Chapter 11
11
ROOK
P lease, let me out.
Rook thought about the prisoner in the cave all morning. That pleading voice followed him through the clouds like a wraith on the wind.
Please, let me out.
Even now, as Rook trailed after Sune and Aurelia on the back of a pegasus, the haunting dream dragged him down into that sunless prison of stone. For the hundredth time, he wondered why he was plagued with such bizarre nightmares every night. Did they mean anything, or were they simply Selussa’s parting gift of torment?
He had been so close to confiding in Saoirse about the dreams last night. She had looked so painfully sincere in the moonlight, raw emotion rippling off her in waves. It took everything in his power not to collapse into her arms and let all his secrets tumble out of his mouth like confessions to a high priestess. But he couldn’t afford to be vulnerable with Saoirse again. Even if he no longer harbored resentment toward her, his fractured heart wouldn’t put itself in the position to be torn in half again. He couldn’t face another betrayal. Besides, would Saoirse even want to explore whatever sparked between them if she knew how broken he was now? Would his fits of anxiety?Hasana had called them panic attacks?repulse her, or even worse, make her pity him? She had fallen in love with the confident, self-assured prince of Aurandel, not the frightened shell of a man he was now. It was better this way.
“We’re nearly there,” Sune called over his shoulder, his voice snatched away on the wind.
Rook looked at the belt of islands that sped past. They’d left the city of Bezhad at dawn with a caravan of thirty winged horses. Trailing at the back of their entourage, several teams of pegasi were hitched to empty carriages that would ferry Mer refugees back to Tellusun should they choose to come with them. Along with means of transportation, they came supplied with food provisions, medicine, and plenty of barrels of titansblood. Several of Hasana’s Healers also traveled with them, their horses strapped with overflowing satchels of medicinal supplies to treat the inevitably large number of wounded Mer.
Their first destination was the Isle of Kronis, the first scrap of land in the island chain just off the coast of Aurandel. Their spies told them there were not many Mer refugees on Kronis, considering how close it was to Aurandel. For the last century, trade between Aurandel and Tellusun was conducted under strict regulations. The middle islands boasted lax trading regulations and maintained a neutral position between the neighboring nations, so it made sense the fleeing Mer would take refuge in the central bridge of islands.
After scouting Kronis and offering aid to any displaced Mer there, they’d move on to the Isle of Zephyr and so forth, visiting each island and setting up additional rescue outposts for any remaining Mer who might escape from the Maeral Sea after they left. As they’d be stationed in the middle islands for a longer period, Rook would be allowed to sneak away unnoticed and meet Raven at Widow’s Cove.
Rook glanced at the jungled islands below, watching as their shadows flitted across the treetops like ghosts. Dense green forests stood stark against the pale sand, stretching along the chain of islands. Tides lapped along the white sand beaches, leaving trails of frothy sea foam as they retreated. But there was something off about the crystal blue water that cradled the islands. A gradient of black drifted inland like poison, radiating out from the distant city of Kellam Keep. Rook scanned the horizon and noticed the dark water grew more opaque the farther out he looked. Like blood in the water, the strange substance stained the beautiful waves of the Maeral Sea and washed up on shore. He couldn’t see anything below the surface of the water, but he knew the ocean teemed with monstrous creatures hungry for blood. His stomach churned as he thought of all the Merfolk whose homes had been destroyed and whose lives had been lost in the wake of Selussa’s takeover.
“Look alive, princeling!’ came Aurelia’s voice.
Following Sune and Aurelia’s lead at the front of the caravan, Rook urged his pegasus to descend into the lush jungles below. It felt odd to be on the back of a winged horse when he was fully capable of flying himself, but he needed to save his strength for what was to come. And as much as it pained him to admit, he was growing weaker by the second.
The beach loomed closer as his pegasus dove for the stretch of land. Blinding white sand swallowed up his vision, dotted with slabs of driftwood, tufts of marram grass, and knots of seaweed. Rook braced for impact as his mount’s hooves met the beach with a spray of sand. His horse galloped along for a few seconds before she extended her wings like a parachute and slowed to a trot. Rook caught up to Sune and Aurelia, glancing sideways at the two captains. Sune’s austere countenance and Aurelia’s casual confidence made for an odd pair, but he admitted they complimented each other well.
“Keep your eyes open,” Sune ordered, noticing Rook’s stare, “but not on me .” His green eyes scanned the thick tree line. “Watch for any tracks in the sand. Listen for any voices on the wind.”
A brackish breeze blew in from the ocean and combed through Rook’s hair as he surveyed the jungle island. He hadn’t been to Kronis for several years, but it was just as he remembered. Tightly packed trees sprouted from fertile soil, interlacing their branches to form thick canopies of green overhead. Driftwood flecked with moss and slick seagrass poked out from the blanket of white sand. Songs of tropical birds mingled with the sound of the tide lapping up the shore.
Deep within the jungle, swamps overtook the land, making it difficult to travel in large groups. He imagined that many Mer refugees might hide out in the swamps, taking shelter in the great roots that tangled together above the water like latticed roofs.
Their party traveled up the beach for an hour without any sightings of Mer. The cry of gulls overhead broke the silence as Rook rode next to Aurelia and Sune.
“Saoirse decided that she wasn’t going to follow through with the bargain the morning of the Tournament, you know.”
Rook tore his eyes from the treeline and turned to Aurelia. Her turquoise eyes flashed in the sun, pinning him in place.
“Yes, she told me,” Rook answered. He shifted uncomfortably in his saddle.
“Did she also tell you that I offered to fulfill the Sea Witch’s bargain in her stead? I knew she couldn’t go through with it, so I offered to kill you.”
Rook frowned, tightening his grip on the reins. No, Saoirse hadn’t disclosed that detail.
“She didn’t tell you then,” Aurelia stated. “It’s true. If she didn’t fulfill the bargain, Selussa promised to take Saoirse’s life in place of yours. A death was required, so it was either you or her. I offered to kill you and be done with it. That way, Saoirse wouldn’t have your death on her hands but would still fulfill her oath. She refused my offer, naturally.”
Rook suddenly felt lightheaded. Saoirse had been given a way out of the bargain, a solution that would’ve placed the blame on Aurelia and freed her from any guilt. It was one thing to be cornered by her promises and still refuse to go through with it. It was another to be offered a way out yet choose to risk her own life in his place.
“Selussa wouldn’t have taken her life instead of mine,” Rook countered. “She only gave Saoirse the illusion of control. I was the one Selussa was after. She needed the dagger. Even though Saoirse refused to carry out the bargain, Selussa came after me anyway. I was going to die no matter what. There was no real choice to be had.”
“True as that may be, Saoirse’s choice still mattered in the end. She looked me in the eyes and made her decision even knowing Selussa would come after her. Saoirse vowed to stay on the run until the end of her days if it meant you would survive. By breaking her oath, she forfeited a life in the Maeral Sea with her people. That was before Saoirse knew that Selussa was going to resurrect the Titans and end the world as we know it, but in that moment, her choice mattered .”
Rook was silent for a long beat. His eyes shifted back to Aurelia, who he was surprised to find had tears glimmering in her eyes. Fierce love blazed on her face, bright as the constellations he could see from Coarinth.
“I don’t know why she fell for you, Rook,” she said flatly. “And even though I’ll never understand what happened between you two, I don’t need to. I will always support my friend’s decisions. She needn’t explain to me. When she decided to break the bargain and go on the run after the Tournament, I promised to stay by her side. I would follow her to the edge of the earth and back. Hel, I’m following her to the Northern Wastes and Titans know we’ll probably die out there. You need to understand that Saoirse is the kind of person who will do anything for the ones she loves. So what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t return that loyalty?”
“You’re right,” Rook replied. That now-familiar chill of anxiety stirred in his heart despite the tropical humid heat. His fists clenched against the reins and the leather bit into his skin. “I know that when Saoirse makes decisions, she makes them with her whole heart. But therein lies my hesitation, Aurelia. I cannot put my whole heart in harm’s way again. Everyone I have ever loved has either been taken from me or betrayed me.”
He closed his eyes as the ocean wind skimmed across his face. He could see the lifeless eyes of his parents as they stared blankly at the night sky, crimson pooling beneath them. He could see Raven’s blatant disappointment in him as she ordered Eros and Veila to murder the woman he’d come to love in cold blood. He could see Saoirse’s face gilded in the moonlight as she turned him away from her tent.
You don’t understand , she had said. I don’t want to hurt you. Oh, but she had hurt him. The deeper he allowed himself to love others, the deeper the wounds would be when they inevitably left.
“I do believe Saoirse’s intentions are pure,” Rook continued. His wound throbbed, as though ruminating on his loved ones had seared away the scabbed flesh and made it bleed afresh. “But even if I open my heart to Saoirse again, I couldn’t bear to lose her a second time. You said it yourself. We could all be dead by the end of this. I don’t think I can be shattered anymore. There is nothing left to break. Why would Saoirse want to love me in pieces?”
Something like sympathy?or pity?flashed across Aurelia’s face. “Have you ever considered that allowing yourself to love again might bring the most healing? Do you think you’re the only one who’s lost loved ones? Do you think you’re the only one who’s broken? We’re all broken, Rook. And we’ll be even moreso after this war. You’re being selfish. To withhold yourself from Saoirse after she gave up everything for you is cruel. Your heart is your own, of course. You do not owe it to anyone to be vulnerable if you do not wish to be. But if we are to die, why not give ourselves the chance to revel in what little life we have left?”
Aurelia’s candid words battered like pelting rain on the defenses he’d built up around his heart. He wanted to rail against her, to vehemently deny the truth in what she’d said. But a small part of him realized she was right. The words Hasana had shared in the hanging gardens rose to his mind: If you want to weather this storm, you need to let others help you.
Thankfully, he was spared from admitting there was any truth to Aurelia’s accusations.
“Over there!”
Sune leaped off his pegasus and sprinted over to the treeline. Rook and Aurelia dismounted and followed him. Fresh footprints were scored in the damp sand. Some of the footprints were accompanied by drag marks as though whoever had made them had been carrying someone on their shoulders or hauling a heavy chest through the sand. Ice flowed through Rook’s veins when he noticed the blood. He followed the trail of crimson down the shoreline where it disappeared into the foaming tide.
“Titans,” Aurelia cursed, kneeling in the sand next to Sune. “We need Healers!”
A few Tellusun Healers dismounted and hurried over, satchels of medical supplies slung over their shoulders.
“These are fresh. They were probably left in the last few hours. We still have time.”
With one last look toward the darkening ocean, Rook followed Sune and Aurelia, hoping whoever had limped into the jungle was still alive.
Their small group ventured into the thick treeline, following the blood-stained tracks in the sand. Once they were fully enveloped by the jungle, a cacophony of sounds assaulted Rook: the hum of a thousand insects, the cawing of colorful birds, and the bending and snapping of branches in the breeze. Humidity draped over the forest like a veil, sticky and cloying. Unlike the dry heat of the Shujaa Desert, the islands’s humidity combined with tropical heat felt suffocating.
Sune blazed ahead, cutting through thick, ropey vines coiled around tree limbs that hung in their path, Aurelia keeping pace with his long strides. The tracks wedged deeper into the earth, dragging through the loam as though whoever had left them was losing strength, and each step a battle to keep moving.
The solid jungle floor gradually gave way to a flooded coastal marshland. The pockets of water were small at first, but every step brought them closer to large portions of land entirely saturated with saltwater. The water climbed up Rook’s calves as they sloshed forward through the murk. The tips of his wings dragged behind. Knobby cypress trees clambered out of the swamp, outgrowths of the trees’ roots tangling above the surface like netting. Rook didn’t even want to think of the animals that might be lurking in the deeper pools, hidden under moss-riddled logs and rotting leaves that floated on the gloomy water’s surface. He swatted at a loud gnat that hummed next to his ear. Sweat beaded on his skin.
“Hel’s teeth,” came Sune’s voice up ahead. “We’ve lost them.” He stood in knee-high swamp water. A crease formed between his dark brows as he scanned the marshy terrain. The tracks were long gone.
The rest of their rescue party caught up with him, squelching boots and splashing steps permeating the humid quiet.
Aurelia sidled over to Sune, bright eyes surveying the ancient cypress trees that loomed above them. “Wait, do you hear that?”
Rook held his breath as their group listened. Over the gentle gurgle of the swamp, a whimpering sound just barely reached his ears.
“Hello?” Aurelia called to the mysterious victim. “We’re here to help you! I am Captain Eleni of the Torqen gaurd. You’re safe now.”
“Over there!” One of the Tellusun Healers pointed to a root-growth that jutted out from the water. The huddled forms of at least three Merfolk poked out from between the angular knobs, half hidden in the water and coated in moss.
As Sune and Aurelia sprinted over to the tree, the water level climbed to their waists and left behind tendrils of filmy green as the sloshing waves splashed up their shining plates of armor. Together, they reached into the tangle of roots and pulled out each slumped form. In total, there were four Mer: two small children and two adults.
Sune and Aurelia held the feeble children in their arms and waded back over to the shallows. Rook lurched forward to assist with one of the adult Mer who staggered toward them, tucking his shoulder under the man’s arm. If the Mer was surprised an Auran was helping him wade through the swamp, he didn’t show it. Another volunteer from Terradrin caught the other Mer?a woman with tangled ochre hair?just before her legs gave out.
Rook grimaced when he saw the blood. A long slice was carved down the man’s thigh. Shredded flesh and mangled scales peaked through his torn trousers. Rook averted his eyes from the gore, shifting his focus instead to the man’s face. The Mer’s gaunt face was daubed with smears of mud, obscuring the purple-tinged scales that fanned out over his hollow cheekbones. Wheat-colored hair was plastered against his skull, appearing a dull yellow against the reflections of the sallow green swamp. Despite his ragged exhales, the Mer was breathing the air without issue, indicating they had titansblood in their possession.
After several arduous minutes, they finally found a semi-dry glade slightly elevated from the marshes. Rook followed Sune and Aurelia’s lead as they set the children down, gently helping the male Mer to the ground beside them. His stab wound throbbed with the effort, and he clenched his teeth as a jab of pain rippled out through the rest of his body.
Healers swarmed the group, pulling out poultices, fresh bandages, bottles of salves and balms, and various instruments needed for stitching up skin. Rook had seen brutal injuries and experienced vicious wounds himself but seeing the children covered with cuts, their hollow eyes filled with fear, sent a bolt of nausea through his stomach. This was the world they were hurtling toward if Selussa seized control of Revelore.
“Hello, my name is Joya,” said a soft-spoken Healer. The woman bent down to Mer children’s level, knees digging into the damp earth as she leaned forward. Her dark curly hair was cropped at her shoulders and her skin was a warm shade of brown. She smiled at the two children?siblings judging by the identical flaxen hue of their hair?and tucked her curls behind her ears.
The two gangly children stared at Joya with cautious curiosity. They’d never seen someone from the desert kingdom of Tellusun before, Rook realized. In fact, they’d probably never seen anyone from Terradrin or Aurandel for that matter. The thought needled through him like a blade. They’d drifted so far from the Four Kinsmen’s dream of a united Revelore. For decades, erratic nobility like his own family fell prey to greed and petty rivalry, sparing no thought for the common folk of the land and how their political games might affect their lives.
They were no better than Selussa.
“What’s your name?” Joya asked, sensing their trepidation. The small boy no older than five looked to his big sister for permission, though she couldn’t have been much older than him. She gave a curt nod and squeezed his tiny hand. Rook’s heart clenched at the sight. How many times had his own older sister protected him just like that?
“Murial,” came his wavering voice. He looked shyly at Joya, the corners of his mouth upturning.
“And yours?”
The older girl blinked slowly, deliberating. She squeezed her little brother’s hand again. “Ebba,” she finally whispered.
“Pleased to meet you both. My hands are about to start glowing,” Joya warned them. “Don’t worry, it’s just healing magic. It will tickle a little bit.” She scrunched up her nose at the word tickle , which made the children giggle.
Children are so resilient , Rook thought. Even after all they’d been through, these little ones found the strength to laugh with a stranger. Perhaps even more commendable, the children took the presence of foreigners in stride, choosing to trust their intentions despite all of the lies they’d doubtless been told of rival kingdoms. The intertwined histories of their people were complicated and nuanced, but these children proved the future didn’t have to be.
This is what he’d present to Raven when they met, he decided. It was a truth his sister couldn’t ignore.
True to her word, golden light began to thread like veins under Joya’s forearms, collecting in her palms. Though Rook had seen Hasana’s magic numerous times over the last few weeks, he was still astonished to see the glowing magic flowing through Joya’s hands like liquid sunlight. Not every Healer of Tellusun possessed magic that could mend wounds with just a touch of their hand. Many who trained in the Healing arts exhibited no signs of any magical touch at all. But even without magic, the Healers were sorcerers in their own right, able to mix ingredients and compounds like veritable alchemists.
The Mer children’s red-rimmed eyes widened as Joya’s power grew brighter. The golden glow caught on the near-translucent scales dusting their skin. Joya placed gentle hands on the children’s wounds, infusing magic with each touch. Little by little, their cuts mended and their bruised flesh healed. The little girl, Ebba, ran a finger over the now-smooth skin with an expression of awe. The light faded from Joya’s eyes as she finished, golden luminance receding into her skin like a tide.
While Joya healed the children, additional Healers surrounded the Mer adults and carried out similar evaluations. Sune and Aurelia stood shoulder to shoulder, concern etched on their faces as they watched the Healers’ methodical work. A Terradrin soldier uncorked a small barrel of titansblood and filled a cup, passing it around to each member of the Mer family.
“Thank you,” the male Mer rasped as he gulped down the bitter potion. “We had to ration our titansblood when we came ashore. Before the assault on Delphine, we were able to grab a small supply. The swamp gave us a measure of reprieve, but we were on our last dregs.”
The male winced as a Healer sewed up the gash in his thigh with glowing light. The color slowly returned to his face as his injuries mended, but the sheen of horror gleaming in his eyes remained steadfast. Lying against the soft earth beside him, the Mer woman endured more healing ministrations. A large laceration that snaked up her arm gradually fused back together, the seam of her torn flesh glowing like molten metal.
“Delphine?” Aurelia asked, kneeling beside the couple. “You must’ve swum for days.”
Delphine was a small city to the east of Kellam Keep if Rook’s memory served him correctly. It was the nearest maritime trade city skirting Aurandel, and it marked the beginning of a vast network of connected roads that splintered out to other Mer cities. An assault on the trading city would be devastating to not only the rest of Elorshin but to Tellusun ports as well.
“Yes,” came the Mer woman’s voice once her wounds had been healed. “It was a miracle we made it to shore.”
“What made you flee?”
“You wouldn’t believe us,” the woman countered, exchanging a wary glance with the male Mer. “The things of myth, they were.”
“Tell us,” Aurelia said gently. “We’ve seen a host of myths ourselves.”
With newfound alertness, the Mer woman sat up on her elbows and stared at the group of rebels surrounding her, her eyes guarded as she took in the ragtag band of foreigners. Her face darkened when she noticed Rook’s wings. “First, tell us who you are.”
“We’ve joined Princess Hasana of Tellusun’s rebellion,” Sune answered. “We may hail from different kingdoms, but we’re all here for the same purpose.”
“And what purpose is that?” came the Mer male’s voice, edged with hostility. “To plant the Tellusun princess on the throne and usurp Aurandel’s rule? If anyone should possess the Crown of Revelore, it should be King Angwin. Elorshin has long deserved to rule Revelore.”
“King Angwin is missing,” Aurelia cut in. “Kellam Keep has been destroyed just like your city.” This elicited gasps from the pair of Mer. “We do not seek to put another ruler on the throne. In fact, no one shall ever possess the Crown again. It will be destroyed.”
Her words hung heavy in the humid air. Horror streaked across the couples’ faces as they processed the news.
“I know this is a lot to take in,” Aurelia said, softening her tone. “All you need to focus on right now is surviving one day at a time. You’ve been through a lot, but you are all safe now. You can trust us.”
The two Mer still looked skeptical, but they seemed to accept Aurelia’s promise with quiet resignation. After all, only the most desperate of circumstances would lead people from four rival nations to ally together. The fact that their two most devoted Mer captains worked willingly with rebels from Terradrin and Tellusun was proof of the unraveling fabric of their world.
With a deep breath, the male Mer closed his eyes and began recounting the assault on Delphine: “We heard whispers of strange beasts in the Maeral Sea. But we’d heard many rumors lately about the ships that had gone missing. Naturally, we didn’t believe the reports at first.”
Rook stiffened, remembering how Auran merchant ships had been vanishing mysteriously at sea in the months leading up to the Tournament. It had caused great strife between Elorshin and Aurandel, each kingdom believing the other plotted against them. It had been a point of contention between him and Raven when it became clear that Saoirse and her kingdom had nothing to do with the missing ships. When he had confronted her about it, Raven informed him the Mer were to blame. I have it on the Order of Elders’ good authority that the Mer are scheming to overthrow us, she’d said. That had been a blatant lie on her part. In truth, Raven had sabotaged the merchant ships to frame Elorshin and thereby quell the growing political unease in Tellusun. It had been a costly decision made under the Elders’ guidance and one that shattered Rook’s trust in his sister.
The Mer woman dragged a hand through her wet hair, working pieces apart that were snarled with bits of moss and rust-colored blood. She was silent for a long time, as though the words were tangled on her tongue. With a shuddering inhale, she continued, “After hearing rumors of what lurked in the deep sea for so long, we didn’t believe the whispers that spoke of beastly creatures prowling our waters.” She cast a sad look at her children, who were still being distracted by Joya. “They came to our city gates hungry for blood. Beasts of enormous size, possessing otherworldly strength. Monsters from myth and legend.”
“They tore through Delphine like a maelstrom,” the male Mer added. “Destroying and devouring anything in their path. Our Torqen guards managed to put up a good fight, but in the end, the beasts prevailed. We managed to sneak away, but not without a struggle. Countless others were not so lucky. All we knew was that we needed to get to land.”
“Was there a woman with these beasts? A soulless creature with midnight black hair and eyes like ink? She would’ve been controlling the monsters.”
The male shook his head, pale eyebrows knitted together in thought. “No, I did not see anyone by that description.”
So Selussa was either still in Kellam Keep or heading to Terradrin, Rook supposed. He hoped their diversion was working.
“I know it is hard to believe, but the monsters that besieged Delphine were once imprisoned in the Fretum,” Sune explained. If the two Merfolk had appeared pale before, they grew positively ghostly with his words. “They’ve overrun the Maeral Sea at the behest of their dark mistress. We’re here to offer you aid and refuge. There is a great evil rising, one that will cover all of Revelore. This is only a mere taste of what is coming for us all. This is what we are fighting against.”
“And where are our leaders?” The Mer woman interjected. “They’ve abandoned us! Princess Saoirse was supposed to win the Tournament. Where is she now? She must be in hiding. She knows this is a storm we cannot weather!”
“No,” came Aurelia’s sharp reply. Her turquoise eyes grew a stormy gray as she rallied to defend her friend. “Princess Saoirse has not abandoned Elorshin. She has lost just as much as you have. Even now, she is on a voyage that will save us all.”
The woman charged ahead, “But why is she not here with you? Why is she not with her people? This voyage sounds like a coward’s excuse.”
Rook found himself biting back a retort. He didn’t have any right to defend Saoirse, but he suddenly felt a surge of protectiveness over her. This woman knew nothing of what Saoirse was sacrificing for Elorshin, knew nothing of the lengths she would go to save Revelore.
“Princess Saoirse is doing what needs to be done,” Sune snapped. His hands curled into fists, the only sign of his anger. “As are we all. We all have a part to play in the coming storm. We will offer you safe passage to Tellusun if you so choose. We will move to the other islands in the coming days, so make your decision quickly. There are many souls that need rescuing. For the sake of your children, I hope you choose to come with us.”
Sune’s words seemed to strike a nerve. The couple looked at their children, still giggling with Joya, completely unbothered by the fact that she was not Mer. As offended as Rook felt on Saoirse’s behalf, he couldn’t blame them. They’d been taught to distrust every other kingdom outside of their own, just as he had been. Titans-knew that choosing to put aside a legacy of bloodshed and senseless violence was no easy task.
“All right,” the Mer woman relented, her eyes softening as she watched her children. She turned back tod Sune and Aurelia. Her eyes caught on the crest of Elorshin engraved on their silver shoulder plates. The familiar symbol seemed to ease her fears. “Thank you for coming to our aid.”
“Very good,” Sune said with a curt nod. “We’ll escort you to the beach. A carriage will bear you back to Tellusun. You’ll be given shelter and supplies in the city of Bezhad for as long as you need.”
Once the Healers deemed them well enough to travel, they left the marshy glade and ventured back into the high swamp waters. Flanked by rebel guards, the Mer family was taken to the beach. The remaining members of their rescue party fanned out across the jungles of Kronis to search for any more Mer refugees.
Rook grew weary in the heat, his back slicked with sweat. His wound throbbed with pain, but he barely felt it as he climbed over fallen branches and ducked under hanging vines. He imagined all the atrocities being carried out in the Maeral Sea, all the Merfolk being driven from their homes like animals fleeing a forest fire.
Raven had to know of Elorshin’s collapse. She had eyes everywhere. He wondered what Raven attributed the attacks to. The Elders were most likely feeding her lies about the monsters that infested the seas and the cities being razed to ashes. Hel, he wouldn’t be surprised if Raven was convinced Hasana and the resistance were to blame after what happened in Coarinth.
He would find out soon enough.