Chapter 217. We'll Be Fine

~Eldria, Eldridge Sun-World~

The golden gates of Eldria groaned as they slid open. Four Eldrian soldiers atop the walls flanking the tall gate grimaced as they rotated long levers that drove rusty brown mechanisms within the wall, causing the gate to split in two and slide apart in opposite directions.

As the gate opened fully, the general who had escorted them from the border at the foot of the mountain range pulled on his horse’s reins, turning it around. He raised his right arm to signal the captain of Elena and Annalyn’s fleet—positioned a short distance behind his vanguard—to begin moving into the city.

After two long days on the road, they had finally reached Eldridge. At last, they could rest without worry, eat to their hearts’ content, and wait for the arrival of King Arthur.

The carriages rolled into the city—a stunning sprawl of jade-green rooftops and white walls of varying heights that rose and fell for miles like ocean waves frozen beneath emeral