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Phae sed and pressed her cheek against the Kishion’s shoulder The hills began to rise and swell and soon they sawthe hills aed country, i the sky a fiery hue as it h the lowland prairie, bringing the temperature down In the distance came the rumble of thunder The beauty of the land swelled inside Phae’s heart She still did not want to leave Stonehollow, but she could not think of a way to avoid that fate Perhaps a storm would force them to shelter amidst the trees or inside a cave?
The horse eary fro two riders But it was a stubborn beast and it continued to plod ahead, determined to carry theainst the Kishion’s back, droith the swaying motion She could feel the tension in hiscreature But he could not die
"I hope you will re a yawn "If I saw you again, I would be…sad if you did not re valley grass She sed, her eyes closing His voice was barelyis that I feel I already know you Sohtened "We have never met, Kishion"
"Then why are you so fahed "I feel as if I should know you As if I should recognize you The locket Thespeaks to hed deeply "There is the road"
Phae saw it too and her heart turned into stone It was closer than she had believed They had followed the valley to the northeast, cutting across the abandoned farmlands to reach the rass to the finely packed dirt road leading up into the on wheels had row on the road Markers carved fro the distance to Fowlrox They would reach it long before ht
As the horse climbed into the hills toward theboulders flanked the road,it impossible to leave the trail by horseback This was the easiest path to leave the valley It had the gentlest slope for the oxen to pull the ranite rocks quarried from the valley and transported beyond Each clop of the hoovesthat she would never return
Ahead, Phae saw the first tunnel It was a square hole ponderously carved ae The tunnel hole ide and tall enough for a single wagon to ride through It was also very deep, but she could see the di fro rock centuries before She knew there were two more like it farther ahead She had never passed its boundaries before
Trees gathered thick around the edges of the tunnel boulder S to drowse again when the Kishion stiffened in the saddle, jerking the reins so hard, it startled her Shapes eed from the darkness of the tunnel Two men approached theht limp The other was shorter and walked to keep pace with the taller asped One was dressed like a Rike of Seithrall, though he was Vaettir
It was Prince Aran
The othera stained tunic and cloak and held a strange metal shape in his hand Not a sword, but a device of some kind He had reddish hair, cinder-colored, just like hers His beard and teray His eyes were intense and stared at the Kishion deliberately Phae sensed so familiar Her heart started to hammer in her chest He looked familiar, like a reflection in a dream
The Kishion stared "I killed you," he said in a low voice, as if he could not believe his senses
There was the hint of a smile amidst the bearded man’s face "And I wanted you to think that, Kishion," cahter"
"I once observed the Arch-Rike of Kenatos cal-willed merchants in the city He invited both to a feast he had prepared for some prominent individuals He told me this with a sly voice: ‘If you wish to play peacein by being civil’ True it is, we only hate those e do not know"