we can’t have you calling out to your friend,” he said calmly as he tightened his grip on her. “You wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, would you?”

Alex didn’t know why Aven was warning her now, when only a few months ago he’d intended to kill D.C. himself—or use Alex to do it. But despite her lack of understanding, she wasn’t willing to risk her friend’s life, so she stopped struggling. Her efforts weren’t getting her anywhere, anyway.

“That’s a good girl,” he said mockingly. “I’m going to let you go now, and you’re not going to scream, understand? If you scream, the princess will die before the breath has even left your mouth.”

Alex swallowed and nodded against his hand. The moment he released his hold on her, she jumped away and turned to face him, vaguely noting that they were in some kind of unused storage room.

“It’s good to see you, Alexandra,” he said, moving to lean casually against the wall of the empty room. “You’re looking well.”

Alex didn’t let her guard down. Regardless of his relaxed demeanour, they weren’t exactly old friends. Aven’s calm façade worried her, especially since the last time they’d seen each other hadn’t ended well for either of them. He’d been forced to flee, and she’d nearly died.

“What are you doing here, Aven?”

His golden eyes lit with amusement. “You’re not happy to see me?”

She wasn’t willing to play his game, whatever it was. Instead, she stood with her arms ready by her sides, waiting to see what he would do next.

Aven realised she wasn’t going to answer him, so he continued, “Imagine my surprise when I learned that Marselle had finally allowed you to leave the safety of his precious academy, knowing that you could so easily fall into my hands.”

“The security at the palace more than covered the risk,” Alex defended. “I was perfectly safe there.”

Aven’s mouth curled into a slow grin and Alex hated that, despite his inherent evilness, he was still devastatingly attractive. Apparently it was a trait that all Meyarins shared, but since he was the only one of his race she’d ever met, she had no one else to compare him with.