Golden Age (The Shifting Tides, #1)(89)

Finally, she fell asleep, huddled in the corner of her cell. She didn’t know how long she slept, only that it was for a long time. Her lips were dry and her throat parched; she had yet to be given any food or water.

Sudden remembrance struck like a dagger in the heart. She saw the stake driven up through Tomarys’s insides, emerging from his throat. She heard his terrible gurgling moan.

Chloe sobbed, but stifled it before it took hold of her. She had to be strong. She forced herself to look up and examine her surroundings.

It was dark, near pitch black; the only light came from the end of the corridor she’d entered through. The air was dry and cool. Standing and walking to the thick door, she peered through the window and counted six cells; she was in the cell closest to the door.

She heard movement – a soft tread of footsteps – and frowned, trying to locate the source of the sound. She then realized that her initial assessment was wrong: she wasn’t alone after all. A shadowy face appeared, staring at her through the bars of the most-distant cell.

‘You are upset, I take it?’ a wry voice said. ‘It has been a long time since I have had a companion here. I must say, I wasn’t expecting someone like you. How old are you, human?’

The figure brought his face forward so that the barest amount of light touched his features. Chloe saw high cheekbones and sharp features. He was the last person in the world she expected to see.

‘Zachary?’ She clutched hold of the bars but then faltered. An eldran was looking at her, but he wasn’t Zachary. ‘Who are you?’

He was tall, even for an eldran, and despite his sharp chin his face was broad and strong. When he shifted his head Chloe saw that he was completely bald and that his left eye was missing, displaying an empty, wrinkled socket. She had never seen an eldran so visually striking.

‘My name is Triton,’ he said. ‘You have heard of me? No?’ He sounded surprised. ‘I am the king of the eldren.’

‘King?’ Chloe was so surprised that she momentarily forgot about her own predicament. ‘I didn’t know the eldren had a king.’

He lifted his chin and spoke proudly. ‘The blood of Marrix runs in my veins.’

With his movement Chloe now saw that he had a thin golden collar around his neck. She wondered at its purpose. Eldren weren’t fond of metal, and could never willingly touch it.

‘Who is Marrix?’ The name was familiar, but Chloe couldn’t place it.

‘The last king to command all of the eldren. He died long ago, but his struggle is not forgotten. He led us, before most of my people turned wild and were lost to us. I have long ruled the eldren who live in the place you call the Waste.’

‘Why are you here?’

‘The sun king’s armies advanced north of Abadihn and Koulis, seeking a route into Galea.’ He shrugged. ‘We stopped them.’

‘You fight against the sun king?’ Chloe realized she might have a potential ally, if she could ever find a way to free them both.

‘We fought. But I was taken hostage and here I am. There is now an uneasy peace between us. My people will not fight while I am here.’

He brought up a hand as if to tug on the collar at his neck, but then stopped while still a few inches away, making a grimace of pain and bringing his hand back down.

‘Why do you wear a collar?’

He smiled without mirth. ‘I am not without power, girl. Without this collar around my neck I could change shape. Walls of stone would never keep me here.’

‘Does it hurt?’

‘The collar? Yes,’ he said shortly. ‘It hurts.’ He was pensive for a time. ‘Now who are you, girl? And why are you here?’

‘I come from Phalesia, one of the Galean nations. One of the sun king’s warships came to my homeland. I am the daughter of the first consul, and they took me prisoner. I was forming a plan to escape when I incurred the sun king’s wrath. Now,’ she said, echoing Triton’s words, ‘here I am. Solon now plans to lead a force to conquer my homeland.’

Triton frowned. ‘There are closer conquests. What is it he wants?’

‘He desires gold above all else. We have a sacred ark of gold—’

Triton swiftly leaned forward, his eyes suddenly wide as he peered at her, though he didn’t touch the iron bars. ‘Did you say an ark of gold? A chest?’ His voice was urgent. ‘What is inside?’

Chloe told the story of the tablets inscribed by the god Aldus, on which were the laws of morality that would grant a man entrance to heaven. ‘It would be sacrilege to open the ark, yet Solon wants to seize it and melt it down for his tomb.’

Triton relaxed. He nodded sagely. ‘I understand.’

‘He plans to take the ark, and any other gold, and kill our leaders.’ Chloe couldn’t bring herself to repeat the sun king’s threat to impale her father. ‘He must be stopped.’

‘He does, does he?’ Triton’s expression was pensive.

‘Triton . . . Would your eldren help us against him?’

His one good eye met her gaze. ‘If I were free, we would fight.’ He once again nearly touched the collar, before allowing his hand to fall. ‘Oh yes, we would.’





41


When Dion was finally well enough to think clearly, he was filled with anger.