“That knowledge was lost with time, Princess.” She turned back around and faced the looming forest.
It wasn’t like Xio to avoid a conversation about history. Was that how things between us were now? Secrets between friends? I thought Xio would understand the need for loyalty. We were both strangers in a foreign land. I shouldn’t have to question her allegiance or her friendship.
I pulled on the reins and stopped Estrella in her tracks. I snapped my fingers and watched as Xio’s back straightened.
“Princess, we should get back,” she said without turning around.
I bit my tongue and snapped again. She turned Luna to face me, but something on the ground seemed to have caught her eye. I swallowed my annoyance and clapped my hands. A squirrel shot out from beneath a bush and scampered up the bleached trunk of a pink-leafed tree. Xio's head snapped up.
“What are you hiding?” I demanded.
“There is nothing to hide.” She fiddled with Luna's harness and shrugged. “It’s nothing for you to worry about, that’s all.”
“I would like to know. If it’s no secret, there shouldn’t be any issue with you telling me.”
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “There was an earthquake.”
I sat up on my mount. “Was anyone hurt?”
“No.” She shook her head.
“Then what is the problem?”
She absentmindedly ran her hand through Luna’s thick white main. Her body was here, but her mind was somewhere else. She shook her head, as if it would clear her thoughts, and pinned her solemn eyes on me. “We didn’t want to say anything because you have so much going on. With the recent news of the…shield, Etan thought it best that you not to be bothered.” Her eyes filled with guilt.
“Tell me.”
“Various tribes are reporting their sources of water vanished after the quake. Every lake, river, and stream on this side of the map has dried up to nothing but dust.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sarai
It had been two weeks since the water disappeared, and we were no closer to an answer. Everyone was beginning to panic. I knew Etan was desperate for help when he asked that I attend one of his meetings.
“Tramere has confirmed that the underground lake has also gone dry.” Kamryn threw a dusty letter onto the stone table.
I looked over at Etan, who had a scowl on his unshaven face. To his right, keen-eyed and long-necked, sat Phadrah. My eyes were drawn to the large obsidian nestled at the base of her neck.
“What are you going to do, Etan?” She placed her long, red-tipped fingers on his arm.
“I don’t know.” He placed his head in his hands.
“You have to do something.” She ran her hand through his uncut hair. “Everyone is looking to us for an answer.”
Etan brought his fist crashing down on the table. A gust of air blew the scroll onto the floor. “What do you want me to do? I’m just as confused as the rest of you. I don’t know what caused any of this.”
“It was probably the Sirensia. Send her to them.” She cut her eyes in my direction.
“She is not ready,” Etan repeated.
Phadrah’s eyes flashed. “What are you waiting for?”
The advisors sat up in their seats and eyed the quickly escalating conversation.
“Why are you so worried about Sarai? Where she goes and when is not your business.” Kamryn spoke as he adjusted the collar of his robes.
“It became my business when all the water suddenly vanished.” Her words were cold and calculated. “I know you went to the curandera. I heard about her curse and how it almost killed Dymphna. I am not stupid. I know how a shield works.”
I sat back in my seat and crossed my arms. If she thought she would embarrass me by revealing that bit of personal information, then she was wrong. I didn’t care about the opinions of a pair of advisors who meant nothing to me.
I had more to worry about than their approval or petty remarks. I was in no shape to assist anyone with what was happening. I didn’t even know why Etan had asked me to come. I was of no help to them.
Etan looked at Phadrah with reproach. “I am king.”
“Then act like it.” She snapped her fingers in his face.
She was so disrespectful. It didn’t matter if he was in a room full of people he was comfortable with, he shouldn’t tolerate her disrespect. It only enforced what she said. He needed to act like a king.
“Why don’t you stay in your place, Phadrah? You overstep your position.” He grabbed her hand and twisted her wrist.
My eyes widened, and Tulah gasped from across the table. I had never seen him act forcefully outside of the training field. For a second, I felt bad for Phadrah. The look Etan gave her was one I would save for someone I truly loathed.
She snatched her arm back and jumped to her feet. “And what position do I hold, Etan? I’m not your fiancée anymore. You don’t listen to me so I’m not an advisor, and you treat me like the dirt beneath your nails so I know I am not a friend.”
“If you have nothing of importance to contribute to the conversation, then you are dismissed.” Etan sat back on his throne.
Phadrah closed her mouth with an audible click. She slowly sat back in her chair. Her lip quivered, but she didn’t say another word. Poor girl, I almost felt bad for her. Almost.
The room was deathly silent after their little argument. If a pin dropped in the next room, I was sure we would be able to hear it. No one knew what to say, or if they were like me, they wanted no part in the situation.
My eyes slowly landed on each person around the table. Etan, Phadrah, the advisors, and Kamryn. They all stared at one another with different expressions on their faces, but it was Kamryn’s eyes that made me stop.
He didn’t have to speak out loud for me to know what he was saying. Keep quiet. Don’t interfere. He didn’t have to warn me. I knew from the minute I walked into the room that neither I nor my opinion was wanted.
“Enough!” Etan stood from his seat and glared at his brother. He snatched his crown from his head and held it in both hands.
Kamryn sat back, his face clear of emotion. I knew better. I could tell by the stiff set of his shoulders that he wasn’t in the mood for Etan’s attitude.
“You have waited for this moment, haven’t you?” The crown turned red, and waves began to radiate from the heated metal. “You can have it. You can have all of this.”
Etan threw the crown at the wall, where it slid and landed on the thick rug with a muffled thud. He stormed out of the room, and I didn’t know whether to follow or remain seated. I had never seen him lose control of his temper. I was so used to his mild personality that the sudden shift in mood was unsettling. I didn’t want to be near him, but he didn’t look like he needed to be alone.
I was beginning to rise from my seat when Kamryn placed his hand on my arm. “No. Let him burn off his rage.”
His tone left no room for argument. I sat back down and put my hands on my lap. There was more going on between the two brothers than any of us knew. I could hear it in Etan’s voice and see it in Kamryn’s eyes. It wasn’t my place to get involved.
“I'll go.” Phadrah slowly stood and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “You two have done enough as it is.” She drifted out of the room, and Rook and Tulah quickly followed.
“If the sky opened and swallowed them whole, I wouldn’t blink.” Kamryn stared after them. His eyes were a shade of purple so dark, they looked black. “This castle could crumble to the ground for all I care.”
“Why do you two harbor so much animosity toward each other?”
Kamryn crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at the deformed crown. “We don’t dislike each other. We just believe in different ways of doing things.”
“I don’t understand.” I sat back in the hard chair. “You two act as if you are enemies instead of brothers.”
“It feels like that sometimes.” He placed a booted foot on the ta
ble and looked over at me. “We will get it together one day. Mother would hate to see us like this.”
He sounded tired. The sadness in his eyes pulled at my heart. I remembered all the times he’d sat down and asked if I wanted to talk. Kamryn was always willing to listen to my problems, but I never took the time to see if he needed someone to listen to him.
“Tell me about your mother.” I scooted my chair closer to his. “She and my mother seemed to have been close. How did they even know each other?”
His expression softened, and adoration, pure and unfaltering, filled his eyes. “My mother met your mother at the solstice market. Myrena wanted a fairy brooch that Mother picked up first, and Mother didn’t want to let it go. I’m not sure how that one argument sparked a lifelong friendship.”
“In the visions, your mother seemed so…”
“Erratic?”
I shook my head and smiled. “Free.”
“That she was. She went where the wind blew her. No idea was too far-fetched to Mother. Flying to the sun was as easy as crossing a hall and entering another room. She was brave and stood up for what she wanted, even if it got her in trouble more than half of the time. She wasn’t afraid to love. But she wasn’t perfect.”
He looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. “She married to Etan’s father not long after the incident with your mother. She met my father at the Hallows’ Eve festival a year later.”
I sat back and crossed my legs, trying my best to hide my mild surprise. The queen was already married when she birthed Kamryn, and she didn’t have a fling with a random consort. She’d been entangled with another king.
The merfolk were frivolous, but even in the sea, a straying queen would cause scandal.
“Mother spent six months of the year with us in Irkalla. The other six were spent here in Nueva Vida. My father always believed in being straightforward. He told me where Mother would go, but I didn’t understand why until I was much older.”
“Did Etan know?”
“No.”
That explained the resentment. Where did he believe his mother went for such extended periods of time? What lies was he told when he called out for her when the nightmares crept in at night or a knee was scraped while playing outside?
“Why didn’t she just go with your father? Why live two lives and put your family through that?”
“She was already married to King Aztic.” He planted both feet on the ground. “When a vow is made before the gods, it has to be kept. We know the gods can be cruel, so it’s best not to slight them.”
“Your warning came a little too late.” I stood up and stretched. “If I knew back then what I know now, I would have never—“
I stopped and thought about what I was about to say. If I had known what I know now, would I still have saved Etan? Maybe. I was starting to believe that what was meant to happen would happen. If the gods wanted me on the surface, they would have gotten me here in one way or another.
I couldn’t keep thinking about the what-ifs. I had done enough of that. All it did was make me miserable. I accepted that I would never know what would have happened if I had made a different decision. There was no use in stressing over it.
“Sarai?” Kamryn shook my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
I shook my thoughts away and met Kamryn’s worried gaze. “What are your plans for this evening?”
“I was going to fly back to Irkalla before the gate closes. I need to check up on Cyntheria. Why?”
If he was going back tonight, he wouldn’t return until the gate opened again tomorrow. I didn’t want to go back to my rooms. I didn’t want to be in this suffocating castle.
“Why do you look so sad?” He knelt down and met my gaze. “What will bring joy into your eyes? What do you need me to do?” He traced the edge of my lip. “I will shake the earth and move the sky for you if you only ask.”
“Can I come with you?”
His one-sided grin was an invitation for mischief. My cheeks warmed, and my stomach fluttered.
“You would like to spend the night with me?” he said in a voice that was both dark and light.
I shouldn’t have answered, but I had to do something, anything to escape the madness contained within these stone walls.
I didn’t think when I was with Kamryn. He made me forget who I was and how I should be. I lost my voice of reason when I looked into his eyes.
When did my perception of him change? How did I go from loathing the sight of him to longing for his company?
When he spoke again, his voice was as warm as the honey he used in his tea. “Time is ticking. You have to decide.”
I couldn’t help the smile that crept onto my face any more than I could help the way I felt. I felt giddy with excitement. Like a merchild breaking curfew.
“Do I need to pack clothes?”
He stood from his seat and was beside me in two steps. “No, you have clothes at home.” I froze as he ran a nail beneath the strap of my dress. “But you don’t really need those, either.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Kamryn
“Good night.” I slid the covers over Sarai’s shoulders and pressed my lips against her temple. She mumbled, rolled over, and wrapped her arms around a pillow. Seconds later, she was softly snoring.
It felt good being home and even better that she’d asked to come back with me. I didn’t even want her to pack anything in case she changed her mind. It was easier having her here where nothing could touch her. Back in Nueva Vida, I had to worry about Phadrah picking at her or Etan dragging her back to another curandera who would only make things worse.
I should have stopped them from going that night instead of trying to give her space to make her own decisions. Now the land was in turmoil. Water was gone, crops were dying, and disease was spreading faster than ever in the north where it was always warm and humid.
Etan’s advisors tried to place blame on Sarai, but it wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know what was going on. She didn’t ask for the magic that was contained within her. Sarai was a victim of fate like the rest of us.
A light tap at the door announced Cyntheria’s arrival. She crept into the room with a wide smile. She seemed impressed. “She looks… strong.”
“She started training while my body was recovering. It’s been good for her, physically and mentally.”
“How’s she coping with everything?” She lowered her voice. “Has she had any of her…moments?”
I thought back on the days where she refused to leave the bed. I could still see the sadness in her eyes at times, but at least she was out and active. “No, but I did worry when she learned of the block.”
“That is pretty wild.” She ran a hand through her transparent hair. “Imagine something like that springing from your mouth. I would have lost it."
“We are lucky we didn’t lose her.” I sat down on a wooden bench and laid back against the wall. “Trying to break through a block like that can be fatal. A weak mind would have broken.”
She crossed her arms. “She has to be powerful.”
“Oh, she is. Do you know why Sarai and her sisters are so treasured?”
“Because they are princesses, of course.” She looked at me from the side of her eye.
“That too.” I chuckled. “A mermaiden’s body can only carry and birth one child in a lifetime. The queen gave birth to five living children. They call them goddess blessed.”
“Myrena was Sirensia. They don’t have such limitations.”
“The merfolk don’t know that. Some even believe walkers are myths.”
From what I had seen on my trips to the sea, the merfolk enjoyed living in ignorance. They weren’t interested in learning about us and the surface. They were happy with their simple lives down at the bottom of the sea. They did as they were told by their kings and queens and didn’t question their policies and laws.
“Poor Myrena.” She shook her head and stared at the sleeping Sarai. “I can’t imagine what sh
e went through.”
I had told Cyntheria all about Sarai and all the visions the mirror had shown her. Myrena had suffered when she was taken. She had been alone for years in a world where she knew no one.
“Neither can I.” I watched as Cyntheria gently pushed a braid off Sarai’s face. “I always thought the merfolk to be reclusive. I wonder why the king was so close to the ship to begin with.”
“Curiosity? He was young back then.”
It was no different than what happened between Sarai and Etan. He had lured her to the surface and enchanted her with the magic he’d gained from Isabis.
“Maybe, but I feel like there’s more to that than we know.”
I always believed the feud between land and sea began when Myrena was kidnapped. After digging through long-forgotten scrolls, I learned their hate for us went back to the time when the gods still walked among us.
“Did you ask Babba about the separation?”
“Yes,” she said with a pained expression. “But he refused to tell me why.”
“Did you tell him I was the one who needed to know?”
She looked at the ground and shifted in her seat. “He said it was dangerous for you to know.” She clasped her hands together and sighed. “We aren’t the only ones who have gone to Babba. He said Kwame came around asking about the merfolk. Not long after his departure, he said a strange woman with fire in her eyes appeared. Something about her didn’t sit right with the tribe, so they chased her away.”
“He told Kwame, but he won’t tell me?” I tried my best to conceal the jealousy from my voice.
I spent years studying under Babba and the plainsmen. I had earned the right to the tribe’s knowledge just as Kwame had. Did he not trust that I would keep the information to myself? I wasn't reckless.
I had grown out of that. I took my time to sit down and think about what I was going to do now. That was the reason I had sent Cyntheria to him in the first place, so I could gain as much information as possible before deciding what to do next.
“He said it was to protect you. You saw what happened to Kwame.” She shivered. “He is nowhere to be found.”
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