Princess Nymeria's Arc

Chapter 21 of 32

They rode two days before the castle rose from the hills. Nymeria pulled her black horse to a stop and stared. The elven keep shone silver-white in the sun, its spires thin as needles, a waterfall falling from its base. She had never seen anything so bright. Her own horns felt darker beside it. The wolf pressed close to her leg. "That's home," Lyra said. She sat easy in her saddle, but her braid was twisted tight around her fingers. "Try not to look so grim. You'll scare the guards." "They should be scared," Nymeria said. "I have horns. I have his eyes. They'll see a demon at their gate." She kept her voice level, but her hands were cold on the reins. No name here would open a door for her. No coin. Only a stranger with her father's marks. They reached the gate. Two elven guards stepped out with spears crossed. Their eyes went straight to Nymeria's horns, then her pale eyes. One guard's grip tightened. "You do not pass," he said. "Not that one. Turn her around." Nymeria said nothing. She had waited for this. She began to turn her horse. But Lyra swung down from her saddle and walked forward. The joking left her face. She stood straight, and her voice changed. It carried. "Stand down," she said. "Lower your spears. You do not turn away my guest." The guard frowned. "On whose word, hunter?" "On the word of your princess." Lyra pulled the collar of her tunic aside. A small silver mark was stitched there, one Nymeria had never noticed. "I am Lyra, daughter of King Caladorn and Queen Celeste. I've been gone a long while. I've come home. And she comes with me." The guards stared. Then both dropped to one knee, spears clattering against stone. "Forgive us, Princess," the first said. "We did not know your face." "Few did," Lyra said. "That was the point." She glanced back at Nymeria and almost smiled. The great doors opened behind them. A man came through, unhurried, a silver crown resting in his dark curls. He wore the green and white of the elven house. He was not tall, but the guards bent lower as he passed. His eyes found Lyra first, and something in his face broke open. "You came back," King Caladorn said. "I promised I would," Lyra answered. The king crossed to her and held her by the shoulders. Then he turned to Nymeria, still mounted, still marked. He studied the horns without flinching. "My daughter vouches for you," he said. "That is enough to enter. But a king rules with his eyes open. You will tell me who you are and what follows you." Nymeria dismounted. The gate was open now. But she saw the cost. To stay, she must lay her father's name at an elf king's feet, and hope he did not shut the door once he heard it.