Page 33 of Enchantment of Silver and Sea
“I wonder,” Nya began. “Would we have convinced her not to come if we had just told her what leaving the city actually entailed?”
“No,” I croaked, but I wasn’t sure that was true.
I wiped my watery eyes and mouth on the back of my arm. Then I willed myself to stand, to prove to them that bringing me along was not a mistake. When I stood, finally taking in my surroundings, everything I had just endured was worth it.
I was Outside.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Is it how you pictured it?” Nya asked softly, coming to stand beside me.
There was a crunch as Kieran stepped gingerly over the spot where I’d just been sick. He appeared on my other side.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.
I was used to Cyllene’s salt air. But out here, the scent mingled with an earthy musk.
A vast field of tall, untended grasses lay ahead of us, lit up by the moon overhead. The moon was unchanged, and yet at the same time, bigger and brighter out here. Before me were so many different species of grass and weeds, I wouldn’t have known where to start in identifying them all. The land was wild, untamed. No one waking up at dawn to water and trim and shape it, and yet it was full and lush and very much alive. Just like Zander had described it.
On the horizon were the looming shapes of trees. The forest. I could hardly wait to see it up close.
“We’re basically in the clear now,” Nya said. She grabbed the wet cloth off the ground where it had fallen and shoved it back in the main pocket of her backpack. Then she handed me my own bag. “But it’s still a good idea not to stand around out here in the open. You never know.”
With that, she began wading through the waist-high grass, headed toward the forest.
I waited for Kieran to fall into step behind her, but he gestured for me to go ahead of him. “Tread carefully,” he warned. “You can’t always see when there’s a hole or a rock underfoot. Or an animal.”
“An animal?” I glanced around quickly, as if just the mention of an animal would cause one to appear.
“Yeah. Like a marsh wolf.”
When I whipped around, he was grinning. “That’s not funny.”
“Sure it is.” He chuckled. “Really, though. Most animals will take off as soon as they hear us stomping their way. It’s the holes and rocks that can leave you with a twisted ankle.”
As we walked, I tried to follow Nya’s exact path. I figured as long as I did that, there was little chance of falling. The grasses were stiff and brittle in some parts and soft and pliant in others. I ran my hands along the tips of the blades, marveling at the feeling.
When we approached the trees, I was awestruck at the size of them. I had seen trees in Cyllene, of course. But none were as tall and imposing as these. I recognized cypress and maple and palm. Thick tangles of gray moss covered many of them, cascading over the branches like small waterfalls. Some of these trees had observed the last seventy years of chaos from the beginning. Some were old enough to have seen much more than that.
Also in the mix were a few species of trees that didn’t quite fit with the rest. They stood just as tall and fit neatly in between the others, as if they had always been there. Like imposters, trying to blend in.
Trees with magical properties.
Such as the eventide locust. While nothing like a sunset in appearance, this tree captured the same sense of foreboding that comes with nightfall. True to what I had read, the clusters of spiky thorns that covered its surface resembled a regular honey locust, except they were larger. More menacing. Smothering the tree until there was no smooth bark visible. The tree was fine enough when left alone. But it was sentient and had a nasty temper. When disturbed, it could release those thorns like deadly projectiles.
Further down the tree line, a ways from where we were entering, I also spied a gemstone willow. The eventide locust and the gemstone willow—I couldn’t have picked two more opposite trees. And yet here they were, towering and tangible and absolutely magnificent. Even from a distance, I could see the cascading leaves of the gemstone willow glittering in the moonlight, like strands of peridots. I hoped at some point while on the other side of the walls, I would have an opportunity to see one up close.
We stepped under the canopy, leaving the field behind. Now we were trading stepping carefully through the tall grass for stepping carefully over roots, fallen branches, and scrub.
The same as before, I watched Nya’s steps and tried to mimic them. Her long legs carried her easily across the forest floor, andI was reminded again of the effortless poise of a cat. Although considering Nya’s personality, she was more lion than cat.
“Stay close,” she said over her shoulder.
I picked up the pace, trying to close the distance between us. But the ground was uneven, and I stumbled forward, arms flailing.
Kieran’s firm grip encircled my arm, steadying me. I hadn’t realized he was walking that close.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
