“Have you been there?” Drayce asked.
She quickly shook her head. “The closest I’ve come is Temit. And the only way to get to Mrtyu is to pass through Temit. It’s a gatekeeper city.”
“You can’t go around and enter Mrtyu another way?” Eno prodded.
Vale threw him a look like What did I just say, asshole? and Drayce fell over, cackling.
Pointing the stick into the dirt, she drew a crude map of Zastrad. “Mrtyu is closest to the border with New Rosanthe, but the Tovala Mountains line the border between the two countries. Mrtyu is in those mountains, near the peak of Mount Langbo, and there is only one way up to the city. Temit sits on that road. You have to get passage into the city and then get approval to even set foot on the steep, narrow road up to Mrtyu.”
“Well, at least we don’t have to worry about the Empire getting there before us,” Drayce tossed out.
“Except, the Empire isn’t above leveling Temit and Mrtyu in order to get what they want,” Caelan muttered.
“We’re worried about New Rosanthe on this trek too?” Vale demanded.
“Yes, I’m sorry,” Caelan replied.
Vale bent her legs in front of her and rested her elbows on her knees. She rubbed her temples with both hands. “And there’s just supposed to be the five of us? You’re not going to have some secret army already in place to greet us at Temit, right?”
Caelan glanced over at Rayne and then at Eno. His bodyguard frowned and gave a small shake of his head. That was what he thought, but he didn’t want to say it without knowing that Rayne and Eno were on the same page. Yes, they’d follow him into whatever nightmare he walked, but he was also aware their lives were in his hands. He didn’t want to risk them needlessly.
“No army,” he started with a small smile. “And it’s just the four of us. We only need you to get us pointed in the right direction and some basic tips on navigating through Zastrad. We can’t ask you to accompany us into Temit or Mrtyu.”
Vale rocked back, her laughter echoing out across the field and dancing up the sides of the closest mountain. “You’re insane. You’ll never make it. You wouldn’t even reach Temit, let alone climb the road to Mrtyu.”
“I’m sure we—” Rayne tried to interject, but Vale cut him off.
“Five. Years.” She leaned to her right, getting close to Rayne. Her dark-brown eyes reflected the dancing flames, and shadows crawled across her body. Caelan was tempted to grab a weapon or at least pull her away from his advisor. But to Rayne’s credit, the man met her stare and didn’t flinch. “I’ve been here five years, and it has taken me that long to learn to blend in. You think I can teach that shit in just a few hours?”
“We can’t endanger your life for our mission,” Rayne replied in a hard voice.
“And as tempting as it is to leave you guys to your missions and wash my hands of you, I can’t. The prince’s orders were clear: get you to your destination and back to Caspagir in one piece. If you’re going to Mrtyu, it looks like I’m going with you.” Calean took a breath to argue, but Vale was stubbornly shaking her head. “Don’t bother. A king might outrank a prince, but you’re not my king. Besides, we’re in Zastrad now. As far as you’re concerned, I’m your goddess.”
Drayce groaned. “Yeah, because we totally don’t have enough of those right now.”
Caelan snatched up a rock and lightly threw it at his best friend. Drayce needed to can it with his little side comments. Vale definitely didn’t need to know that he had two gods riding shotgun in his brain and they were off to disturb a third. She also didn’t seem to be asking too many questions about the New Rosanthe problem, and that was just fine with him. The less they had to tell her about their mission, the better. It was likely she was more concerned with their bigger problem of crossing Zastrad and getting into Mrtyu.
“We would greatly appreciate any assistance you can give us,” Rayne said in his most diplomatic tone.
Vale rolled her eyes and settled back where she’d been sitting. “Man, you guys are in for a world of trouble even with me helping you.” She grabbed the bottle at her hip and took a quick swig before holding it out to Caelan.
Grabbing the base of the bottle, he gave the worn label a cursory glance to find that it might have been whiskey from Caspagir, but there was no guarantee. He took a swallow and nearly choked on it as he passed it over to Drayce. The burn was incredible. His sinuses were instantly clear, and he thought he could taste his lungs cooking.