14. From Shores Unseen
From Shores Unseen
SYORAN
“The crew has been very vocal about their desires.” Lionel, our boatswain, stated matter-of-factly. “They wish to see to it that Caspian is rescued.”
Holding my stare, his mahogany eyes remained unwavering.
Beard freshly trimmed, it blended perfectly with his deep brown locks, matching brows furrowed in perturbation.
Running his tongue across his lip, it darted over the scar lingering there—a blemish he received during a ship plundering in which he nearly died.
I pulled the band from my wrist, gathering my loose locks before spinning them into a bun. Fastening it with ease, I dipped my chin. “I’m glad we are all on the same page then. See to it that our route to Hollowmere remains smooth, as we do not have time to deal with obstacles.”
“We already are. That is the issue,” Lionel said plainly. “With Caspian still in Serevalen, the men are wondering why the hell we’ve left the town if you wish to free him.”
Jaw feathering, I loosed a breath. “Why do I feel as if this is you questioning my prior position, and now my acting rank as captain?”
“Honesty? That is what you wish, correct?” The nod I offered was enough to keep him talking. “You have sided with the man most of the crew witnessed betray Captain Vayne. Not only that, but the red-headed bitch who—”
A low snarl erupted from me. “Get out.”
“Syoran, this is not us challenging your role on this ship. We just want—”
My fist drove into Caspian’s desk. “If you would like to keep your godsdamned head attached to your body, then get the fuck out.”
Irises wavering between frustration and unease, Lionel bowed in submission and spun on his heel. I didn’t bother watching him leave. The drumming of his booted feet against wooden planks served as enough of a giveaway before the door sealed behind him.
The crew knew damn well why we were headed toward the easternmost side of the continent, and why I elected to work with the man once deemed closest to Caspian, yet they kept prodding.
My hold on the reins of self-restraint was faltering, and with two days separating us from making landfall on Hollowmere, I was nearing the precipice of decapitating at least one of our men.
Our venture was no longer about grudges or past misunderstandings; it was about surviving the thickening plumes of corruption and apathy spreading across the land. If we wished to live, then joining arms with the more humane group was our best option, an option the crew continued to contest.
With a sigh, I flattened my palm against the dark oak. Gaze cast down, I scanned the words I’d read a handful of times.
A thousand legs have spun this thread. A thousand eyes have watched them bled—from shores unseen and silent tiers that never surface, yet draw near.
What slumbers deep will wake anew and feast on those who never knew their shadows walked on other sides.
The heart of stone, the crown of glass, a windowed throne the ages pass.
A name once known, now left to pass, once spoken whole, now split in half.
Two princes stand—one flame, one shade, yet mirrors lie where choices fade.
Tread now with care, for blades are true; not all crowned gold is loyal or new.
Strike the king, let iron fate fall free, or doom both throne and rolling sea.
Just below, Caspian had underlined the phrase “The Unraveled One” three times for emphasis, where “mirrors” sat circled. And yet, even with the guidance, my thoughts settled on the phrase “from shores unseen.”
“Gods, Cas, you couldn’t have left better—”
My utterance faded as the surrounding air thinned. Pulling my sword from my waist, I let my agitation turn reactive. There was a familiarity to the tang of magic that followed, but there was no time to contemplate it. Not when someone—something was infiltrating Caspian’s cabin.
I turned and lifted the lengthy steel, its tip coming to settle against a man’s throat.
Seafoam irises peered at me beneath dark brows, Kael’s expression taut with tension he now readily carried.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and the sharpened edge brought forth a drop of crimson as he remained still.
Chest aching with the realization and the implications of what wielding a weapon capable of such destruction would remind him of, I quickly returned it to its scabbard.
Kael blinked once. Where I expected to be met with a recollection of his lover’s downfall and the impending emotion it would stir, there was only an unrelenting hunger for destruction. “Great to see you too, Kao.”
Rubbing my eyes with my thumb and forefinger, I groaned as I returned my attention to my new arrivals. “For fuck’s sake, a bit of an announcement of your impending presence would’ve been incredible.”
“Such a request is not possible,” Parran piped in, their pooling cornflower gaze settling my wavering emotions. “My link with Alastair remains all I can offer. Leilani’s ability to receive my messages is only plausible because of their intimacy—”
“Unnecessary,” Kael stated as he lifted a hand. “I am not interested in learning about how they express their love for one another.”
The query came from me playfully. “What is it that you are interested in then, prince?”
He was in front of me before I could process how, two fingers drilling into the center of my chest. “First, we came to discuss Caspian’s journals, as well as some connections I’ve made.
Second”—he closed the last inch between us, the refreshing scent of lime and mint encapsulating my senses—“it is king to you.”
Newfound darkness billowed from him, addictive in a way that felt otherworldly.
The transformation in his demeanor was notable as we crossed paths, the streets of Serevalen imploding into chaos around us.
It was as if the emergence of creatures from the Other Realm had stirred up his ability to call upon magic, something I never expected from the prince who once trailed Percival.
But it wasn’t just the mysticism; it was the abrupt alteration of his personality, and he was right.
The man before me was no longer a mere prince, but a king capable of dismantling malevolence.
Heat settled in my lower abdomen as I held his seafoam stare, my articulation seeming to form of its own accord. “I’ll call you whatever you damn well want me to, Kaelivan.”
“Good.” While his expression remained unreadable, the corners of his mouth tugged upward so subtly that I would have missed it if I had blinked.
Palm flattening on my sternum, he cocked his head to the side.
“While I am far from King Marellan’s son, I will not lie and claim obedience does not entice me.
Now, do me a favor,” he shoved me with enough force that the backs of my thighs greeted the chair, “and sit.”
Obliging his request, I craned my chin to look up at him. “You mentioned connections. What have you come up with?”
“I can’t take all the credit,” Kael insisted, glancing toward Parran. “They are from the land Marellan stole me from, the one just beyond Wraelira.”
Mirrors.
My attention snapped to the individual he referenced. “Can you provide us with the name of your continent?”
Parran shook their head. “I cannot, as it is tied to the prophecy. For I am bound just as your captain is.”
“Which means they cannot directly share information, for it risks their well-being.” Kael took a step away from me, settling against the lip of Caspian’s desk. “But… There was somewhat of a workaround.”
“Wait.” Pushing myself upright, I trained my gaze on Parran once more. “It risks your well-being in what capacity?”
Their lilac tongue darted between their matching lips as if contemplating whether the question was one they could answer. “Lacerations by an unseen force. Why?”
“Caspian…” I shook my head and exhaled. “When he tried to speak to me about… something, I’m presuming prophetic to a degree, he was clawing at his throat as if he couldn’t breathe.”
Parran nodded. “All those bound by Sorva react differently to her Silencing.”
“I am not here to write off the struggles that have come from her reign, but the longer we sit in this lull, the more control she gains.” Looking between us, Kael sighed.
“Essentially, since Parran is a divine being, though what degree remains unknown, a god has confided in them to protect a Child of the Damned. Parran informed me their Children can be referred to as Divari, and, as we’ve been aware, Rohen and Caspian fall under that umbrella.
“As a child of royalty, I was required to learn about the Damned. The king, best known as my ‘false father,’ asked me to do so so I would know what to ‘stay away from,’ but I was wary long before then. In that lore, which Parran confirmed to be truthful, the Goddess of the Sea and the God of Death were inseparable after the death of Ellira’s lover.
After spending time together, and Elaros becoming the one she relied on, they formed a relationship of their own.
By the weaving of fate, that means Rohen and Caspian belong together.
Not just because of that bond, but because it is prophetic, pre-determined by the gods. ”
My brows furrowed, a cloaked curiosity escaping me. “So their hatred for one another?”
“Is falsified,” Kael confirmed. “Sorva is essentially the roadblock, and her bind is what is making Caspian act irrationally. The instant the two of them figure her out and join sides, her eradication becomes imminent, and two out of the five gods are freed.”
“And once they obtain that freedom?”
“The handpicked Children of the Damned, Rohen and Caspian, will become their vessels, and the same with the remaining three, as their parents are freed.” He ran his hand through his disheveled locks.
“Essentially, what I’m understanding is that the world beyond Wraelira is a mirror of these lands, which means there are five selected counterparts with similar roles in the prophecy.
They have become the godborne, the Divari, the entities and beings the people will worship. ”
Glancing at Parran, I found their cornflower stare trained on Kael, pride swelling within it. With a flick of my eyes, I found the newly acclaimed king. “Holy shit.”
Kael chuckled, nodding. “That’s exactly what I said.”
I flattened my palms against the armrests and pushed myself to stand, pointing at the journal awaiting my attention.
“We can scour every bound parchment Caspian has, but you may find interest in the passage I’ve been studying.
” Kael moved, but I lifted my hand to stop him.
“But first, the three remaining Children? Where do we find them?”
Seafoam stare gleaming with satisfaction, he simply said, “They're already among us, Kao, and if I am no longer a possibility due to my ties to a world beyond this one, that leaves three in our coerced, close-knit group.”
It was only a matter of time until we figured out who.