Page 173 of A Warrior's Fate

The three of them were the last to get off the boat, and the sound of Isla’s boots creaking on the metal stairs was quickly replaced by the thudding of her boots on wooden boards—what lay here most, as opposed to its sister city’s cobblestones.

Even if Abalys was nothing like Mavec, even if it didn’t have that same marvel of crystals and warm scents of spices or raucous crowds on its streets, there was enough for her to wonder at.

Despite the stories she’d been told, despite the worry she probably should’ve felt as Ameera tucked the necklace she’d been wearing—a simple gold chain with a pendant hanging from the end—into her shirt, there was something homey about the area. Something inviting about that golden aura and the same auspicious light that emanated from the many establishments along the boardwalk, their reflections bobbing on the water. Taverns and shops. More gambling dens and apartment buildings. From the dancing shadows in the windows, she imagined that was where all had disappeared to. She couldn’t help but notice that no prayers or pyres were sent or burned here.

“So, this is Abalys,” Isla said, turning to find both Rhydian and Ameera with a light in their eyes that rivaled the lantern’s glow.

“This is Abalys,” Rhydian echoed, his giddiness leaking into his tone. He pointed down a bend of the canal. “Jonah and I used to have an apartment down there. It was a bitch to get up to, and our neighbors sucked.” He looked at Ameera and jerked his thumb in another direction. “And you were over by the western bank, right?”

“You lived down here, too?” Isla’s voice had unintentionally risen in surprise.

Ameera rolled her eyes. “You sound like my parents. I had an escape, and I took it. I ended up back in Mavec anyway, but it was nice while it lasted.” She pulled out the map but scanned Isla over first. She murmured, “Make sure you look like you belong here. This town will take advantage and rip you apart the second they smell they can. And everyone’s on edge because of the rogues. They aren’t afraid. Any perceived threat and they’ll defend our home.”

Isla took a deep inhale of river water and faint wood smoke. “Okay.”

“Try not to smile.” She reached to adjust Isla’s collar, hiding her lumerosi. At Isla’s questioning stare, she noted, “We don’t want to draw attention.” Then she turned and pressed forward.

As they moved along the boardwalk behind Ameera, Rhydian acted as Isla’s tour guide, pointing out all the places they’d been to and the experiences they’d had there with quelled enthusiasm. Isla nodded tersely along the way, fighting smiles from her face, especially as Rhydian recounted meeting Davina at one of the pubs.

But it became easier to remain stoic as they encroached on the inner workings of the town, catching some patrons outside of taverns locked in heated conversations and embraces. Some were smoking and shooting dangerous looks as they twirled weapons in their hands. Even those sitting in their small boats, drinking from small flasks and paper-bag-wrapped bottles, cast leery looks their way.

Any perceived threat and they’ll defend our home.

When Isla and Rhydian found themselves waiting for Ameera outside a betting hall Callan had circled, her proposal to split up and search again was met by a hard no. Rhydian noted that Kai would have his head if he let her wander off alone and recounted several instances, to Isla’s amusement, when the two had fought growing up—from their childhoods up until they were with the guard.

“He’s honorable, but he’ll fight dirty when he has to,” Rhydian finished.

Isla’s eye was drawn to the tavern across the canal that was emanating music more boisterous than any tune she’d heard in Mavec. There was the pounding of instruments and clapping hands and the stomping of feet on wooden floors in time with a beat that seemed to increase in tempo and volume. Isla found herself enraptured by the sounds of dancing and laughter, calling to another part of her not beckoned by its dreamy royal counterpart.

She’d get Kai down here eventually, and a part of her wished she could drag Adrien and Sebastian here too. They always sought the rowdiest places in the Imperial City, so they’d probably love it.

As Rhydian began explaining Talha to her, the tavern they enjoyed and frequented most that was further down a different canal and closer to where there was more solid land, Ameera emerged from the betting hall.

All she did was nod, and they knew.

Another tie to the refugees of Charon.

This time, it was a husband and wife who worked as a dealer and waitress. They had a daughter too, who was sleeping in one of the apartments above the hall. Other than that, they offered nothing new.

“I’m surprised he didn’t find more here,” Ameera said, looking over the map. “This is the region that borders Charon. It’s where most of them settle. It’s all they can afford to settle in, besides Surles.”

Once again, Rhydian’s features had shifted into a frown. “So now what? Do we go to Surles? Ifera?”

“Are we just going to find the same thing?” Isla asked.

Ameera addressed neither of them, her eyes honed on the parchment. “You know what I don’t get?” Before they could inquire, she pointed to a thick line of black ink. Another. Then another. “What these are? They don’t even connect to the points.”

“They start back in different sectors of Mavec,” Rhydian noted, pointing out the haphazardly drawn ends of the lines. “But they all end at the Wall?”

The sentences had struck a chord in Isla and she sucked in a sharp breath. “Wait…”

There was no way. But—

Both Deimos-born wolves turned in her direction.

“What is it?” Ameera asked.

Desperate for another answer was what it was and Isla couldn’t ignore the nagging hunch. Any line that connected Mavec to the Wall was enough for her.

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