Beyond the Wall
Beyond the Wall
The words hang in the air.
Both men turn from Kaan, looking at me directly.
The one standing to my left lets his gaze travel over me. My worn cloak. The dried blood staining the hem of my robes. The braids woven into my dark hair.
His eyes settle on the rings Kaan still holds up.
Slowly, I notice the way his eyes widen. The way his chest rises and falls as he loosens his hold on his sword. He blinks, straightening his expression. It’s like he can’t quite get himself to believe what he sees.
The other guard, on my right, follows his gaze and still completely. Time seems to stop all around us.
I’m suspended, wondering if Kaan just called for our death, or if I am really as important as he believes me to be. My breath seizes, my body stiff and my mind running through every possible scenario.
To my relief, the guard to my right lowers his sword, the other following. The tips of their swords scrape against the stone floor before falling completely with a resounding clang.
The first guard slowly raises his eyes to mine and this time I see no suspicion in them, no hesitancy.
Only hope.
His voice is quieter now. “You wear the royal signets.”
The second guard swallows hard. “That’s impossible.”
“No,” the first breathes, never taking his eyes off me. “Not impossible.”
His gaze searches my face, lingering there as though comparing me to a memory.
The second purses his lips, eyes shifting to the guard beside him before returning to me. “What do we do?”
The first guards eyes widen comically and with a sharp inhale, he drops to one knee. His fist presses against his heart and he lowers his head.
The second guard flinches but then mimics the move.
I stand there, my lips parting, heat warming my cheeks in slight embarrassment. Now, what am I supposed to do?
“My Queen,” the first says. “It is the greatest honor of my life to stand before you.”
Kaan’s hand tightens around my wrist. I don’t look at him, but can tell from my periphery that he is smiling widely. This is what he expected, what he wanted.
“My name is Vaelor,” the first one says. “This is Soren.”
He lifts his head just enough to meet my eyes again.
“We have awaited your return for twenty years.” His voice steadies despite the emotion threatening to break through it.
The words steal the air from my lungs. He places his fist against his heart once more and I understand it to mean his devotion to who he believes I am.
If only he knew that I’m no one.
Vaelor rises slowly, making sure to never take his eyes off my face. “I’m sure you have traveled a long way.”
I swallow. My thoughts rush thrugh my mind. There is some comfort in the face that they only seem interested in me, and not Kaan. But there’s nothing I can say at the moment, not yet. I want to feel safer, to be inside the palace walls.
He extends a hand toward me before hesitating, remembering himself. Instead, he steps aside and lowers his head once more. “Please, we will take you to the palace.”
Soren nods. “We would be honored to escort you home.”
The word home twists painfully inside my chest. It isn’t home, not without Dastan. Regardless, Kaan steps forward before I can react.
“You may escort us both.”
Vaelor’s attention shifts to him for the first time, and his warm expression disappears. “And you are?”
Kaan straightens proudly. “I am her husband. Royalty to you as much as she is.”
My pulse pounds in my ears as both Vaelor and Soren’s gazes search my face. I know they are looking at me to confirm his words.
Kaan smiles, stepping in front of me. “My wife cannot speak. She has had a horrible accident.”
Vaelor’s eyes narrow imperceptibly. “An accident?”
Kaan nods without hesitation. “A terrible accident before I was able to safely bring her back to Mortuorum.”
His likes make bile rise in my throat. I shake my head violently, hoping they see the desperation in my expression.
Get me away from him. Don’t believe him. Please.
The sounds that leave my mouth aren’t words. Vaelor and Soren cannot make sense of them. They frown at me, eyes taking in my appearance fully, focusing on my swollen lips and jaw.
I can feel tears swell up in my eyes
Kaan rests a possessive hand against the small of my back. “My wife has endured much.”
Every muscle in my body locks.
“She frightens easily, and she depends a lot on me.”
Lies.
Vaelor studies us both for another long moment, then he inclines his head. “The King and Queen have waited over twenty years for this day. They deserve to hear this news immediately.”
He gestures toward the city.
“If you would follow me.”
As we step through the place where moments ago there had only been a solid wall, light ripples around us. Cool air rushes over my skin, and my breath leaves me completely as I take in the city before us.
Tall black poles rise from the edges of the streets at perfect intervals. At the top of each one hangs a globe, though there isn’t a candle inside. Yet every globe glows.
I slow, unable to look away.
Every few moments, enormous metal beasts glide silently along the roads. They have four wheels like a carriage, yet no horses pull them.
I instinctively step behind Vaelor.
Soren glances toward the vehicle before looking back at me. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth.
“You’ve never seen a vehicle before, Your Majesty?”
I look at him, eyes wide, and shake my head. A vehicle?
“It doesn’t require horses. They have their own energy source that carries them wherever they’re directed.”
I stare at the machine.
I turn just in time to see a boy racing down the street on two impossibly thin wheels. He balances effortlessly, laughing as another child chases after him on an identical contraption.
Soren chuckles quietly. “That is called a bicycle.”
Kaan has gone unusually silent beside me. He looks just as uncertain as I feel, almost fearful as we take in all these new and different things.
Vaelor stops, gesturing toward a waiting horseless carriage stopped beside the road. Unlike the others, its body is a deep obsidian black. A royal crest has been engraved on each door.
“If Your Majesty would permit us,” Vaelor says, “the palace is a long way from the Wall.”