Union (21 page)

“They’re already waiting outside.” Faelon took hold of Kethlia’s bridle and turned her around so he could lead her out of the stall. “I don’t think you need to worry about Selene. She’s in very good hands.”

“Hmm…,” Nykin muttered under his breath, thinking about the way Lerran and Selene had flirted with each other earlier. “That’s not as reassuring as you might think.” Selene was quite capable of looking after herself, but Nykin knew firsthand how alluring elf magic was, and Lerran was attractive enough without it. He hoped Selene knew what she was doing—they were only here for a week, after all.

When they got outside, Avelor was sitting astride his horse holding Sahlanthi’s reins as she waited patiently next to him. He winked at Faelon, a smile tugging at his lips, and Nykin quickly looked away from their private moment, his gaze wandering up ahead. The street they were on was wide and long and appeared to curl around to the right. It seemed relatively empty, and Nykin wondered why everything was so quiet.

Faelon climbed gracefully into the saddle and called for Avelor to head on out. Nykin tugged on Kethlia’s reins until she faced the right way and urged her forward with his heels. Faelon pulled alongside him, letting Sahlanthi fall into step with Kethlia, and Nykin shifted a little in his saddle to look at him.

“Where is everyone?” he asked, gesturing with one hand out over the empty street. Nykin wasn’t exactly sure how the residents of Alel spent their time, but he’d thought they’d have run into some other elves by now.

“It’s market today,” Faelon said, as if that would explain everything.

Nykin must have looked as confused as he felt because Faelon just grinned. “Follow me and I’ll show you.”

He steered his horse over to the right, and Nykin did the same, curious to see what Faelon meant.

“Avelor,” Faelon called to the other elf, and Avelor halted to look back over at them. “I’m just going to show Nykin the market. We’ll catch up with you.” Avelor waved them off, and Faelon beckoned Nykin to follow him again. “Come on.”

They turned down a narrow side street, and Nykin heard soft murmurings in the distance, getting louder the closer they got. A couple more turns and Faelon drew to a halt near the entrance to a wide road. They weren’t close enough for Nykin to see round the corner and down the road, but the noise was loud. A cacophony of voices and other noises spilled out onto the surrounding streets.

“We can’t go down on horseback, but you’ll be able to see enough to understand.” Faelon nudged his horse a little farther forward, with Nykin and Kethlia on their heels.

Nykin didn’t know what he’d expected to see, but whatever he’d imagined, it wasn’t this. The road that stretched out far in front of them was literally teeming with elves. Nykin could see stall after stall of brightly colored produce and cloth, and just about anything else he could imagine, and
Gods
, the smells. Nykin had eaten breakfast not long ago, but his stomach rumbled loudly at the mouthwatering aromas wafting over to them.

“It’s not usually this busy.” Faelon’s voice snapped Nykin out of his thoughts, and he looked up to meet his eyes. “But a royal wedding has the whole city excited, and everyone’s preparing for the celebration.”

“So I see.” Nykin couldn’t tear his eyes away from the bustling street. He’d never seen anything like it. The markets back in Torsere were quiet and sedate affairs in comparison to this, and a part of him wanted to walk down among all the different stalls to see what was on offer, and maybe sample some of the delicious-smelling food.

“The market will probably last most of the day,” Faelon continued. “People are already in high spirits, and they’ll probably spend the day chatting and eating together in between shopping. It’s a very social occasion.”

Laughter echoed out among the noise, and Nykin smiled in response. The atmosphere was charged with an almost palpable energy, and Nykin felt himself already getting swept up in it. He wondered what it would be like to be surrounded by all that magic. “Looks like the celebrations have already started. You can feel it in the air.”

Faelon smirked over at him as though he knew exactly what Nykin was thinking, and Nykin shifted uncomfortably in his saddle. “Not everyone’s magic is as strong as mine, Avelor’s, or Lerran’s—that’s why we’re members of the Royal Guard. But I daresay that you would find it interesting, to say the least, if you were to venture into the market today.” He grinned then, and Nykin rolled his eyes, pulling Kethlia away from the scene before them.

“Shouldn’t we be catching up with the others?”

“Yes, of course.” Faelon urged Sahlanthi forward, and they were soon back on their original course.

It didn’t take long before they saw Avelor, Selene, and Lerran up ahead, and they soon closed the distance between them. The sun was warm on their backs, and Nykin breathed in the fresh, clean air surrounding them. He had a feeling the rest of the day was only going to get better, and it had been pretty wonderful so far.

T
HE
HEAT
of the sun faded as they left the white buildings of the city behind and entered the edge of the forest. The huge trees cast shadows over everything and blocked out the sun to offer cool pockets of shade, which Nykin and Selene gratefully rode into.

“This is amazing,” Nykin whispered, his eyes wide and his mouth falling open in awe. He had to lean back in his saddle to see to the top of the tree directly in front of him, and he was having trouble getting his head round just how big it was—how big all of the trees were. “I never knew trees like this existed.”

Faelon and Avelor dismounted and tied their horses to a nearby post, so Nykin immediately did the same. He winced a little as his sore muscles protested—he didn’t use half that many when riding Fimor.

“They were planted hundreds of years ago by some of the first elves to come here,” Avelor said, taking Nykin’s reins from him and securing Kethlia next to the others. Lerran and Selene joined them, and Selene’s eyes were huge as she looked from tree to tree.

Nykin estimated the trunks were at least twenty-five feet across, if not more for some of them and as he looked around, they appeared to form a wide circle around city, everything interconnected with high walkways up among the top branches. Nykin had never seen anything quite so impressive, and he was a dragon rider.

“What type of trees are they?” Selene asked, walking closer to the huge trunk. “May I?” She hastily pulled her hand back from where she’d been reaching out, waiting for permission first.

“They’re called Ghaleth D’ahl in Elvish. Which, roughly translated, means Giant Velvet-Oak. Here”—Lerran smiled and took hold of her hand and pressed it to the bark of the tree—“feel it.”

Nykin watched curiously as Selene ran her palms back and forth over the rough-looking bark, and a huge smile spread across her face. “Oh!” she looked over at Nykin in excitement. “Nykin, you need to feel this too. It’s incredible.”

Nykin walked closer until he could reach out and lay his hand next to Selene’s and…
oh.
Selene was absolutely right. Where he’d expected the familiar rough edges of tree bark under his fingers, he felt only smooth, velvety softness. The tree was solid and firm underneath, but it seemed as though the top layer of it had been wrapped in… well… velvet. Nykin easily saw where it got its name. “That’s just….” He moved around the trunk, his hand never losing contact with the bark.

“I know…,” Selene replied, following after him.

They walked all around the base of the tree, finally stopping as they reached the elves again. The three of them wore matching expressions, a mixture of amusement and delight at his and Selene’s reactions.

“Can we have a look inside one?” Nykin knew he sounded like an excitable child, but he just didn’t care. The treehouses looked spectacular enough from the ground, he could only imagine what they looked like inside. “Please?”

Faelon caught Avelor’s eye, and the other elf smiled and nodded. “You can’t go inside this one, but if you like, we can take you to mine and Avelor’s. It’s just a little way over here.” He gestured over to the left.

“You live together?” Nykin blurted the words without thinking. He knew the two of them were involved but hadn’t considered that they actually lived together. That would go a long way to assuaging Ryneq’s concerns about Faelon’s intentions.

“Yes, Nykin.” Faelon smirked. “Although it’s a rather recent development, hence the unfortunate incident in the stables. Everything is still relatively new and our magic may take a while to settle down.

Nykin was curious to know if that meant they were married, if their magic was somehow joined now and that’s why it was a little volatile, but he decided he’d probably asked enough about their personal lives for one day. Maybe he’d ask later, once he and Selene had shared some of their knowledge on dragons.

“We’d love to see your home, if that’s okay?” Selene stepped in and answered while Nykin was still lost in thought.

“We can just lead the horses if you want, it’s not too far.” Avelor untied them all, and they set off in the direction of Faelon and Avelor’s home.

Nykin greedily took in everything around him. His gaze darting from the enormous trunks, up to the thick branches supporting the walkways overhead, and out into the thick forest of smaller, more normal-looking—for him, anyway—trees behind them. He absently rubbed at his mark as it began to tingle just under the skin.

“Nykin?”

Nykin stopped in his tracks at the sound of Fimor’s voice, and the others turned to look at him. “Just give me a moment,” he said, holding up his hand, and waving it in the general vicinity of his head. “Fimor.” The elves regarded him with raised eyebrows but didn’t comment.

“Yes? Where are you? I didn’t see you down at the beach this morning.”

“No, Kalesh and I decided to stretch our wings and hunt for a spot of breakfast.”
Nykin made a face and pointedly didn’t think about what sort of poor defenseless creature they’d eaten this morning.
“We’re on our way back to the city now. Where are you?”

“On a tour around Alel. Faelon’s going to show us his treehouse.”

“Is he now?”

Nykin could almost see Fimor’s amused expression, and he rolled his eyes at the implication in Fimor’s voice.

“Yes. The home he shares with Avelor. And Selene is with us, along with Avelor and Lerran.”

“Interesting.”
Fimor paused before speaking again.
“Why don’t you bring them all down to the beach later. I need to see you, Nykin. The elf magic is strong and is affecting our bond a little. I’m sure Kalesh would like to see Selene too. We can tell your elves some old dragon tales if you think they’d be interested.”

“I think they’d love to hear your dragon stories, as would I.”

“That’s settled, then. Come down to the beach after supper. We’ll be waiting for you.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later, then. Oh, and Fimor?”

“Yes.”

“They are not my elves.”

Fimor’s laughter echoed in Nykin’s head before their connection faded.

“Sorry,” Nykin said, rejoining the others. “I don’t normally talk to him in my head in front of others, but I thought it might be a little weird with him not being here.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Nykin.” Faelon’s smile was warm and genuine, and Nykin instantly relaxed again. “May we ask what he said, though? If you don’t mind, of course.”

“Not at all, in fact it concerns all of you. Fimor invited you down to the beach tonight after supper. He thought you might like to hear some of his stories. He’s been around for a long, long time.”

Faelon’s eyes lit up, and he positively beamed at Nykin. “We would be honored to listen to tales of your dragon’s life, Nykin. Thank you.”

They walked in relative silence for the next half hour or so, until Avelor came to a stop in front of what Nykin assumed was the treehouse belonging to him and Faelon. The trunk wasn’t as large as some of the ones they’d passed, but still huge.

“How do we get up there?” As far as Nykin could tell, the tree had nothing but bark all the way up to where the branches started. In fact, he hadn’t seen any ladders or steps, or anything remotely like that on any of the trees they’d passed so far.

“Watch.” Faelon stepped right up to the tree and placed both hands onto the thick trunk. He closed his eyes, and Nykin heard the soft words fall from his lips as he spoke quietly in Elvish. Nothing happened at first, and then the bark underneath his hands began to glow, with a faint purple light appearing around Faelon’s fingers.

Nykin startled as a great shuddering sound shattered the quiet of the forest, and thick wooden steps began to appear on the side of the trunk. He watched, entranced, as the steps kept appearing, curling up and around the tree until they were high above Nykin’s head. “Do you have to do that every time?” Nykin asked, when the noise eventually stopped and left a ringing in his ears. He couldn’t imagine how loud it would be if everyone decided to do it at the same time.