Maarav came to stand at Iseult’s other side, leaving his men, Tavish and Rae, to tend the sails. He peered out across the water. “Can’t say I like the look of that. I’ll not be pleased if my inn is no longer standing.”
Finn chewed her lip in consternation. She’d almost forgotten about Maarav’s inn, The Melted Sea, named after the ocean they now sailed.
“I don’t think your inn is necessarily a priority right now,” Ealasaid sniped back.
Maarav only chuckled. The pair often seemed to be at each other’s throats, but spent more time together than apart. Finn suspected Ealasaid enjoyed Maarav’s company more than she let on, though she also seemed constantly irked by the man.
“I’d say it was burned at least a full day ago, judging by the lack of visible flames,” Iseult commented. “The remnants of the city will likely smolder for a while longer.”
Ealasaid let out a shaky exhale, muted by the sound of lapping ocean waves, more rough now that they were closer to shore. “The whole city?” she asked. “Are you saying the entire city was burned?”
Iseult nodded, then gestured toward the sight. “Look at the smoke. That’s not the smoke of a single building, or even several.”
Unease blossomed in Finn’s gut. Migris was only the first stop of many on their journey, but they would still need to resupply. Weeks out to sea had depleted their provisions, and they only had two horses, belonging to Iseult and Maarav. Not to mention that whoever had burned the city might still be in the area.
“Should we still dock?” Finn questioned, searching the sea again for Anna’s ship to find it was making steady progress toward the shore. It seemed they planned to dock despite the smoke.
“Aye,” Iseult replied. “The nearest ports to Migris are Sormyr, far south, and,” he hesitated, “another far north.” He glanced at Maarav.
Finn supposed he was alluding to the hidden city Iseult had secretly told her about. All on the ship had departed from there, save Finn, who’d been on a ship with Kai and Anna at the time. She couldn’t help but be a little jealous. A city completely concealed within a rocky wall, forming a secret cove, sounded like quite a sight, and it irked her that she wasn’t supposed to know about it.
Maarav and Iseult turned away to aid the men with the sails, prepared to guide the ship toward the docks, leaving Finn and Ealasaid alone.
“Do you think it was the Faie that burned the city, or was it the Reivers?” Ealasaid questioned distantly, still leaning against the ship’s railing. She turned her gaze to Finn. “Or perhaps even An Fiach?”
Finn took a shaky breath and pushed her waist-length hair behind her ear, unsure which option was worse, though it wasn’t necessarily any of the three. The Cavari, her tribe, could have been to blame, or perhaps even the Ceárdaman, the Travelers, relinquishing their role as watchers to twist the strings of fate.
“Let’s just hope whoever it was did not decide to linger,” she replied. “And let’s hope there are supplies left to find, lest we starve before anyone has the chance to kill us.”
Ealasaid’s face scrunched up like she might be sick. Finn could not blame her, she was tempted to lose her breakfast herself.
“Bladdered, cursed dragon,” Kai growled, giving a final tug to the blanket.
Naoki perched on the bed, digging her talons into the straw of the mattress. She clasped the other end of the blanket in her beak, refusing to let go, while fluffing up her sparse white feathers to make herself appear larger than she was. He tugged again, making her wings flap chaotically as she tried to maintain her balance, sending loose papers fluttering around the room from the bedside table.
Kai let go of the blanket with a huff. “We can’t just go walking about with a dragon out in the open,” he explained tiredly. “If you’d just wear the blanket, perhaps we could pretend you’re something . . . else.”
Dropping her end of the blanket, Naoki craned her long neck to the side, blinking spherical lilac eyes at him. She’d been a handful since they’d parted ways with Finn, Naoki’s mother, as far as the little dragon was concerned. He’d been forced to keep her in Finn’s vacated cabin, lest Naoki attempt to fly away in search of her.
He sighed, then took a seat on the bed beside the dragon. Finn would never forgive him if he managed to lose her friend, not to mention Anna would be furious with losing her collateral.
Naoki made a chittering sound in her throat, then retrieved the blanket and dropped one end in Kai’s lap.
He snorted. “It’s all just a game to you, isn’t it?”
She chittered again.
“Are ye almost done with that dragon!” Sativola called down the stairs leading to the cabins. “We’re about to dock, and it looks like the city has been burned.”
Burned? Well that didn’t sound good. Pushing the blanket aside, he stood, then hurried out of the cabin, shutting the door before Naoki could bound after him. He cringed as her weight hit the closed door, then proceeded to jog down the hallway. He reached the stairs and raced up them two at a time to find Sativola waiting on deck, his massive form partially blocking out the sun.
As soon as Kai was at his side, Sativola pointed a sausage-like finger at the nearby city of Migris. Sure enough, it was giving off large amounts of smoke, and no men could be seen around the gates.
“No signs of life?” Kai questioned, not spotting any, but wanting to verify that whoever had burned the city was not around.
Sativola shook his head, tossing his golden curls to and fro. “None that we’ve seen yet. Looks like the fire has died down, leaving only the smoldering remains.”
Kai snorted. Smoldering remains. An apt description for his life at the present, or so he felt. He had no idea where he stood with Finn, and now she was back with Iseult on their little quest. Not to mention Anna’s troubles with seeing into the gray, the in between places. Her nightmares had only grown worse, sometimes crossing into waking so that she jumped at shadows at the oddest times. Now they somehow had to make it all the way back to Garenoch, and a meadow somewhere beyond that, where Finn used to stand as a tree. It would have all been hard to believe if he hadn’t seen too many odd things with his own eyes, including the Faie of the Blood Forest.
“Well at least we won’t need to hide the dragon when we dock,” Sativola sighed, drawing Kai out of his thoughts.
Kai nodded. There was that, at least. Perhaps he could just keep Naoki in her cabin, and leave it to Finn to draw her out without a fight.
Thinking of Finn, he scanned the sea for the ship she was on, finding it not far off from his own. He squinted his eyes, attempting to make out the figures on the deck, but they were too far away to see clearly.
Sativola jumped as the door to Anna’s nearby cabin burst open, slamming against the exterior wall with a loud bang. Anna exited the cabin and approached, looking dangerous in her tightly fitted black attire: breeches, tunic, and corseted vest. Twin daggers, her constant companions of late, swayed at each of her hips. Her straight, black hair, pulled into a tight braid, accentuated her sharp, hawklike features and dark eyes.
“It seems someone has laid siege to Migris,” Kai explained as she reached them.
She nodded, her eyes taking on a distant look. “It was the Faie, or something like them.”
Kai frowned, waiting for further information.
Instead of answering, Anna glared at Sativola until he raised his hands in surrender and walked away. Turning back to Kai, she explained, “I saw it in a dream last night. I don’t know who led them, or why, but many powerful creatures gathered together to conquer the city.” She frowned. “They wanted to send a message,” she added distantly.
Kai suppressed a shiver. He’d stood witness as the Faie attacked the Ceàrdaman, slaughtering them to break the barrier trapping them within the Blood Forest. He couldn’t imagine what the people of Migris must have felt when the Faie descended upon them. Even if some managed to flee, they would not likely last long in the wilds. The roads were already crowded with
refugees searching for a safe place to dwell. At least, that was how it had been when they’d departed on their search for the Archtree, over two weeks prior.
“Are the Faie still within the city?” he questioned, hoping Anna had gained more useful information from her dream.
She shook her head. “I do not know, and I didn’t say they were Faie for sure, just something like them. Something . . . magical. Perhaps some remain, but I doubt it. They accomplished what they set out to do.”
“And that was to send a message?” Kai asked, feeling uneasy as they neared the docks. “What kind of message, and to whom?” This close to the city, he was quite sure there were no signs of life, but he’d prefer to avoid any stragglers who might remain.
“If I knew, I would have said,” Anna snapped. “I don’t know why I dreamed of it at all. The only thing I can say for sure is that our troubles will only increase from here.”
She’d grown flustered as she spoke, darting her eyes around the ship. Was she seeing things again? Kai tried to follow her gaze, knowing he couldn’t see what she saw, but unable to keep himself from trying.
Giving up, he left Anna’s side to help the other men with the sails. Just a moment before, he’d been thinking his life couldn’t get any worse, but if hoards of Faie, or something perhaps even worse, were sacking the great cities, all men would have many more troubles to come.
Iseult watched as Finn carefully stepped down the slatted plank connecting the ship to the dock. The smell of smoke was stronger this close to the city, coating the chill air hitting his lungs. His gaze lingered as Finn paused to wrap her ratty green cloak more tightly around her, catching her snarled hair in the fabric around her shoulders. She stared down the length of the dock, her feet not moving.
He stepped up behind her on the plank and gently touched her shoulder. She jumped at his touch, then turned her worried gaze back to him.
“There’s nothing to be concerned about,” he assured her softly. “I will keep you safe.”
He looked past her, observing Maarav and Ealasaid already down onto the dock, both watching as Anna’s ship drifted into the harbor. Maarav’s hired men, Tavish and Rae, also waited below, securing the ship to the large wooden beams of the dock with heavy lengths of rope, in addition to the already lowered anchor.
As Finn nodded and started forward again, Iseult briefly wondered where Tavish and Rae would go from here. He watched Rae, the older of the two, grimly checking each of the ropes they’d secured. Sunlight glinted off his dark skin as he glanced up at Finn and Iseult as they passed by. He hadn’t spoken much on their journey, and Iseult had found himself increasingly uneasy around the man.
Tavish, however, had rarely stopped blabbering. He’d excused his lively demeanor as an accompanying trait to his bright red hair. An idiotic thought as far as Iseult was concerned, though the man’s dark brown eyes reflected a certain cunning.
Maarav stepped forward and offered Finn his hand as she reached the dock, but she ignored him. Just as Iseult had found it impossible to trust Rae, so Finn had found Maarav. Though, he couldn’t blame her for being wary of his long-lost brother. Iseult was wary too.
Finn stepped onto the dock with him close behind. Roughly sixty paces away, a plank was lowered from Anna’s ship. Peering in the direction of the sun, it was difficult to decipher who managed the plank, but judging by the man’s massive size, Iseult didn’t think it was Kai.
He turned to witness Finn nervously chewing on her lip. Noticing his gaze, she asked, “Do you think there’s anyone left in the city? Anyone who might harm Naoki?”
Iseult pursed his lips in thought. He was still skeptical that Finn had actually adopted a real baby dragon, though Kai and Anna had both seemed to agree that’s what it was. He flicked his gaze to the nearest ruined building, a small shack that would normally store extra lengths of rope and spare planks. “I doubt anyone is left here. Perhaps a few looters hoping to salvage some goods, but our party is large enough that we should not be bothered.”
With a nervous nod, she began walking toward Anna’s ship. Iseult followed after her, continuously scanning their surroundings for hidden threats. It was unnerving that the city seemed so empty. When they’d first noticed the smoke, he’d thought it likely that Conall was responsible, but now he wasn’t sure. If Conall had taken Migris, he would have left men in place to claim it for his people. Now that they were able to observe things more closely, Iseult thought the Faie were more likely to blame. Only the Faie would attack a city simply to lay it to waste, abandoning what could be a useful commodity. It would also explain why any survivors would be hesitant to return. Though most alive had only been around to experience the aftereffects of the Faie War, stories were still told of the horrific occurrences.
Leaving Maarav, Ealasaid, and the other two men behind, Iseult and Finn reached Anna’s ship just as Kai was making his way down the plank toward the dock. He seemed tired, and a little thinner than usual, not to mention the pair of angry red gashes across his cheek. Upon closer observation, Iseult noticed more gashes on his hands, and a few tears in his dark green tunic and gray woolen breeches.
Kai’s gaze remained on Finn as he finished his descent. Anna could be heard shouting orders up on deck, but was yet to appear at the top of the plank.
“Where’s Naoki?” Finn demanded, taking a step toward Kai. She seemed to have noticed the gashes on his face, taking it as a sign her dragon had been harmed.
Kai narrowed his eyes at her. “Well greetings to you too,” he grumbled. “Your dragon is fine. I, however, have borne the brunt of her tantrums during this last leg of our voyage.”
Finn’s expression softened. Iseult’s did not.
The trio stood in awkward silence for a moment before Kai gestured toward the plank leading back up to the ship. “I’ll leave it to you to retrieve her,” he said to Finn. “And you’re welcome.”
Not responding, Finn hurried past him up the plank.
Kai gave Iseult a quick nod in greeting, then turned to walk back up the plank after Finn. A half-second later, Iseult was at his side, boarding the ship. By the time both men reached the deck, Finn had disappeared from sight. Anna stood on the other end of the deck near a pile of supplies, ordering three men around as they carried things out of the main cabin.
Kai sighed, then gestured toward the hatch leading below deck. “Protect any areas you’d rather not have sliced open,” he explained. “The little dragon has talons as sharp as any blade.” He absentmindedly touched the wounds on his cheek, then led the way forward.
Iseult followed Kai to the hatch, then down a narrow set of wooden stairs. At the bottom, they walked down a short hallway, then turned right into one of the small, windowless cabins. Iseult widened his eyes in surprise as he observed Finn, seated on a small bed, being nuzzled by what appeared to be a baby dragon.
With only the light streaming in from above deck to see by, he couldn’t make out all of the creature’s details, but he noted a sharp beak, large, round eyes, likely lavender or blue in color, and a sparse sprinkling of glossy white feathers, densest around the edges of the creature’s wings. It was making a soft purring noise deep in its throat as its beak rubbed against Finn’s face.
At Kai and Iseult’s appearance, Finn bundled the creature into her arms and stood, disregarding the sharp talons resting perilously close to her throat. Iseult would have liked to tell her bringing a dragon on their travels was not a wise idea, but her glowing smile forced him to silence. He hadn’t seen her smile like that since before he’d told her she was responsible for stealing his people’s souls.
“Let’s check the city for supplies,” he muttered instead, “then we’ll move on.”
He turned and led the way back out of the cabin, as Kai whispered, “A man of few words, eh?” to Finn behind his back.
Their footsteps followed his a moment later, and soon they were all on the dock, along with Anna and her three crewmen, including the massive one with curly hair he’d hea
rd referred to as Sativola.
They met Maarav, his men, and Ealasaid further down the walkway. Maarav now held the reins of both his and Iseult’s horses, brought down from the ship. Once everyone was gathered together, Iseult repeated his plan.
“What about the ships?” one of Anna’s men, with deeply tanned skin and short yellow, hair argued. “We can’t leave them behind.”
Iseult sighed. He didn’t have time for these men. Greenswallow was a long way off, and they needed to arrive there before anyone else discovered the location of the Faie Queen’s shroud, buried where Finn once stood as a tree.
“I had hoped to leave my ship in a safe harbor as well,” Maarav cut in smoothly. He raked his fingers through his black hair, peppered with a few strands of white, just like Iseult’s. “But we must adapt to the current situation. Many of us have places to be inland, and those left can hardly manage to sail two ships on their own. We’ll have to leave them, and hope for the best.”
“Or someone can stay to guard them,” the yellow-haired man spat.
“Are you volunteering?” Kai questioned. “I’m sure a brawny man like yourself can hold off an entire army of Faie on your own. We’d be much obliged if you’d watch the ships for us.”
The yellow-haired man snarled his dry lips, but didn’t speak again.
Iseult took a step closer to Finn, still holding the dragon in her arms with its limbs curled around her. Tavish, Rae, and Ealasaid were all staring at the creature, but said nothing.
“We’ll divide into two groups, search for supplies, then meet at the front gates,” Iseult instructed.
No one argued. Instead, all glanced warily at the smoldering city, wondering what dangers might still lurk within its walls.
Finn straightened her satchel strap across her chest, trying to balance its weight with the awkward addition of Naoki on her shoulders. It seemed the dragon had grown a bit in their time apart, but still insisted on her chosen perch.
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