Nym's Arc

Chapter 21 of 41

The two guards held their spears crossed at the gate. One looked at the pegasus. The other looked at Nym and Drasila. "State your business," the first said. "Why do you come to this castle?" Nym opened her mouth. No answer came. She could not say she hunted her own past. She could not say her mother had been sealed away three hundred years. "Please," she said. "We are just looking for rest." Drasila stepped closer and took Nym's hand. Her fingers were warm now, steady, not the thin cold ones from the tower. "It's okay," she said, low. "We will figure this out." Nym felt the streak of white in her mother's dark hair catch the light as she turned toward the guards. The second guard frowned. "Rest is not a reason to open these gates." He looked at the saddle, at the black wings folded against the horse's back. He looked longer than he meant to. "Where did you get that horse?" he asked. Neither Nym nor Drasila answered. The guards traded a glance. The first one lowered his spear a little but did not step back. "Strangers with no business and a Fae mount," he said. "That's not our choice to make." He called over his shoulder. Two more guards came from inside the gate. They surrounded Nym, Drasila, and the horse. Nym's heart beat hard. She thought of running. Then she felt Drasila squeeze her hand once, telling her to hold still. "We cannot turn you away," the first guard said. "And we cannot let you wander. So you'll answer to the king and queen." He nodded at the others. "Take them in." They led Nym and Drasila through the gate. The pegasus was walked behind them by a stable hand who kept well clear of the wings. Inside, the walls rose in gray stone and teal roofs, tower upon tower, higher than Nym had seen anywhere. The black cat slipped through the gate at their heels and no one stopped it. They crossed a wide courtyard and climbed a long stair. Nym kept close to her mother. "They're taking us to the King and Queen," she whispered. "Is that good or bad?" Drasila's eyes moved over the towers, the banners, the carved doors. Nym stopped stepped up some stairs to a large door. A guard pushed the doors open. They stepped into a great hall. At the far end, two thrones stood on a raised floor. A man in a fur coat sat in one. A woman in a pale green gown sat in the other. The guard bowed. "Two strangers at the gate, Your Majesties. A Fae mount and no reason to give." The woman on the throne rose. She stared at Drasila, she did not take her eyes away.