Page 18 of Elemental Hall: Nautica
“How did you get here?” I ask.
“I sailed.”
“From Umbrae? Through the storms?” I find that hard to believe. I know that it is possible in some spots, because there is occasional trade between Lumina and Umbrae, but mostly, it is impenetrable.
“You don’t believe me? That’s because you Luminans are soft and weak.”
“Who is holding who up right now?” I reply. He scowls at me. He manages to do even that prettily.
I half carry him back to the library tower. There are plenty of other students around, and they all stare as we approach. At first, I suspect that it’s because I’m coming closer, holding tight to someone who isn’t Orion. As we get closer, though, I’m sure that they start to recognize Darius for what he is.
Several of the students form a crowd around us. Ash is there, looking suddenly furious.
“Is that… an Umbran? Are youhelpinghim?”
“I found him on the beach,” I say.
“We should kill him,” Ash says. “He’s the enemy!”
He seems serious. His hands are already moving through the forms required to summon elemental magic.
I expect the other students to intervene, but they aren’t arguing. If anything, some of them seem to be murmuring agreement.
“I’m not going to let you just kill someone,” I say.
“Of course you’d side with an Umbran,” Ash snaps. “But this isn’t about youlettingme do anything. His kind killed my brother, and I’ll—”
“That’s enough!” a steely voice calls out.
I turn to see Elemental Mistress Halan approaching through the crowd. They step aside for her, parting as if determined to get as far away from the cold irritation on her face as they can.
“Mistress Halan,” Ash says. “An Umbran has made it onto Nautica. He’s obviously a spy. An infiltrator!”
“Be quiet, Ash,” Elemental Mistress Halan says. “I canseethat there’s an Umbran. You, young man, what is your name?”
“I am Darius.”
“Sera, why are you holding onto him?” the elemental mistress asks me.
“I went to the beach to try to find the seraphin,” I explain. “I found him washed up.”
The elemental mistress nods.
“And what are you doing here, Darius?” she asks.
He pauses for a moment. “I… fled Umbrae. I heard the way you train those like me who can control the elements. That you don’t force us to be… the things that they make us into in Umbrae. I thought that if I could just make it here, things would be… better.”
I can hear a note of fear in his voice, but also determination. I try to imagine everything Darius must have gone through to get to Nautica. My own journey was difficult enough, and I didn’t have to cross the veil of storms to get here.
“An Umbran wants to be a part of Nautica?” Ash says. “Mistress Halan, this is ludicrous. He’s obviously a spy. We should—”
“The elementalists here will decide what we should do,” Elemental Mistress Halan says. “Not you, Ash. Return to your studies. The storm challenge is looming, and you have preparations to make. You, Darius, come with me. We will decide what to do with you.”
Darius steps away from me, and it seems that he has the strength to stand alone now. He heads off with the elementalmistress, and I wonder if I will see him again. Without quite knowing why, a part of me really hopes that I will.
Chapter TEN
“I can’t believe they let him stay,” Orion says, with a pointed look over to where Darius is hefting a sleeping roll and a length of canvas onto his back. He’s still dressed in black and gray, but the emblem of Umbrae is gone, torn off.
