Chapter 17: Vicious Bonds: Chapter 17

The ride to the Vanora place feels like forever. I’m not sure if it’s because of the anxiety I have, riding to this unknown place, or because it seems everyone in the vehicle is watching me, including the driver. I feel them all stealing glances, wondering what my true intent is when I have none.

Regardless, I’ve dozed off several times, not to my liking, but the cars are different here. The SUV has heated seats, and even the backseats recline for added comfort. The car rides smoothly along the blacktop roads, hardly hitting any bumps. It’s impossible not to fall asleep. Other than a bathroom break about four hours in, we haven’t stopped.

I wake up when the vehicle loses speed, and when I open my eyes, I can tell we’re not in Blackwater. The sky doesn’t look the same as before, that gloomy gray that lingered. Now, the sky opens up, the clouds parting, a picturesque sunset revealing itself. Then the trees appear, bright green and lush, leaves swaying in the wind. Some of the leaves are gold, with more gold dripping along the bark of the trunks. Fascinating. We pass an abundance of land and go through several tree groves until Veno slows the SUV more.

I look through the windshield at a gold gate ahead. In front of the gate are armed soldiers wearing ivory suits, their matching hats pulled down to their brows. Veno stops the car as one of the soldiers approaches.

“Identification,” the soldier requests after Veno lowers his window.

Veno looks to Maeve, who is already shuffling through her black leather handbag and pulling out a shiny black card. Veno takes the card from her and hands it to the soldier, who reads it and then tips his head, eyeing Maeve.

“Nice to see you again, my lady.” The soldier smiles and hands the card back to Veno, and she returns the smile, taking the card and sliding it into her bag again.

“Alora is expecting us,” she informs him.

“Yes, we’ve been told. You’re free to go.”

Veno bobs his head and rolls his window back up. The gold gates ahead split apart, and when he drives through, I notice pearls twinkling in the golden rods. As he drives farther in, a sign appears, made of gold and edged with rubies and pearls.

You have entered the land of gold.

Welcome to Vanora.

I thought the land we’d passed outside the gates was beautiful, but as we enter Vanora, my jaw drops—I’m stunned by the city’s splendor.

Veno takes us along a paved white road, passing gilded horse carriages and markets. The people are dressed beautifully, coming in all shapes, skin tones, and sizes. There are smiles—lots of them—as they make trades, and children run in silky clothing, bouncing through tall grass. I glance up at children on a bridge in bathing suits. They scream as they jump off the bridge and land in a body of water that shimmers like gold glitter.

Hills of green make the distant land, and only a short run away are the bluest waters I’ve ever seen, stretching out farther than the eye can see. It’s nearing sunset so the sky is a mass of purples and pinks, with splashes of orange from the sun that causes the water to sparkle. I’m nearly pressing my face to the glass as I drink it all in. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s all so miraculous. A place a human could only ever dream of.

We pass another market, where soldiers walk on foot, patrolling the area. Not too far away from the market are houses, some big, some small—and even those that look like duplexes. The homes are simple colors—white with brown roofs, or brown with white roofs. Gold gutters and décor. From what I see, none of the homes are more than two stories high… that is until I spot a palace in the distance.

Marble upon marble, with columns throughout and pillars that sparkle. Statues stand outside the palace, lined with gold, the doors gilded too. We drive along a bridge, cerulean waters beneath us, and I capture a view of waterfalls below. It’s like a dream, this place.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Juniper’s voice is in my ear. I look over my shoulder and she’s leaning over the leather seat, resting her chin on top of it.

“Very.”

“I’d live here if I could.”

“Why don’t you?”

She shrugs. “I belong to Blackwater. It’s where I was born. I’m also in the Blackwater Clan. Makes sense to stay.”

I’m not sure how to perceive that. Perhaps the rules are different in their world as far as where a person can live.

Juniper sits back, and Veno swings around a roundabout driveway, parking next to a large fountain with a statue of a woman in the center. The woman is in a long, flowy dress, reaching to the sky.

When Veno kills the engine, everyone climbs out and I follow suit, popping my door open and stepping onto smooth, white cobblestone. The cobblestone shimmers beneath the sunset, like tiny diamonds have been crushed into it.

I hear the tires of a car approaching and look back. Caz pulls up behind Veno, and it’s astounding how much the Blackwater cars stand out in this place. Black with silver rims, next to all this white and gold. It represents them and their wicked demeanors for, sure.

Caz steps out of his car, looking right at me with a grimace. Shit. Did he hear me? He cocks a brow, and it’s enough for me to know he probably heard every thought.

His eyes finally peel away from me, and he tips his chin, looking upward. I follow his gaze, and up the stretch of stairs, standing at the very top of the palace, is a woman.

She stands there, donned in white, with gold threads weaved into her dress. She’s adorned in gold jewelry that shines beneath the sunset, the bottom of her dress blowing with each breeze. A large hoop is pinned in her left nostril, connected to her left earring, and she looks down at us with kind eyes, a smile gracing her ruby lips.

“Welcome, my Blackwater friends!” she greets us, smiling harder.

Caz walks around me, immediately marching up the stairs. As he does, a large man with deeply tan skin steps beside the woman. He’s even buffer than Killian, with long black hair braided down to the center of his back. Brown ink embellishes the majority of his visible skin, and he wears leather pants and a very thin, sleeveless white shirt.

“Is that Alora?” I ask when Juniper steps to my side.

“That’s her,” Juniper responds. “Queen of Vanora herself.”

I swallow hard, following everyone up the staircase. Caz reaches the top first and gives Alora a quick bow, to which she smiles, delighted.

When I reach the top of the stairs, nearly out of breath, my legs aching and on fire, I notice Alora is barefoot, but there is brown ink lining the edges of her feet, her ankles wrapped in diamonds.

“Willow Austin.” Her voice is light, sweet. She smiles at me, and I’m taken aback by her beauty. She’s gorgeous up close, her tan skin flawless—not a blemish in sight. Her glossy black hair is parted at the crown, in a half-up, half-down style. “My word, are you a lovely sight.”

“You know my name?” I ask as her hazel eyes lock on mine.

“I do.”

I want to ask how, but I don’t, and she smiles, turning her eyes to Caz.

“It’s a pleasure to have you here, Caspian.” He sighs, and I hear him internally grumble something about not liking to be called by that name. “How may I be of service?”