Page 21 of Fate of Echoes and Embers
“Have you ever sailed before?” I teased.
“Only when I could not avoid it,” the land-lover admitted.
“Surely you’ve heard of veilborn?”
Kael’s eyes widened. I turned back toward the sea as we sailed past, ensuring the blue glow beneath the surface didn’t follow us. Confident we’d left it in its wake, I concentrated on the horizon once again.
“They are real?”
“Quite real. Although I will admit, to see one in these waters is highly unusual. As you should know, they are more typically spotted off the Gyorian coast.”
“Never seen one myself.”
“With good reason. Their bioluminescence makes them appear almost translucent. That eerie blue beneath the water is usually your only warning a nasty sea serpent is about to strike. I’ve seen one split a longboat clean in two with its jaws.”
“I suppose they are agents of the Abyss as well?”
Sunlight filled the deck now, though neither Mev nor Issa stirred. “The Abyss,” I scoffed. “You believe in such things?”
Kael’s brows raised. “Do you not believe in Thalassa?”
“Or Zephra? Or your god, Terranor?” I asked, skeptical. “Were they not all one before Elydor split into three clans? Convenient of them to wait for such an occurrence before making themselves known.”
“So you don’t believe in the Elydorian gods and goddesses. Whatdoyou believe in, Marek?”
I gave him a sidelong look. “Myself.”
Kael tsked. “A dangerous proposition. Bearing the full weight of your choices may lead to reckless decisions.”
“Many of which I’ve made already.”
“Was abandoning Isolde one of them?”
Aware he and Issa were good friends, I needed to tread carefully. “Of course,” I said, gripping the wheel even though it wasn’t necessary. I’d been taught to sail by a human, a deliberate decision by my father. Later, as my magic grew, I questioned the decision until I understood its purpose.
Kael refrained from prodding me for more. For that reason, I offered the full truth. “I was foolish. We grew close, given the short time I remained at Hawthorne Manor. I’d convinced myself I was sparing her, aware of a growing sentiment between us.”
He said nothing. Convincing myself it mattered little what Kael believed—of me, of the situation—I remained silent as well. Needing validation from anyone besides myself would only lead to disappointment. Besides, what could he say? Immortals and humans did not partner well together. Willingly loving someone, knowing you would experience their death was foolish, in my opinion. I’d met few immortals who didn’t, at some point, regret the decision. It wasn’t that we never felt the pain of loss. My mother, for example. It was just easier to avoid the situation altogether, if possible. Especially when the human in question was as kind and compassionate as Issa. And the immortal was a corsair who lived on the wrong side of the law.
“I never planned for Mevlida.”
As the ship swayed gently from side to side, the water near perfect even without my guidance, I waited for the Gyorian prince to continue. In some ways, he was as rumor suggested. Pragmatic. Direct. But there was a thoughtfulness to him I hadn’t expected. Not from a Gyorian, and certainly not from King Balthor’s son.
“Sometimes,” he explained, “the things we don’t plan for are the ones that change us the most.”
I thought on his words while Kael headed back down, below deck. As I’d done hundreds, if not thousands of times, my thoughts drifted back to my mother. I hadn’t planned to lose her, especially not to drowning. A Thalassarian? An experienced pearl diver? It was unheard of. I hadn’t planned to grow up learning that love was something you could drown in, something that could slip beneath the waves and never return.
So aye, I agreed with him, that things we never planned for could change us the most.
* * *
If there was one thing I could rely on during my time at Hawthorne Manor, it was Issa stalking the halls before daybreak, checking in with her commander and steward, ensuring all was well. So when she never appeared on deck to break her fast, I began to worry. Mev and Kael had returned to their cabin after eating so I was loathe to disturb them. But now that I stood in front of the captain’s quarters, I reconsidered fetching Mev.
By the tides, Marek. Just knock. Ensure she’s well.
I did. No response.
Any number of things could go wrong with humans. I imagined her having fallen from the bed. Or a sudden illness plaguing her in the night. Pushing open the door, I was greeted by darkness. Knowing my way in this space, I moved toward the desk, felt for the moonstone and allowed my energy to flow into it. Whipping it toward the bed, an astonishing sight greeted me.
