Page 112 of The King's Weapon

Sebastian said something to one of his men and one of the soldiers disappeared in the direction of the fire.

Kallie no longer cared though. And her gaze wandered to the sky where the constellations hid behind the smoke. She supposed she preferred it that way, for the gods to be hidden. Perhaps since she could not see them, the gods couldn't see her either.

The moon's light, however, showed through the heavy smoke, lighting the pathway back to wherever Sebastian's boat was docked. And she focused on that.

The moon was full and bright as it orbited the world, circling the world as it ran away from the sun. As it did, it led a lonely life. And it must have been exhaustingto continuously run in circles. But at least the moon was able to provide the world with light while the sun was away. And Kallie tried to smile at that. Although lonely, the moon had its purpose. And it was unwavering in its pursuit to provide for the world it revolved around.

And wasn’t that better anyway? To have a purpose rather than to wander aimlessly—with or without the company of others?

Kallie sighed and returned her attention to Sebastian. His brows knitted together, worry spreading across his face. His mouth moved but she heard nothing. His mouth moved, yet she couldn't bring her attention to focus on it for his mouth wasn't the one she wished to see. His arms weren't the ones she wanted to be in and she began to question everything she was doing.

Sebastian gave her a light shake as he continued walking. "Princess?"

Kallie forced herself to meet his green piercing gaze and made a noise of acknowledgment.

"Are you sure you are well?"

Kallie could almost see the wall he had built between himself and his emotions. And Kallie wondered if his hesitancy wasn't out of concern for her well-being, but rather out of concern that his brother's fiancé was broken. That she was unfixable,unworthy to be Frenzia’s queen.

So Kallie, pushing past the tears that threatened to surface, offered him a soft smile as she shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Just tired and ready to see my king."

He nodded. "We'll be on the ship soon. I'm sending word to my men."

Kallie gave a single tilt of her head and rested her head against his chest. The fabric of his military coat was rough against her skin, her body rigid in his arms.

* * *

Kallie’s feethit the deck, the wooden floorboards of the ship creaked beneath her weight, and her body shook from the sea's mist. Her stomach grew queasy as the memory of the last time she was on a boat surfaced. And this time, Kallie would need to find other means of dulling her senses to quell nausea.

In her peripheral vision, she noticed Sebastian whispering to someone. The soldier headed down the ladder, which she assumed led to the sleeping quarters, and the soldier disappeared into the darkness.

Kallie stretched her legs, hissing as she moved her ankle. She hobbled over to the edge of the ship and leaned against the railing as she overlooked Pontia one last time. Frenzia had docked their ships a ways down the pier. It was closer to the village but remained hidden behind a wall of trees. And the fire was still in view.

Soldiers shuffled behind her. Their paces quick as their anxiety-driven energy fueled their race to prepare the ship for their journey back. But her attention wasn't on them.

It was on the sight ahead of her.

The fire had spread deep into the bundles of houses. The first row of homes was destroyed. Holes filled the roofs and the walls, entire infrastructures collapsed in on themselves. In the distance, silhouettes of people were gathered between the pier and the blazing fire. Kallie couldn't see them clearly but she imagined them holding each other, their distraught faces glowing from the flames. She imagined their faces as their homes crumbled before them as ash covered the ground. The black smoke rose all around them while the flames consumed everything they once owned. She imagined children huddled together, tears streaming down their innocent, soft faces as everything they knew and loved burned to the ground.

She had never wanted any of this to happen.

Shadowed figures ran between the fire and the water. A line formed as people passed buckets filled to the brim with water back and forth, throwing the water onto the fire.

Still, their efforts were abysmal at best. But bucket by bucket, the Pontians took out small sections of the fire in an attempt to decrease the size of the fire and prevent it from spreading even further.

The floorboards creaked behind her, and Kallie turned her head slightly, not able to take her focus away from the fire entirely. As if it would all burn to the ground if she looked away. At some point, Sebastian had disappeared, and now the person who had disappeared down the hatch, a young female soldier, stood next to her.

“My lady, I've been instructed to wrap your ankle,” the soldier said, showing Kallie the wrappings she held in her hands.

Kallie nodded. And because of growing nausea, she leaned against the railing and reluctantly put her back to the fire.

The soldier knelt and began wrapping Kallie's ankle. As she finished tying it tightly around her ankle, which was now stiff from the binding, a commotion came from the stern gaining Kallie's attention. A crowd was forming at the back of the ship.

"What's going on?" Kallie asked.

The soldier stood and looked toward the crowd. "I don't know, my lady. But I can take a look for you if you wish."

More sailors ran by them. Kallie pushed herself off the railing. “Help me down there,” she said.

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