Page 52 of Slaying the Shadow Prince
‘What choice do we have?’ Drue raised a brow. ‘Unless you’d rather swim?’
‘I’ve heard stories of the sharks that swarm these waters…’ Talemir surveyed the dragging current for circling fins.
‘Oh, yes,’ Drue replied. ‘Plenty of sharks in the strait. They’re said to be servants of Enovius, escorting souls to his gates…’
‘Wonderful.’ Warsword or not, Talemir didn’t overly fancy being ripped apart limb from limb by a bunch of giant fish with dagger-like teeth.
Drue laughed. ‘I’ll get you across in one piece…’
‘Don’t act so blasé,’ he warned. ‘If things go wrong, I suppose I could always fly. It’d be you left for the feeding frenzy.’
‘Charming.’
‘Just stating the facts. It’d be in your best interests to —’
‘Oh, shut up. It’s not like I’m loving the idea either. But the steel source and, to my knowledge, the wraiths’ lair are on the other side of the strait. So we only have one choice, unless you decide you can fly us both across.’
Talemir clenched and unclenched his jaw.
Drue surveyed the raft with a critical gaze. ‘I’ve seen it packed to the brim with refugees. It should hold us and the horses with no trouble.’
‘They’re not going to like that.’
‘That makes four of us, then. You going to help or what?’ Drue was already making her way down the dunes towards the strip of black sand between land and sea.
Seeing the raft up close did little to bolster Talemir’s confidence in the idea. Even so, he wouldn’t be the one to baulk from the challenge, apparently even if it meant that he, Drue and their mounts sank to the bottom of the strait or were devoured by the gnashing jaws of ravenous sharks.
The pair untied the vessel from its ropes and dragged it to the sandbank, the horses watching them warily. The sun had almost disappeared below the horizon entirely, leaving them to work in the soft orange glow.
‘We should make it across before dark,’ Drue said, as though reading his thoughts.
‘You’ve done this before?’
‘Not alone, but yes. Prior to and after the fall of the kingdom, I’ve crossed the Strait of Enovius many times, and the strait to its east, to get to the University of Naarva.’
‘You studied there?’ Talemir asked, shifting the raft into the shallows.
‘No, but my mother did. She loved returning to its halls, its gardens… It was a beautiful place once. Besides Ciraun, it was the pride and joy of the kingdom of gardens.’
‘I wish I could have seen it.’
Drue gave him a small smile. ‘Shall we?’ she asked, nodding to the waiting raft and the uneasy horses pawing the sand nearby.
Talemir held the watercraft in place while Drue convinced the poor creatures to board. They whinnied and snorted in protest, but eventually, they were ready.
Together, Talemir and Drue pushed the contraption beyond the icy break, and only once they were up to their waists in the tugging current did they haul themselves up into the raft.
‘So far, so good…’ Drue ventured, shielding her eyes from the last of the sun’s rays as she looked at their destination.
‘It’s early days.’ Talemir followed her gaze and tried not to think of the flimsy thing rocking beneath them, making his stomach lurch uncomfortably. Travelling by sea had never been one of his favourite modes of transportation. The disquiet of the miserable horses told him they felt the same way.
But there was nothing for it now. He watched as Drue brought the small sail down from the mast and positioned herself at the stern, where the poor excuse for a rudder stuck out into the water.
He hadn’t realised he’d been toying with his sapphire until Drue spoke next.
‘Whose jewel is that?’ she asked, cheeks reddening.
He glanced down at the gem, running the pad of his thumb over its faceted design. ‘Why?’
