Page 12 of A Promise of Peridot
I could scarcely wrap my mind around the fact that despite the sun shining overhead, the mountains in the distance, and the ocean that stretched beyond, we were thousands of feet below the sea. Mermagic, indeed.
When I stood, my knees were still wobbly from inertia, but Leigh had already taken off toward the shoreline to feel the crystalline water.
I didn’t know why it bothered me.
Taking care of Leigh was my privilege. She was my sister, and I would take a thousand lashes for her.
And yet, I was on edge. I didn’t want to have eyes on her at all times. To have to tug her back from the sandy shores, lest another unprecedented tragedy befall her. I didn’t have the energy to tether her to my side, and make sure she was safe, and fed, and looked after.
Kane was right. You’re pathetic. And selfish. A pitiful excuse for a sister—
A stinging on my leg pulled my attention downward and I lifted my skirts to see droplets of red dripping down onto the sand. I had skinned my knee in the tumble in from the funnel. I ran my fingers across the abrasion and tried once again to draw from the air and sun around me.
A glimmer—just a tingle—fizzed at my fingertips.
Thank theStones.
Blessedly, my skin weaved back together, forcing out little pebbles and grains of sand that had been embedded in the flesh.
On our journey to Citrine, I had tried to do that countless times. Late at night in my cramped bunk, I had prayed to feel the light and wind and air pour through my fingertips. To harness whatever unchecked power had poured out of me after my mother’s death. Just a little—to light a single candle or blow a door shut with a strong gust. But nothing had happened. Not even a spark.
Well, valuable lesson learned:use your lighte to obliterate a Fae army, expect to wait weeks for it to regenerate.
Turning back to the flat, tan beach, I witnessed the rest of the ship’s passengers sprawl along the sand, slowly dust debris off their clothes, and pull themselves to stand. We looked like a parade of dreary mourners in our dark heavy skirts and furs, compared to all the light, flimsy dresses—cream and blush and tangerine—in the distance. Down the textured bank stood Kane, Griffin, andAmelia, not a grain of sand out of place. I walked over to them, my boots trudging across the uneven ground.
“Is there some secret to the funnel that none of us were told?” I gestured to all the coughing passengers, sand woven through their hair and clothes, women wringing their skirts out, before I found more sand in my own braid.
As I dusted it from my hair, Kane’s gaze dragged over me with amusement. “Just practice. We’ve learned to land on our feet. You all right, bird?”
My hands froze on my braid and we both turned pale at his use of the pet name. He hadn’t said it since...
“Sorry,” he mumbled before stalking off.
I drew in a breath that tasted of salt water and pine trees.
“You really did a number on him.” Amelia’s eyes fell to me. “It’s almost impressive.”
Then she was walking, too.
I shook the tension from my shoulders and I called to Leigh, still at the water’s edge. When she ignored me, I called again, more insistent this time, until she darted over, kicking sand in her wake.
There were about forty of us who had escaped from Siren’s Bay—mostly Peridot nobles and their families, as well as a few soldiers. I could only hope more had survived by fleeing to other cities through the rain forest. Though, now that the kingdom was in Amber’s control under Lazarus, no city would be safe for those who were still loyal to Eryx and his daughter.
I couldn’t see any of Azurine past the large expanse of cypress trees we walked toward, but from what I could tell, the Kingdom of Citrine was nautical and bright, lusciously serene, and brimming with the intoxicating scent of citrus and olive and fig. Warm turquoise water ringed a radiant coastline of pines and limestonecliffs, with whitewashed villas built into them and gulls flapping overhead in a cloudless sky.
Along with the rest of the passengers, I followed closely behind Griffin’s towering form, Leigh’s hand in mine, as we came to a driftwood-and-rope bridge built over a rock-strewn portion of beach that cut through the aromatic trees and I assumed into the city’s center. We crossed it, single file, passing through the needled trees until we were deposited into a bright, sunny sandstone plaza.
A scream sounded in my ears, and I didn’t have time to wonder if it had been my own as someone leveled a gleaming scimitar at my throat.
5
arwen
A swarm of Citrine soldiers in shining indigo armor hauled us from one another, and when the soldier behind me tightened his steel against my neck, my stomach threatened to empty its meager contents all over his hand.
The contingent was large enough to have two if not three men on each of us. It was a sea of cobalt metal and white accents, helmets and spears and shining iron swords. I couldn’t see Leigh or Mari or Kane, or—
I fished for that freshly reborn lighte, straining for the power to free myself, but nothing sputtered at my fingertips. The simple act of stitching up my knee had used all of the nearly dried-up well.
