Chapter 18: Secret Passage
Quiri stared at the ruined treeline like it offended her personally.
"What happened here?" she murmured. "The last time I was here, this place looked like a valley of flowers."
"Elves are dramatic," I muttered.
Queen Est'Chamali's company had moved ahead, keeping distance. They didn't like standing in open ground. It made them feel naked.
But the border didn't care about feelings.
Ahead lay the valley.
Open. Exposed.
And watched.
We'd gotten this far without the king's forces pinning us down, but the border was always a choke point.
Now the question was simple.
How do we cross without becoming arrows?
"Why, you're going to sing," Quiri said.
I stared at her. "You're joking."
"They won't be impressed by my singing," I said. "Trust me. It'll be easier if you take off your disguises."
"They'll think we're impostors," Quiri said. "Your voice will charm them. Just like it charmed us."
Queen Est'Chamali stepped forward, calm as a blade.
"Sing," she said, and somehow it didn't sound like a request.
I wanted to sing The End of My Days. The song men sang when they knew they were about to die.
Instead, I chose Secret Passage.
My grandfather told me it was an old elven arrival song, sung when they first came into this world. He also told me elves came before humans, which didn't help my nerves at all.
The others didn't follow me into the valley.
They stayed far behind, hidden, letting me walk alone like bait.
Fine.
I played the lyre and sang.
A hundred feet in, an arrow whistled and struck the ground beside me.
I didn't stop singing.
I set the lyre down for one breath, unsheathed my sword, and placed it on the ground.
Then I picked the lyre up again and kept walking.
Another arrow hit, closer.
I placed my knife beside the sword.
Kept singing.
My hands were sweating. My throat was dry. My heart hammered.
For a stretch, there was nothing but my voice and the lyre.
Then the figures appeared.
One.
Two.
Four.
Eight.
Veiled faces. Dark green cloaks. Bows drawn.
They formed a circle around me and aimed like they'd done it a thousand times.
I looked behind me.
My company was so far away I couldn't see them.
Good.
If I died, at least they wouldn't die with me.
"Who are you?" a muffled voice asked.
"Leno of Ennox," I said, lowering the lyre.
"Leno," the voice repeated. "A hunter's name."
A tall figure stepped forward. Male, by the weight of the voice.
"Are you a hunter?"
"My grandfather was," I said carefully. He never taught me the ancient hunter tongue. Only the modern one. I didn't even know what my name meant in the old sense.
The figure lowered his bow a fraction.
"What do you want, Leno of Ennox?"
"I came with Queen Est'Chamali," I said. "Your king's mother."
Silence.
Then the tall figure barked, "Kill him."
Bows drew tighter.
My spine went cold.
"Wait," another voice cut in. Female, muffled, sharp. "How do you know that name?"
I swallowed and forced my voice steady.
"I came with her," I said. "We sailed from far south. Benevira. Two full moons back."
"She's lying," the male voice snapped. "We must kill him before he speaks more."
The female voice didn't move. "King Ca'Preva spoke of his mother. The boy may not be lying."
She stepped closer. "Where is she?"
I lifted my thumb behind me without turning around.
"Not far," I said. "I can fetch them if you want."
The male voice hissed. "How do we know he isn't the warlord's spy?"
"Warlord?" I repeated, genuinely confused. "What warlord?"
"General Bushi," the male voice said like it should mean everything.
"I don't know any General Bushi," I said quickly. "But Queen Est'Chamali is in a hurry to see her son. King Ca'Preva."
A pause.
Then the female voice said, "Go fetch her."
It was so easy I almost didn't trust it.
But I wasn't going to argue.
I walked back, gathered the company, and brought them forward.
And this time, the arrows didn't land at our feet.