Book 2 – Chapter 2

“The Frostwing family. They’re the ones leading the negotiations,” Laendria said. “Their ship is in the harbour.”

“You’re sure it was them?” Ken pressed. “It should have a—”

“Silver griffon on the front, yes,” Laendria interrupted. “Why?”

“I need to go.” Ken turned and immediately broke into a jog away from the castle.

I’ve seen Ken kill a man without a second thought, but I’ve never seen him like this, Noah thought before chasing after him.

“Hey, wait!” Laendria called from behind as Ciri hurried after Noah.

“Ken, slow down!” Noah said as he neared the surprisingly fast elderly Fae. “What’s gotten into you?”

“You can’t be seen with me!” he hissed, not breaking stride.

“Explain it to me! Let me help!”

Ken’s eyes darted left and right before he spotted an alley between two buildings. Without warning, he grabbed Noah by the arm and hauled him into it, waiting only long enough for Ciri to see them before ducking behind some crates. He held still until his daughter caught up, then looked between them both.

“The fact that the Winter Fae Empress sent someone from the House of the Griffon is not a sign of gentle change.”

“You’re worried.”

“Yes. And you would do well to be worried too,” he said. “The Frostwings in particular are not negotiators. They are enforcers.”

“Are we in danger?”

He paused, thinking. “They don’t know who either of you are, so you should be safe enough. If you see one of them, though, turn around and walk in the opposite direction.”

“How will we know it’s one of them versus just another Winter Fae?”

“They’ll be wearing uniforms with black cloaks and silver armour. Their helmets will have wings on either side, and they’ll bear a griffon insignia on their shields, their chests, the clasps of their cloaks, and the pommels of their swords. They also carry a feather in their pockets at all times and use a combination of ice and wind runes.”

“That’s… an oddly specific description,” Noah noted.

Ken ignored the comment. “I cannot risk being seen. I’ll keep away from the castle for the next six weeks.”

He’s got history with these people, Noah realized. “What about the tribe, and presenting the evidence to the king and queen? There could be another Corrupted attack.”

“That is a risk,” Ken admitted slowly. “But this risk is greater. Especially given your contributions to the tribes’ defenses.”

“Hello? Where did you go?” Laendria’s voice called from the street.

“This… isn’t the place to be having this conversation,” Ken said.

“Okay. Fine.” Noah nodded. “Can you make it back to the tavern on your own? We’ll wander the city a bit before heading there.”

“Of course. Be safe,” Ken said, pulling his hood back on.

The three of them moved toward the street, pausing as a group of nobles swept past toward the castle. Ken vanished into the crowd as they passed, leaving Noah shaking his head in amazement. His eyes scanned the street, searching for the elderly Fae, but deep down he knew it was pointless.

I need him to teach me how to disappear like that someday.

“There you are!” Laendria said as she spotted them and approached. “But… where’s your third?”

“He needed to go back to where we’re staying,” Noah said, careful not to lie.

“I see. Well, in that case, why don’t you come to my shop? We can get both of you some proper clothes.”

“We were hoping to tour the city a bit first,” Noah said gently. “Ciri wanted to see the Academy, and I wanted to see the spell tower.”

“First time in Crownspire?” she asked. “I can tell. First-timers always want to see the same things: the tower, the academy, the castle, the waypoint.”

He shrugged, feeling strangely at ease with the Fae woman despite her earlier attempt on his life. “Guilty as charged.”

“May as well get it out of your system. But when you’re ready to see the real beauty of Crownspire, come to my store. I’ve got operations near the docks, sending to our smaller shops in Sevalin and Greythorne. Silks imported directly from the Summer Fae empire, fashioned to perfection by our own artisans. You can’t miss it!”

He watched her hips sway back and forth as she walked away before turning to Ciri. “So that was…interesting.”

“Yes. Though I believe we should avoid speaking in detail about it until we return to the tavern.”

“Right.” Noah nodded as they began walking. “Though, I do want to ask about something else.”

“What is it?”

“Laendria mentioned something called the ‘Waypoint’. What is that?”

“The Waypoint is a room located in the center of every Fae city. It allows for near‑instantaneous travel between Fae cities.”

Noah stopped walking. “What, like teleportation?”

Ciri stopped as well. “Essentially, yes. Each Waypoint contains an enchanted archway. The user casts a spell on the archway, then proceeds through it. They are disarticulated, then reassembled within an identical Waypoint in a different city.”

“That’s… incredible! Why are people still walking or taking boats then?”

“There are limitations,” she explained as they resumed walking. “The farther the destination, the more powerful the required rune. As it stands, only the tallest towers atop the highest peaks can be used to write such runes, and even then the magic is only sufficient for transport between nearby cities. The Summer and Winter Fae use it to move individuals quickly throughout their empires, but longer distances are impossible.” She paused. “The ancient Fae could do it, but the knowledge of how they charged such powerful spells has been lost to time.”

“Still, that’s incredible,” Noah insisted. “Though I’m guessing they haven’t taught this spell to humans?”

“No. It is a closely guarded secret. Moreover, Waypoints require frequent maintenance and testing. Without it, the one here likely ceased functioning long ago. Presumably the one in Blackmere did as well, though this has never been independently confirmed.”

He scratched his chin. “And Blackmere is the capital of Ferrum Vale, right?”

“Correct. It is built upon an ancient Fae city in the same way Crownspire was.”

With time to spare, the two of them began taking in the city at a more relaxed pace. For the next hour they stopped to admire the magical lighting, architecture, and public spaces spread across the inner ring—spaces that were quickly filling as the city woke around them. When they reached a large open plaza in pristine condition, they paused to watch several Summer and Winter Fae conduits move around the edges, casting spells as they went.

“That’s… odd. I thought Summer and Winter Fae don’t really work well together.”

“Only when there is an obvious common good, as is the case here,” Ciri replied. “These are the dueling grounds—where conduits train or settle disputes using magic. The wards they cast around the edges prevent spells from propagating outward. The notice board on the far side should contain details of who is dueling, and why.”

“They’re burning through a lot of grimoire pages,” Noah observed.

“They are only effective in narrow bands, requiring the wards to be cast every few meters. They do not last long—hours, perhaps—and must be recast before each duel.”

Noah nodded, absorbing the information before glancing at the building behind the plaza. It was built of the same grey stone the ancient Fae favored, but it shone with the same otherworldly quality as the Fae embassies—albeit with less lustre. Open‑air hallways lined with pillars ran along the first and third floors, and a tower rose from the top. Banners draped down the sides. Outside the enormous wooden doors, a small crowd of women wearing what looked like a cross between a grey military coat and a scholar’s robe stepped out.

He watched them skirt the edge of the dueling grounds, led by an older, grey‑haired woman. As they neared, Noah noticed that each wore different clothes beneath their robes and that the trim of their collars varied in color, but all bore the same gold pin on their chests and carried identical black grimoires. When they reached the street, he overheard their leader issuing orders.

“…now, that one room in the castle has the enchantment acting up again, so it’s too warm. Maren, Kalinda, you two handle that. Oria, go with Bryne to the middle ring and shore up the wards on the merchant guild headquarters. Do it right this time, or there’ll be hell to pay. Zelana, you’re with me today—Lady Orev’s concubine is here from Valthen, and we’ve been asked to re‑cast her vitality spell.” She paused as the younger woman made a face. “None of that while you’re in front of her. Lady Orev donates generously to the academy. Be on your best behaviour, or I’ll make sure you’re taken off the maintenance rotations for the next two months.”

“But that will delay my graduation! My parents—”

“Exactly,” the older woman cut in. “And for the record—outside these walls, I am still a Countess. I don’t give a shit what your parents think. You disobey me and you’ll be Braemont‑bound, I promise you that.”

Noah resisted the urge to chuckle as the pupil’s cheeks reddened. The Countess refocused on the rest of the students. “The rest of you—you’ve got your instructions. Get going, and be back before afternoon classes.”

After they dispersed, Noah turned to Ciri. “I’m going to guess that’s the academy over there.”

“Correct,” she replied. “I would like to visit their library. There are likely to be ancient Fae tomes there.”

He almost agreed before catching himself. “Maybe later? I know you don’t like being interrupted once you start reading, and Piper’s probably going to get hungry again soon.”

Almost imperceptibly, her shoulders slumped. “I understand.”

Noah squeezed her hand gently. “We’ve got six weeks. I promise we’ll spend lots of quality time at the library together.”

“I accept your proposal,” she replied, unable to keep the smile from her voice.

They walked hand‑in‑hand after that, moving back into the city’s middle ring. As they did, Ciri explained more about the distributed enchantment system the ancient Fae built into their cities—how conduits cast empowering spells all day on a central hub, from which refined magical power flowed through runes into the stones, lights, and buildings. Noah nodded along as she spoke, the gears in his analytical mind turning.

“It’s like electricity from a power plant,” he said when she finished.

She furrowed her brow. “No. It is non‑biological. Plants are not involved.”

He shook his head. “Sorry, that’s just what we call it in my world. We have a similar way of creating and distributing power, but it doesn’t use magic.”

“I would like to know more about this method.”

Noah launched into a lecture, explaining the broad strokes of power generation and transmission. As he spoke, he began wondering about magical power loss—whether certain materials acted as conductors or resistors the same way they did for electricity. When he shared the thought, Ciri admitted she wasn’t sure, but immediately began outlining a series of experiments to test the theory. By the time she finished, they’d transitioned back into the outer ring, dodging the heavy traffic of humans, Fae, and all manner of domesticated animals.

“We would need a powerful rune, though,” she said. “Which would require a trip up the tower. In a city such as this, that may be a challenge. Tower‑time is likely in high demand for all manner of spells.”

If only there was a way to get up high without a tower, we could—

His eyes went wide. “I can’t believe I haven’t thought of this yet.”

“Thought of what?”

“What if there was another way to get high enough to write spells?” he asked, grinning.

“The other towers would lack the height. There is a mountain nearby, but are you suggesting we go there?”

“No. I’m talking about flying.”

“Flying spells did exist among the ancient Fae, but their runes have been lost. Empowering such a spell would also require greater heights than we currently have access to, defeating the purpose. And if you were the one flying, you would require a stable platform to work from, or else you would risk corruption.”

“What if there was a non‑magical method of flight?” he asked.

“Does such a thing exist?”

“They did in my world. Some—like planes—are pretty complicated machinery. Something simpler, like a hot air balloon, might work though.” They reached the tavern as he spoke.

“What is a hot air balloon?”

“It’s, uh…” He furrowed his brow as they entered. “It works on the idea that hot air rises. If you get enough hot air rising inside a balloon, it can lift a basket with a person in it.”

“I see,” she said skeptically. “Have you built one of these devices before?”

“No, but I understand enough of the physics behind it, I think,” he replied as they climbed the stairs.

“It may benefit you to test the theory on a small scale before building a larger version.” She paused. “I do not know any spells that would aid you if you were to fall from a great height.”

“I’ll do it safely,” he said with a smile.

He looked both ways down the hallway before leaning in and kissing her softly. She melted into the kiss, her arms wrapping around him. When they broke apart, they stayed close for a long moment, his forehead resting against hers.

Ken’s voice from his room broke the spell. “Who is he talking to?” Noah asked.

“He asked to borrow one of the twin mirrors this morning,” Ciri said. “I believe he is speaking to my mothers.”

“You should go say hi. I bet they miss you, and I’ve gotta check on Piper anyway.”

“I will join you after,” she said, kissing him one last time.