Page 108 of The Sea of Zemira (The Zemiran Chronicles 1)

The siren was relieved that even in a place as terrifying as the swamp, she felt safe with him. However, she would not let her guard down. She had learned throughout her life, looks were deceiving to one’s sinister ways.

Nola inspected the ladder leading to a treehouse about thirty feet high.

They entered the tiny home, which she was quite impressed by. The house was built with bamboo and string, roped around the edges to keep it secure. A little table made from wood stood in the corner, with a small bowl crafted from a coconut. It was hard to imagine anything growing in a place like that. But it was a relief to Nola, knowing there was something to sustain those sent there.

“How long have you been here?” Nola asked, genuinely concerned for the young boy.

He shrugged. “All my life,” he answered in a melancholy tone.

“All your life?” she asked, aghast. “You...you were born here?”

He gave her a curt nod.

“Where are your parents, Jastris?” she asked.

How terrifying to live in a place like this and have no one else, she thought. To be completely alone.

An easy, languid smile crossed his features.

Shrugging, he replied, “Dead, I presume. Everyone dies, don’t they?”

Her forehead wrinkled as she watched the sullen expression on his face shift. It was as if her question alone had disrupted their cordial connection. She wiggled uncomfortably, leaning back against the wall of the treehouse.

After wrapping her arms around her knees, she said, “We all need someone, Jastris.” She hesitated, but only a moment. “If you would like, I can send a ship to come for you once I get to safe passage. You are but a child.”

“Nah,” he growled, “I like it here. I—” He stopped.

Nola cocked her head. “You what?”

The boy smiled and looked out the window, extending his frail arms upward in a weird manner. However, he stayed silent.

Then he dropped his hand to his side and peered through the hole where the ladder was, then leaned towards it and jumped.

Instinctively Nola reached to catch him, but he was already gone.

“Jastris!” she shouted, moving over to where he had disappeared. He could not have made a jump like that—he had not used the ladder.

“Hello!?” she shouted, panic rising in her chest.

Did he honestly jump to his death?She asked herself, running a hand through her messy hair.

Nola scooted to the window and looked down, then over to the door which led to the ladder again.

Panicked, the siren moved to where she had climbed up. Then, she placed her feet on the ladder and headed back down. Once she reached the ground, she looked around. The boy was nowhere to be found. If he died after such a drop, his body would have been at the bottom, but it was not.

Are my eyes and ears playing tricks on me?She asked herself. Did I imagine that boy?

The latter was a possibility. It was the first time Nola had breathed underwater, and she had been traveling for nearly a day. Perhaps the lack of oxygen was causing hallucinations.

Is this place like Westin?She wondered. Oh, please, no.

Utterly alone amid the marsh, Nola glanced around, feeling an unnerving fear run up her spine. The only certainty she had, was that she was somewhere between the portal into Dratose and the Eastland Forest. Only a day’s swim in the sea before she would be safe.

The swamp's mud appeared relatively compact, and the air thinned as she approached a large clearing. For the first time, she was able to see through the trees and into the early dusk.

Find food, then shelter,she thought. For the dangers of the Marsh Wetlands lurked around her, watching her every move closely.

Nola’s body still felt fatigued, so she let her body sag against a tree and quickly fell asleep.

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