Chapter 17
HEMMING
M y footfalls thundered against rocks and sand as I scoured the coastline for any sign of Ariel. The storm had stopped as suddenly as it had started, which increased the visibility and allowed the beast to see something tucked into the tree line far off in the distance. As he bolted toward the tiny dwelling, the need to call out to her consumed me, and I shifted mid-step. But no matter how many times I screamed her name, the only response I received was silence.
I barreled through the door to find the weathered shack empty, but it was clear that someone had been there recently; water marks on the floor and disturbed dust told me as much. Something in a dark corner of the room drew my attention, and I bent over to pick it up.
A blood-red leather cord dangled from my fingers.
“She was here,” I said out loud, if only to assure myself that it was true. That she hadn’t perished in the storm. That my hope hadn’t been in vain.
I turned to the doorway just as Shayfer and Eldrien appeared. The former looked utterly spent; the latter, shocked beyond belief. “What was that ?” he asked as he stared at me with wide eyes. “What are you?”
“What I am doesn’t matter,” I said as I held the cord out for them to see. “Ariel was here.”
Eldrien squinted at the evidence, then turned narrowed eyes on me. “That could be from anything?—”
“It’s the one I cut from her hair back in Anemosia.” I leaned in close, everything in my body begging him to test me on this matter. “She. Was. Here.”
Shayfer slipped between us, forcing him back a step. “Hemming is the nightmare you don’t want to have,” he said, answering Eldrien’s earlier question before plucking the cord Ariel tied her braid with from my fingers to inspect it. “And this is definitely hers, which means she can’t be far. She’s likely looking for us.”
“She might be injured,” I said as I turned a murderous stare on Eldrien. “Those winds nearly ripped your wings off. Thankfully, she’s tougher than you are.”
“The rains will have washed much away, but if they’re fresh, there might still be footprints,” Shayfer said as he rushed to the doorway.
I pushed past him to look at the ground outside the shack. Our footprints had marred others, but just beyond them, below the canopy of trees, were two other sets. They only continued for a short distance, though, before seeming to simply disappear.
“Someone is with her,” I said as I bent down to trace the set that was significantly larger than the other. Then I noted the small circle pressed into the ground next to the smaller one; its presence both gave me comfort and worried me more. “She had her staff drawn.”
“Ariel would not be taken without a fight,” Shayfer said, eyeing me tightly, “and there are no signs of one.”
“Perhaps she’s injured and the owner of this hut came to her aid.” Eldrien’s thought was comforting, but I did not share his optimism. Something about the whole situation felt strange. Wrong .
“All I know is that she’s with someone I don’t know or trust,” I said, starting toward the dense forest, “and I’m going to find them.”