Realm of Light - Deborah Chester [92]
So this was where jinjas came from. These old temples of the ancient ways. The traders who brought young jinjas to the sorcery markets guarded their secrets jealously, telling no one where they captured their wares. Elandra smiled to herself. She must have a jinja of her own, one bonded to her. Perhaps Caelan would accept one for his own protection too.
“That way!” she shouted at Bwend, pointing.
He nodded, looking insulted by her directions. Elandra was too excited to care. When she left her father’s palace over a year ago, she thought she would never return. Her memories had not all been good ones, but how she missed the sights and smells, the heat, the lazy afternoons when nothing moved but the fans to stir the air; yes, she even missed the dreadful muxa bugs.
Laughing aloud, she glanced over at Caelan and saw him watching her. She waved at him, and he smiled.
Ahead, the jungle thinned out and ended. Lush fields of flax, rice, and aotta beans stood in water. The rain ended, and Elandra threw back her hood. How moist and heavy the air felt. She could feel her skin absorbing it. Her hair began to curl and riot about her face.
A break in the clouds allowed a luminescent shaft of sunlight to spear down to earth. And there stood the gleaming white limestone walls of Albain palace, as solid and safe as ever. Eagerly Elandra leaned low over Nia’s neck, hoping she would fly faster.
Instead the dragon slowed and began to circle.
Disappointed, Elandra snapped her head around to look into Bwend’s impassive face. “Why don’t we keep going? Why do you circle here?”
He met her eyes, but said nothing. Catching up, Basha also began to circle. The Thyzarenes exchanged looks and hand signals.
Suspicion grew inside Elandra. Had they come this far, only to be tricked at the last moment? Caelan was peering down at the ground, and she could not catch his attention. She fingered her knife, vowing she would not be held for ransom like some helpless captive.
“Bwend,” she said sharply, “remember I am your empress.”
Nia bugled, and Basha echoed the sound. The dragons flew closer, then circled again, staying high.
Elandra gripped the harness so hard her knuckles turned white. She was furious at this delay. What was Bwend doing? Tormenting her? She could see her father’s sentries gesturing. More troops came running. Some were archers. When they lifted their drawn bows, aiming at the dragons, she sat up straight on Nia’s back and glanced again at Bwend.
“Yes, Majesty,” he said, his voice dry. “If we come in too fast, they shoot us like birds for eating. You would not like to hit the ground that hard, eh?”
Elandra swallowed and felt ashamed of her previous suspicions.
They circled the palace again, staying out of arrow range. She could see the famous steps reaching from the broad courtyard up to the portico of the palace itself. Her father’s banners of yellow and white flew proudly. She saw no imperial coat of arms, however, and wondered why her father had struck her banner.
The people of the household crowded onto the balconies, pointing upward. Soldiers poured from the barracks. More archers appeared.
Elandra frowned at them, wanting to shout a reprimand. After all she had gone through to get here, were they even going to let her land?
Bwend pulled a dirty white rag from his pouch and let it stream out for the soldiers to see.
The men changed formation, clearing a large space in the courtyard.
“This dangerous,” Bwend said in her ear. “No flag to show imperial business. No reason to come.”
She held her breath and gripped the harness strap more tightly. “I am ready.”
Nia dropped in a plummet that left Elandra’s stomach floating somewhere among the clouds. The watery sunlight vanished as the clouds closed again. Grimly, she realized she must look like a wild woman, arriving windblown in this bizarre fashion. She had no veil, no suitable gowns, no entourage. If her father was not at home, would anyone even recognize her?
Just