Chapter 64
We arrived at the Florentine Port late. Well, not late, but exactly on time. The last ship for the day towards Frostmouth rang its chain of bells—it was about to leave.
We leapt off our mares and lunged into a run, but I almost stumbled, halting after taking the first few steps. I turned on my heel and hurried towards Vinnie and Braun.
“What are you doing?” Marshen asked.
I gave a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek to both Strongmen before sprinting towards the ship.
“Thank you!” I yelled, not looking at the men behind us.
The following morning, I huddled into Emika’s coat. I looked at the endless horizon, the sun rising somewhere beyond it. The crisp and biting wind at my face had me sniffling.
I moved to the left side of the ship and placed my hands on the wooden railing, taking in the right column of the Faded Mountains.
Black-tipped white birds called with rasping throats as they soared along the mountain-lined coast and perched at the islets scattered at the mountains’ feet.
Movement beneath me caught my eye, so I carefully bent over the wooden railing and looked below. I gasped and almost screeched at what I beheld—dolphins! They moved in pods, swiftly and effortlessly, slicing through the waves and in and out of the sea with fluid grace.
And then a loud wail echoed over the sea, like a haunting song, that had me snapping my head back. I ran towards the right side of the ship.
My hands clenched the railing as I watched a majestic humpback whale leaping out of the blue waters and falling onto its back with a waving fin, leaving behind a trail of white foam.
I was in some other place—where only I and that whale existed.
I waved back with prickling eyes. The tears lining them were not because of the crisp gusts.
But then a burst of clapping sounded all around me, and that’s when I realised that other people watched, too.
I glimpsed Marshen at the far end, resting against the railing.
I couldn’t believe that I wished for this male to speak, now that my previous thousand wishes for him to just shut up had come true.
I did not leave the deck until sundown, and even then, I went into my tiny cabin with reluctance.
I wiped my wet nose, which I was sure was red thanks to the frosty surroundings. I burrowed into Emika’s coat. My watch told me that it was four in the afternoon, yet the sun seemed to be already setting behind the white desert land.
The metal-hulled ship creaked as it broke through the frozen surface.
Ice Wielders gathered on either side of the gulf, melting the frozen sea around us to aid our glide. Sailing beneath the Frostmouth arch had me lifting my head. I gaped in awe. It was as if I had been transported to a different world—a whiter, colder one.
I had imagined the Frostmouth port to be quiet, abandoned almost, but the chaos before our eyes told me that I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Home sweet home,” Marshen mumbled.
The port was heavily guarded by Fae—males and females alike—all donned in fur and strapped with the sharpest gleaming weapons.
The guards searched through the visitors’ belongings and patted them down. Giant dogs—possibly wolves—shadowed the guards, sniffing at anyone who came close.
“Get rid of any weapons,” Marshen whispered.
“Do you recognise any of them?” I asked, drawing my daggers and reluctantly leaving them behind.
“No, why?”
“Perhaps you should use a different name,” I whispered as we walked down the ramp towards security.
“Names,” a female guard asked flatly.
“Cordelia Wildheart,” I said, flashing her a wide smile. “The surname’s one word.” I gestured towards Marshen. “And this is—”
“Marshen Deucane,” a man bellowed from behind us. My lips pursed tightly, and I watched the female before us stiffen. When I turned around, an armed white male with white eyes stood tall behind us. I blinked.
To my surprise, Marshen’s lips turned upward, and he grinned at the sight of the white male.
“Son of a bitch,” Marshen mumbled before the two of them clasped each other in a back-patting embrace.
“I wasn’t sure if you were dead, but I shouldn’t have doubted a leeching death-evading bastard such as yourself.”
“Oh, you won’t get rid of me that easily.” Marshen chuckled.
“Well, this is awkward,” White said, abruptly ending his own laugh. “I’m sorry, my friend, but orders are to get you bound and immediately escorted to the castle.”
“Well, do what you have to do, friend,” Marshen said, offering the man his wrists. The female went to reach for my arm but Marshen grabbed her own. “Not her,” he warned. “She remains unbound.”
“I’m sorry, Marsh, those are the king’s orders.”
The female went to reach for my arm once more but I pulled back. Marshen put himself between us. “She remains unbound,” he all but bellowed.
The female went to lunge for Marshen but White pulled her back.
“What’s this commotion about?” a deep voice called from behind us. A pale male with brown hair and one blue eye stood behind Marshen, hands at his hips. The other eye was covered with a leather eyepatch.
“Captain Whelm,” White said, “Marshen Deucane cooperated for his arrest but demands that she remain unbound.”
“Marshen Deucane, huh? Both shall be bound and escorted immediately. Split them up. King’s orders.”
“We shouldn’t be treated as prisoners,” I protested.
“He is dangling on an execution order—how else should we treat you?”
“We demand to see the king.”
“And that’s exactly where we’ll be taking you,” he replied smugly. “Keep them in the basement. King Ryvar will decide their fates tomorrow.”
Basement? My heart thrummed.
And then someone called my name.
“Delia?”
I gasped. “Joel!”
Joel flashed me a wide grin. He approached, unfazed by the guards that surrounded us.
“What in Boreas’s name are you doing here? Is he with you?” Joel looked around us in search of Aegir. He moved closer. “Hey, do you know if he’s still mad at me? And did he—” His nostrils flared. “Did he claim you?” he whispered.
“I’m in the middle of getting arrested. No. I’m not sure, and…yes, he did.”
“Arrested?” Joel barked out a laugh. “Come, I’ll take you home. No lady of ours gets arrested.”
Home?
Joel wrapped a hand around my back and nudged me to walk.
“King’s orders demand the immediate arrest of Marshen Deucane and anyone in his company,” Whelm barked.
“I need to speak with King Ryvar,” I whispered to Joel.
“I’ll take her to the king myself,” Joel told Whelm. “Oh, and I suggest you sharpen those rusty senses of yours. You were about to arrest your future princess.”
Future princess?
Captain Whelm all but flinched, flaring his nostrils against the upwind.
“Let’s go, Delia, you must be freezing.”
“Marshen too,” I said, squaring my shoulders.
“The hell you a—”
“Marshen too,” Joel repeated. “I’ll take full responsibility.”
“Sign it off,” the captain spat. “Tara and Tavis will join the escort.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Joel said, giving the eye-patched male a mocking salute.
“You were lucky I found you when I did. I was just about to leave. The rest of the Vanguard is at an eastern post. I’ll join them after making sure you’re delivered safely. Do you think he’ll forgive me then?”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” I mumbled.
“That’s unusually cruel of you, Delia.”
That wasn’t what I meant. I meant that I was no longer sure whether he cared at all about my well-being. But instead of correcting myself, I peered over the icy stretch that passed by me as the robust snow horses pulled our sleighs.
We made it to the castle of Nivaria hours past dusk, the slightly dented silver moon above us close to being full.
It reminded me of my moon-carved bow I so much loved and stubbornly left behind.
I was grateful to have done so, though—it didn’t deserve to be destroyed by the Naaris or by the Wrathwater Depths.
I shivered the moment my feet touched the icy ground, and my throat worked the moment I took in the unending white castle before me.
I had imagined it to be sculpted floor to ceiling from ice, but it wasn’t ice that made up its walls.
White marble gleamed, streaked with light blue veins that shimmered beneath the silver moonlight.
Similar to what I saw in Eldervynn, this castle, too, had bridges and interconnections that adjoined its uneven walls.
I let out the shakiest breath as Nivaria’s grand doors opened before us.