Page 35 of The Iron Fae
His head tilts back with a laugh and he steps through the portal. The sound I expect to come from him is suddenly gone. My shoulder protests as he gives a firm yank.
I step through the trees. It's black like the inside of my eyelids, or maybe it's just that I truly am blinking. I imagine a step, then my boot moves through the air of the expected bottom. The top half of my body leans forward and I'm sure I'll tumble or that the other side has never even existed at all.
When I'm certain that my toes will never meet solid ground, my boot scuffs through dirt. I look down. Tall, wet green grass is bent at an odd angle around my boots, Kai's hand is still holding mine. But behind him, behind Rowan, and behind the continuous expanse of tropical forest, an ash mountain rises.
Then another.
And another.
The Ganush mountain range.
Nine
Wishing Spirit
"You survived."Rowan claps me on my back.
Kai drops my hand, looking up to the steep high terrain we'll be walking through shortly. Humidity suffocates the air. Even the hair in my peripheral vision starts to frizz and quickly grows in size. I'd imagine my hair will be as big as the mountain by the time night falls.
The mountains of Ganush, the word even sounds funny when I'm merely thinking it, aren't what I expect from a mountain. When I pictured them before it was tall peaks, capped in snow. I even have a jacket messily shoved into the purse attached to Rowan's bag. (Who folds their clothes now-a-days?) There doesn't appear to be any splash of white snow on any of these mountain peaks.
"I didn't know it was going to be so hot," I confess.
"Warm and humid. I could have probably warned you. A prepared traveler is one that does not go blindly to his death." Kai bobs his head, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a black elastic. "Here, for your hair."
"Gah, your old proverbs are going to scare her. We are not walking into certain death." Rowan assures me. "I mean… most likely we aren't." Then he adds a wink.
I offer them both some version of a pathetic laugh as I stand and tie up my hair. My skin is already sticky. We haven't even really begun our journey and I'm sweating in places I wish I was not. Hopefully, these jeans don't betray me and show the puddle of sweat that’s making my underwear damp. Now that would be embarrassing. I can hear the boys joking about it now.
"Thank you." I point to the hair tie. "I'm surprised you had one on hand."
"Well, I know how bothersome loose hair can be, especially in a climate like this." He gestures to his own braided hair.
"I should have known. It's just not that common where I'm from for men to have long hair. Still, I appreciate you sharing."
It really is very sad that more human men don’t wear their hair long. It’s quite handsome. I mean, I’m looking at Exhibit A and B right now.
Kai smiles gently before looking up. Rowan joins him in peering onward. As far as I can see with my mortal gaze, there are no easily identifiable paths. Trees and the occasional rock formation jut off at odd angles. It's hard to see it all through the canopy above us.
"Think it best to start this way?" Kai points.
"Yes, though I imagine Briar will need a boost to make it up. Surely, it's doable." Rowan sniffs the air. "Do you smell that?"
Neither brother is looking at me as I wait patiently behind them. Casually, I try to sniff the air too. It smells like dirt and wet grass. Actually, it's somewhat calming in a way. I take another breath. It smells like sweet blooms or maybe lavender. I note that there aren't any flower beds within eyesight.
"Yes," Kai spins slowly in a circle, his attention skipping over me as he watches the forest around us. "It's likely lurking nearby. Hopefully it hasn't spotted us yet, but it'll be on our scent soon enough. We better get moving."
"It?" I clear my throat.
"Come now." Rowan waves and starts forward. Kai lingers, letting me walk in front of him.
"Okay, but I'm going to need a little bit of an explanation or else I'll start to worry."
"Girls worrying is quite annoying," Rowan mutters.
"Shut up," I snap, then look over my shoulder much more pleasantly to Kai. "Is it another panther? Or some sort of feline thing that's much larger than it should be?"
"No. It's something not entirely real."
