Page 55 of Fate of Echoes and Embers
When she followed me, I took that as a yes and stepped past the billowing curtains into the warm breeze. Though not as warm as it would have been in the south, it was unusually so for Aetheria this time of year.
Taking a deep breath, my shoulders immediately relaxed. We were too far away to hear the sea, the moon hardly enough to illuminate much of its dark expanse, but that smell…
“I grew up in a small home in Corvi. My father, the head of the Navigator’s Guild there.”
“What is that?” Issa asked, joining me. She wrapped her hands around the marble rail, looking down to the palace lights below.
“A training center for seafarers and mapmakers. It was not extravagant, our home, but I could step outside and onto the shore. This smell, the sound of the sea… I find it difficult to be away from it for long.”
“I can understand that. I wasn’t raised near it but feel the same. There’s a calmness, a peace that is indescribable at sea. Or even here.”
“Do you know why?”
“Sure.”
I considered explaining the rhythm of the waves being in tune with the natural world of Elydor or how the origins of its magic were tied to the sea.
But I didn’t.
Turning to her, I offered Issa a bigger truth.
“It’s a reminder that there is a world beyond duty and expectation, a place where you could be something more than what was dictated for you. I also believe you may even have an ancient connection to the water, deep within your soul.”
Her laugh was hesitant, as if Issa recognized the truth of my words but would never admit it.
“I doubt that,” she said, dismissing me. “I am destined to be landlocked, unfortunately.”
No, you’re not.
I didn’t argue the point, though.
“How do you feel, after the meeting?”
“Uneasy,” she admitted. “I’m grateful for the king’s aid, but know those borders well. It will be seen as a threat to Gyoria and my fear that it could spark a war is not hyperbole.”
“No, I don’t imagine it is. But war has been brewing for some time. Unless the Gate is reopened, I fear it’s inevitable.”
“And if it is reopened?” Her body’s movement underscored her words. “You believe King Balthor will simply shrug his shoulders and accept it?”
“When we met,” I ventured, knowing the subject of our first meeting was a sore one, “it was that passion of yours that first captivated me.”
“Marek—”
“Issa,” I countered. “Pretending those days never happened isn’t the answer.”
Her eyes flashed, angry and ready to battle.
“I hurt you,” I continued, “in order to protect myself. Immortality, the long life I’ve enjoyed thus far, hadn’t prepared me to meet someone like you. I don’t try to escape blame for what I did, but to better explain my reasons.”
She sighed, as if defeated. I hated seeing her that way. Hated that I was the cause.
“What do you want from me, Marek? Why did you come here tonight?”
I didn’t trust myself to answer the first question. Loving Issa wasn’t enough. The second one was easier.
“Because I am drawn to you, as I’ve always been.”
She opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it. It was foolish of me to have inserted myself back in her life. But did I regret it? I was selfish enough not to, even knowing I wasn’t enough for her.
