Page 33 of Across an Endless Sea

“People die every day, princess.”

“So you wouldn’t have done the same for Caed?”

Prae looks over her shoulder at me, and without the goggles, I can see the dark blue whorls of paint she’s applied today. They form a skull-like pattern across her cheekbones and down to her mouth.

“Don’t be stupid, of course I wouldn’t.”

I taste the lie and level an unimpressed look right back at her.

“Florian is a good male,” I retort, instead of calling her out.

“Was…” Prae murmurs. “There’s no way he lived through all of those wounds. You wasted your life trying to save him.”

I bite my lip, blinking back tears as I consider the fact that she could be right. Danu said he was on the edge, and that was over a week ago. I could’ve lost my brother in the time it took us to sail here, and I won’t know until I somehow make it home.

IfI ever manage to return.

“I’m surprised you haven’t tried to attack me yet,” Prae continues, pulling her goggles back down as she bends over her work. “I’d have wanted revenge in your shoes.”

“I could easily hate you,” I murmur. “I’m still angry at the way you’ve treated me, and if Florian dies, perhaps I will try to avenge him. But I’m not a warrior, and I’m not stupid. Attacking you will only end with me getting my ass kicked.” I pause, wondering how much to say. “Mostly, I’m just… confused aboutwhyyou did it.”

Prae looks up, but doesn’t turn around. “Why? We’re at war. On opposite sides.”

“But no one seems to have any ideawhyyou’re fighting,” I retort. “You said it wasn’t a family grudge. The fae believe you attack them because you’re Fomorians and that’s just what youdo, but that makes no sense.”

“Why not?”

“Because war costs money,” I reply. “Crossing the Endless Sea took a week on a fast ship. Sending whole armies across, multiple times, must take an enormous number of resources. No one would do that without a good reason.”

Prae leans back, rolls her shoulders, then spins to face me. “Tell me something first,” she says. “What happened to the courts while you were gone? How did you bring them back to life?”

I frown.Is this a trick?

“The Nicnevin is the bridge between Faerie and Danu,” I repeat Kitarni’s words slowly. “When I was in the mortal realm, there was no way for the Goddess to connect to her people or the land. The courts fell out of balance, magic started becoming weaker.” The image of those poor babes collected by the Wild Hunt flashes before me, and I grimace. “When I returned, Danu’s connection was restored.”

“No Nicnevin has ever set foot in these mountains.” Prae eyes me. “Until you.”

I nod, then pause. “But the mountains are part of Faerie… They must still belong to Danu.”

“Don’teverlet anyone else hear you say as much,” Prae warns. “But yes. They exist in the same realm.”

“That’s why I passed out.”

I put it down to so much iron—or maybe my wounds—but no, I should’ve recognised the tightness in my chest.

“I connected the mountains back to Danu, just like the other courts.”

Before that, the Fomorians must have suffered for millennia. No connection to a Nicnevin would mean no easy way to grow food. No magic. If the fae had been suffering after just two and a half decades without me, the Fomorians must have been in truly dire straits.

“Your presence here has brought plants back to Fellgotha,” Prae confirms. “Crops. Food.”

I read between the lines. Those things didn’t exist before, which must mean…

“So you raided the fae because you were starving?” A pulse of sympathy catches me off guard. “Why not just trade?”

Prae’s frown reminds me that the Fomorians don’t want my pity. Besides, do they really even deserve it? Yes, they were victims of circumstance, but victimhood doesn’t automatically grant someone the moral high ground.

“Fomorians don’t trade.” Prae shakes her head. “Glory and survival are the only things that matter.”

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