Page 86 of Eluvonia
She gives me a sad smile, though it doesn’t reach her eyes. “They came at night,” she begins, her voice low and hoarse. “I don’t know how they got past the water Ymiral’s defenses, but they did. They snuck in, burning and destroying everything in their path.”
Her hand trembles as she gestures to the town around us. “They gathered all the merfolk here, in the center, and demanded to know how we were hiding. They asked if we’d join their cause. When no one would answer, they…” Her voice breaks, and she takes a shaky breath. “They started killing us. One by one.”
I reach for her arm, squeezing gently as tears well in my eyes. “Tura… I’m so sorry.”
She shakes her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I was spared thanks to a dear friend. She covered me with her body as they… as they took her down. She hid me until they left. She took her last breath on top of me.”
Tura’s hand clenches around her straw hat, crushing it further as her shoulders shake. Kaida steps beside me, hisshadows curling protectively around my ankles. His brow furrows, his sharp eyes scanning the wreckage.
“I don’t understand how they found your town,” he says, his voice edged with frustration. “We never said a word. When I gave my report, I just said we washed up on Veylwick’s shores and flew to Brimvarr.”
Tura looks up at him, her good eye glistening with unshed tears. “I don’t know. I fear something has happened to the water Ymiral. It’s the only explanation. Without her, our defenses are nothing.”
Declan steps forward, his wings twitching behind him. “What could harm a Ymiral?” he asks, his tone skeptical but tinged with curiosity.
Tura glances at the three of us, her expression grim. She shakes her head, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Not here. Let’s go inside.” She casts a wary glance at the bodies surrounding us. “Even the dead can listen.”
Kaida’s shadows tighten around him like a second skin as he exchanges a look with me. I nod silently, my stomach churning as I glance one last time at the devastation around us.
Without another word, we follow Tura toward her home, our footsteps heavy against the blood-soaked sand.
Chapter 36
AERIS
Tura motions for us to sit as she pulls out a chair at the small, weathered kitchen table. The room smells faintly of salt and ash, and the heavy air settles in my chest as if the weight of the town’s destruction has seeped into every corner of her home. Kaida sits across from me, his dark shadows curling faintly around his feet, rippling like restless waves under the table. Declan takes the seat closest to the door, his wings twitching uncomfortably in the tight space. Tura moves to each window, shutting them with deliberate care, her hands trembling faintly as if they’re betraying the calm she’s trying to project.
Finally, she sits down with a sigh, placing her ruined hat on the table in front of her. The brim is bent, and scorch marks mar the once-pristine weave. She stares at it for a moment, then says softly, “The Ymirals have been losing their power… slowly, over the centuries.”
The silence that follows feels heavy, pressing down on mychest. Declan is the first to react, leaning forward sharply, his claws raking lightly against the edge of the wooden table. “What?” His voice is sharper than usual, disbelieving.
Tura’s lips press into a thin line, her gaze fixed on her destroyed hat as though it holds all the answers. “I don’t know how or why,” she murmurs, “but we’ve felt it here. The ward that covered this town—it’s been weakening for decades.”
Declan’s wings twitch, the leather edges brushing the back of his chair. “How is that even possible? From what I’ve learned, the Ymirals draw their power directly from Eluvonia itself. That shouldn’t be happening.”
Tura glances at him, a flicker of frustration crossing her features. “Exactly,” she says simply, leaning back in her chair.
Declan exhales sharply, leaning back as well, his eyes wide. The chair creaks under his weight as his wings adjust again.
I glance between the two of them, the growing tension crackling in the room like a storm waiting to break. “What does that mean?” I ask, my voice hesitant, trying to piece together the fragments of their conversation.
Declan’s golden eyes flick to me, his usual humor absent, replaced by something much darker. “It means Eluvonia is dying.”
My breath catches, the words settling in my chest like stones. My hand tightens around the armrest of my chair, nails pressing into the worn wood. “How?” I manage to breathe out, my voice barely above a whisper.
Kaida’s arms cross over his chest, his shoulders stiff as his gaze drops to the table. His shadows curl tighter, their movement jagged, betraying the calm mask he’s trying to maintain.
I look back to Tura, desperate for an answer, but she only shakes her head, her expression as grim as her words.
Kaida’s voice cuts through the heavy silence like a blade. “Is it the crystals?”
Tura’s eyes lift to him, her brow furrowing. “From what I know of the crystals,” she starts, her voice steady but weighted with uncertainty, “they sit on the Nexxus points and absorb the power flowing through the ley lines. The energy doesn’t go anywhere—it’s just stored in the crystals, like a reservoir. Eluvonia can still feed off of it when needed, but…” She trails off, her fingers tracing the burnt edges of her hat.
Kaida nods slowly, his expression hardening. “Yes. The crystals are meant to store Nexxus without draining it completely. They draw from the flow but leave enough for the system to function.”
“Nexxus?” I echo, the unfamiliar word sticking in my throat.
Kaida’s gaze flicks to me, his sharp features softening slightly as if he’s preparing to explain something intricate. “We haven’t covered this in history yet,” he says, leaning forward slightly, “but Nexxus is essentially the lifeblood of Eluvonia.”
