Rayne groaned. Pushing up his glasses, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can you not give the gods more ideas for bad luck to throw in our direction?”
Eno reached over and lightly smacked the back of Drayce’s head, earning him a grumpy look. “Quit stressing Rayne out.”
“Why don’t you destress him by rubbing his feet or something?” Drayce snapped, a smug smile spreading across his face.
That was an idea. He turned his gaze to Rayne, who was already glaring at him in warning. No, there would be no foot rubs in the carriage.
Caelan pulled back the dark-brown fur that appeared to have come from a bear and lifted his booted foot, pointing it at Eno. “You wanna rub my feet?”
“Ugh.” Eno grunted, knocking Caelan’s foot away. “I wasn’t trained for that.”
A surprised bark of laughter filled the carriage, and they all looked over to find Rayne’s eyes wide and his hand covering his entire mouth as if he couldn’t believe the sound had escaped him. The sound broke the lingering tension and they joined in some light chuckles. Eno’s shoulders relaxed. He could finally draw in a deep breath.
It had been a bad start to the day as they neared the end of an incredibly long and dangerous trip. Even now that they were so close to the goal, the threat to all their lives was increasing a thousandfold. Safa was not about to let Caelan get to the godstone without a fight. They had to deal with the High Luminance, and there was still Kamal Giri, who was either expecting their assistance in killing the High Luminance or just wanted them dead to protect his secret. Not to mention, they were trapped on a fucking mountain far from their own home.
Noise and raised voices outside the carriage had Drayce jerking the curtain away from the window to gaze out again. The carriage slowed to a halt and horses huffed and neighed.
“I think I see a gate. We must be at Mrtyu,” Drayce murmured.
“It’s getting dark. The sun has already begun to set. I doubt we’ll be getting in to see the High Luminance today,” Caelan added.
Rayne grunted and plucked his glasses off his nose. He pulled out a cleaning cloth that had somehow managed to remain in pristine condition through this entire trip. “That’s for the best. If we can see a little of the city, get a lay of the land, we’ll be in better a position for the meeting tomorrow.”
And like that, reality crashed down on them again.
The caravan of wagons, carriages, horses, and riders slowly passed through the gate. This one didn’t look quite as impressive as the one in Temit, but there were ample armed guards about, checking over paperwork and going through all the wagons.
Once inside the city, they were directed to disembark from the carriage and were greeted by a tall, lithe woman in white robes similar to what the priests wore in Temit. She pressed her hands together in front of her chest and bowed to their group, a serene smile on her lips.
“Welcome to Mrtyu. My name is Santoshi, a representative of the High Luminance,” she introduced. Her speech was clear with only the faintest hint of an accent. “Would you allow me to take you to some apartments where you may rest and refresh yourselves? A meeting with the High Luminance has been set for tomorrow morning for King Caelan.”
“We would be grateful for a place to rest, Santoshi,” Caelan replied with a weary smile.
They set off at a leisurely pace with Eno walking beside Calean while Rayne and Drayce dropped back a step. The idea of a guard felt more than a little unnecessary, though. The city seemed the opposite of Temit in every way.
Where the buildings had been dark-gray stone with highlights of black and purple in Temit, Mrtyu was decorated in mostly white with highlights of gold. Even the stone was the palest gray Eno had ever seen. It was as if the city were made of the clouds and snow that had masked the peak of the mountain. As the sun set, the white was taking on a slightly rosy and golden glow.
At this time of the evening, the streets would start to grow crowded with people heading out to restaurants and bars for their usual revelry in Temit, but everything was quiet in Mrtyu. Few citizens were on the street and those they passed seemed completely sober, with the same pleasant smile on their faces. Even on the people, the predominant color was white.
“Santoshi, I’m surprised that Mrtyu is so very different from Temit. I was expecting the two major cities of Zastrad to be very similar,” Caelan began, showing that his thoughts were traveling along the same line.
Their guide looked over her shoulder at them, her smile just a touch wider. “Many are surprised by the differences. The people who live in Mrtyu are typically born here and have devoted their lives to the serene contemplation of the Dead God. We work to live our lives devoted to honoring our god and achieve full understanding of life and time.”