PROLOGUE
oOo
The shadow of death swept over the moon.
However brief, the dimming of the celestial light caught the young elf’s attention, and he paused on the steps of the inn to look up at the sky. He fingered the necklace upon his chest, a medallion reflecting the crescent moon above. “Did you see that, Miss Daisha?”
The creature draped across his shoulders gave a small yawn, her pink tongue curling. She flapped her wings, throwing him a little off balance, then settled down again, her grey fur rubbing against his neck. “See what?” she asked sleepily.
“The shadow…”
“Errance?”
The voice of his ever alert guardian brought the prince’s attention back to earth, and he smiled into the concerned face of the elder elf standing on the steps below him. “Never mind, Reyin, I just thought I saw something.”
Reyin, a warrior through and through from the muscles carving his body to the one beating in his chest, spun and stared back into the wood from where they’d come.
The tall pines swayed in a slight wind, the tips of their needles winking in the silver glow. In the shadows below, the ferns whispered a sleepy reply to the breeze.
The prince brushed away the brief unease with a light laugh and rested a hand on the elf man’s shoulder. “Easy, General. I’m sure it was nothing more than an owl. Our good ambassador has assured this place is as safe as any in Orim.”
“The only safe place for you, my prince,” Reyin muttered, reluctantly releasing the grip on his sword hilt, “is back home.” He huffed. “I still can’t believe you chose this over reading the Moonscript.”
“I can read it when I get back home,” Errance said with a shrug. “It’s not like the Higher World is going anywhere.”
“It’s not like the rest of Orim is going anywhere either.”
“But…humans do change and die so quickly, yes?”
Reyin’s mouth twitched. “Well, you’re not wrong.”
The inn door opened just then, and a warm light washed out over the company. “Ambassador Ireth, at last, do come in.” The man ushering them in had a refined accent unlike any the elf prince had ever heard, and the boy craned his neck to look around his ambassador and see his first human. He heard they grew hair around their mouth, and he couldn’t imagine anything odder. Seeing it in illustrations was one thing, but real life was another matter. However, his heart flopped a little to see that their host was clean-shaven. To be sure, he did have a blocky structure and weathered skin, but that wasn’t as interesting.
Most of the elves remained outside to stand watch over their horses and the surroundings, but the company of five who entered were enough to make the small inn room seem smaller still. They were a strange contrast to the rustic wooden walls and the simple furniture. Even the amber light of the candles casting myriads of shadows could not detract from how their souls shone with a wild, young life like spring streams and evergreen trees. Handsome and vibrant they were—the ambassador poised with confidence, the fire-gold general strong and intimidating, the autumn colored twins on his either side elegant and sharp-eyed.
And then the prince.
While the others possessed an ageless quality, the prince was truly young, a boy on the cusp of manhood, no more than twenty years. He was beautiful even for his kind, with dark umber hair to contrast his fair skin and the brilliant blue-green of his eyes.
He was even more fantastical with the company of the winged mammalian upon his shoulders, a gracile creature with far too much intelligence in her eyes to be any common beast.
Ambassador Ireth gave a polite bow to their welcoming host. “Prince Errance of Aselvia, I would like you to meet Ambassador Carlson of Dormandy.”
“Sir,” Prince Errance said with his own courtly bow, “I am honored to meet the man who has shown such faithful alliance to my people.”
“The honor is all mine, Your Highness,” the man said, dipping low. “I look forward to presenting you to my city. But for tonight, may I present you to the town of Denji and the owners of this fine inn, my cousins.”
Two other humans, a man and a woman, emerged from the shadows where they’d hidden in awe of their visitors, and they bent, saluted, and curtsied in an uncertain and excited display.
This man did have a beard, and the prince burst into a grin. Surely, it was so messy to have hair around one’s mouth. Did they have to wash and comb after every meal? General Reyin subtly poked him in the back, and recovering his manners, Errance bowed to the couple as well. “Thank you for receiving us at this late hour. We are forever grateful.”
This earned quite a puff of pride from the man and a giggle from the woman.
But before a word could be moved beyond introductions, the door burst open again and one of the elf sentries rushed in. “General,” he hissed. “You must hear this.”
Reyin leapt to the door, Errance pressing in curiously from behind, and they both listened to the silent night outside. Except it was not so silent as one first thought. There was a distant clatter, like small rocks tumbling down a mountain slope, only the sound didn’t fade…it grew sharper and nearer.
“Shards,” Reyin breathed. He whirled around and glared at the bewildered human ambassador. “Who else did you tell of our coming?”
“I—no one, I swear.”
Reyin snarled something elvish, but there was no point in finding out who else, if anyone, had known that the prince had left the safety of his home. There was no point, because it was known. By shadow. By death. And who could have guessed that Darkness would have watched and waited so carefully for its revenge.
“What is it?” Prince Errance asked, and his fair face, as yet unburdened by years and wisdom, bore no fear, only a hope for adventure.
“Retreat to the forest,” Reyin ordered the elf sentry. “We race to Aselvia, they cannot reach us there.”
“But the village—” Ireth began.
“—will be safer without us,” Reyin snapped. “They are here for the prince.” As he spoke, he grabbed Errance by the arm and hurried down the steps, bent low. The winged creature launched from Errance’s back and headed towards the forest, her wings quickly giving her the lead.
Ambassador Carlson followed behind, confused and stammering. “I am sorry, I don’t know what went wrong; we’ve always been safe h—”
Something hissed through the air, and his voice broke off in a horrible cry. Errance turned to see the human ambassador slumping against the doorframe, a stone bolt buried in his chest. The inn owners cried out and stumbled backwards, the woman reaching for her husband’s hand. Ireth took one distressed step towards them.
“MOVE!” Reyin barked, all concern for stealth cast aside. He sprinted for the forest, dragging Errance behind him as the elves flanked them in a circle, bows facing outwards, looking for any sign of their attackers. Not a moment after they had reached the first trees, the air was shattered by the shriek of stone bolts seeking life.
Errance tried to turn, tried to see who had made it with them into the woods, but his general kept pulling him on, hissing out commands to the elves around him. The warriors were safest in the trees and the tall bracken; they had commanded their horses to lie down and hide themselves. Their bows sang in answer to the attack, but the shadows in the forest and village were deep and they still had no sight of their enemy, only the sound, the terrible sound, now crying like scratches against stone.