15. Weather-Worn Monoliths
Weather-Worn Monoliths
ROHEN
“The loathing Caspian displays toward you is a farce, a behavior controlled by Sorva.” Kael drummed his fingers over the impressive span of oak in the meeting room, one responsible for housing the conversation we were now having.
“Your manufactured hatred toward one another keeps the gods locked behind the veil the Others have glamoured.”
Leaning against the wall closest to the door, I folded my arms across my chest. With my hair tamed by a perfectly woven plait, my observation of the unknown lands became far easier.
We’d arrived at the docks in Hollowmere an hour ago.
Still, Syoran and Kael remained adamant about discussing before we dove into exploring the town for one of the five artifacts.
I turned back to peer at them beneath the tricorn I still wore, the one Caspian had insisted was his. Lips pressed in a firm line, I stared at the former prince. “So she’s our wall. How are you suggesting we climb it?”
Shoulders rising with a shrug, he grinned. “I don’t know, Divari, you tell me.”
“I enjoy him,” Ellira hummed down our bond, her tune indicative of her delight in Kael’s response.
“Of course you do. You prefer those who wish to challenge me.”
“No, not challenge. Strengthen.” There was a brief pause before she continued, “Everything he has shared is truthful, just as my utterance had been upon our first meeting. You and the pirate captain are Divari, bound by prophecy and soul tie. It is just… nice to feel you begin to accept that when one of your friends confirms my truth.”
Exhaling through my nose, I ignored her last sentence. “Elaros didn’t have any other Children to offer? Someone more appealing? I’m into women also, so there’s no excuse to find me another.”
Laughter flooded the back of my mind, my heart warming at the sound.
“Oh, by the graces. I will have to inform Jaskor of your statement, for he will find it rather amusing. But, to answer your question, no. Our last standing descendants are you and Caspian, as well as three others in your proximity.”
Keeping the information to myself, I allowed my attention to wander through the space.
Kael stood at the head of the table, palms plastered against it, regality billowing from him in thick plumes.
Parran remained beside him, and with the proximity, the information they’d shared about being from the same land suddenly made sense.
Moving from the otherworldly energy they emanated, I settled on Syoran, who positioned himself to Kael’s left, a single brow raising in an annoyingly cocky way as soon as we locked eyes.
Not granting him a second longer of my time, I peered over to Alastair and Leilani, the latter’s fingers tracing soothing shapes along his back.
A throat cleared, but the voice that came didn’t belong to anyone I would consider pertinent for the divine to wish to inhabit them. Gods, I really have become a self-righteous cunt, haven’t I? “Well, is there anything further we should know?”
The dagger was freed before I processed myself performing the action, its sharpened point spearing between the gap in the wooden slats to the right of Callahan’s head—Alastair’s navigator.
His breath stalled, and I nudged myself from my perch, challenging the strawberry blonde captain to see if he’d bite.
As if he read my mind and caught my intent, his golden glower found me, welcomed by my primed smile.
His brows dropped in response, as well as warning, and the satisfaction it bred carried through each of my footfalls.
Closing the gap between Callahan and me, I plucked the blade from where it rested.
With a quick dance between my fingers, I settled the tip against his manhood, a sinister smirk painting my features.
“Interrupt a conversation of pertinence like that again, especially when no one has requested your engagement, and I will cut your prick from your body.”
“I-I didn’t mean it like—”
My lips brushed his ear as I leaned forward, the pressure I applied with the steel increasing slightly. “I don’t give a shit. In case your captain has failed to warn you of the type of woman I am, I have a thing for finding any reason to neuter a man, so tread carefully, darling.”
His gulp was audible, and I grinned as I pulled away. Patting his shoulder once, and rather harshly, I sheathed my dagger as Alastair spoke behind me.
“Now that Rohen displayed her lack of—”
Kael cut in, saving the Scarlet Tempest’s captain from my wrath. “I believe we’ve covered everything unless anyone has any questions?”
A prolonged silence fell, and in it I relished Callahan’s drumming heartbeat.
Waiting for someone to speak up, I tossed another grin filled with damnation at Alastair before shifting my focus.
Finding Syoran’s deep gaze, I started to offer him the same expression of distaste, but stopped as he dipped his chin at me, the corners of his mouth curling upward.
The first sign of his approval since that night.
Nestled on the eastern coast and bordering both Velispar and Serevalen, Hollowmere was a fog-drenched mining town carved into the jutted, uneven cliffs.
The dark buildings mirrored the land on which they were built, all erected from the sharp rock barely visible through the thick clouds of mist. While their shapes and purposes varied, every structure stood above the winding walkways, rusted lifts, and narrow mining tracks like silent sentinels—watching the mining tracks that disappeared into the mountains above.
The village’s wealth came from the glittering gemstones extracted from the labyrinthine maze below ground.
The wooden sign near the entrance to Hollowmere displayed the veins of luminous crystal that lined the tunnel walls where generations of miners had spent their lives.
A few carts carrying such precious goods sat near the docks for export to nearby lands, ensuring survival despite the harsh location.
Slipping from the Scarlet Tempest, I breathed in the freshness that somehow clung to the air in a place renowned for oil use and smog production.
It was as if the clouds overhead devoured it all, leaving behind a rejuvenating dampness.
Soaked by the recent rain, the timbers leading to the innards of Hollowmere added a scent of woodiness to every inhale.
But my senses sifted through familiarity, picking out something mysterious, something hidden amongst the town and the people who occupied it.
“Oh, good, you are tapping into the power bathing your soul,” Ellira crooned, her smile evident.
“Do not allow the natives to divert your attention. They will speak of the oldest mining shafts that descend below sea level, flooded caverns where saltwater mingles with ancient stone. In their beliefs, few are permitted to enter the depths, and even fewer can speak of what occurs there. For it has been claimed that sailors, merchants, and passing travelers have borne witness to whispered stories of the midnight processions where hooded figures gather around weather-worn monoliths, providing offerings to the black waters that seem impossibly deep.”
“If you’re trying to create some terror-inducing ghost story, it’s not working,” I grumbled, the breeze combing through my tangled locks. “If anything, it sounds as if those occupying Hollowmere dedicate a lot of their time worshipping you.”
Ellira snorted, her humor evident. “You are my daughter for a reason, Rohen. Expand your thinking.”
“Are you insinuating they are devoting themselves to a goddess who hasn’t yet—”
“You good, Levitte?” Alastair called to me, palm settled on the pommel of his sword as he descended the ship with Leilani right behind him. “Or have you lost your mind already?”
My fist greeted his shoulder with enough force to remind him of my nonexistent patience. “My sanity is none of your concern, Seridean. Besides, shouldn’t you be focusing on things far more pertinent? You know, things that could be taken—?”
His fingers were around my throat before I could draw in another breath, and with one harsh yank forward, his nose fell inches from mine.
“Insinuate some shit like that with me again, and I will ensure you don’t make it out of here alive, Levitte.
If you wish to be angry because I tossed you back onto my ship, then be angry, but do not fucking test me. ”
The corners of my mouth twitched into a snarl. “Y-You wish to test Ellira?”
“I don’t give a damn which goddess or god I have to repent to.
If I must remind you of the reason I served alongside the man we are working to free, I will.
” He pulled me closer, lips grazing the shell of my ear.
“You disrespected me on my ship, as well as disrespected one of my men. I do not take such traitorous acts lightly. So, please, if you wish to asphyxiate on the darkness of my essence, continue to challenge me.”
With a harsh shove, he loosened his hold. Nearly tripping over my own feet, I sucked in the oxygen he’d deprived me of. Once I gathered my bearings, I spun on my heel, dagger ready and teeth bared, but Kael was there, staging himself between us.
“Must we confine one of you to the ship?”
“No,” Alastair and I hissed at the same time.
A chuckle followed, belonging to none other than Caspian’s current second. “What happened to your blossoming friendship?”
“He elected to make a godsdamned decision for me, and you’re well aware of my thoughts on the matter,” I spat, glaring at Syoran.
“She,” Alastair started with emphasis, “wished to make an idiotic decision, and I prevented her from doing so. Apparently, she has lost all logic and forgotten she is tied to the prophecy, which means without her, Wraelira will never be free.”
Silence.
Even our surroundings seemed to hold their breath as Alastair and I glared at one another, fingers inching toward weapons we wished to wield.
With our tempers flaring, the sky responded.
A subtle trickle of rain brushed against my forearm as another kissed the side of my throat, caressing where Alastair had touched.
“Well?” Kael prompted, looking between us.
“It seems Caspian’s ex-best friend has a clear head on his shoulders,” Ellira intercepted. “He has a point, and you’re well aware.”
“Shut up.”
She stroked up our bond, the touch ghosting along my jaw.
“Your anger is a weapon, Rohen, but you are wielding it poorly. Caspian will remain where he is if you continue challenging Alastair, which, again, I am sure you understand. The defensiveness you feel is the pull of a Mizani; do not allow it to wear on your sanity, for it is more than capable of doing so.”
“You’re telling me I will go insane for a man?” I huffed, eyes rolling. “Hilarious.”
“Are you not already?” Ellira questioned firmly.
“Mizani are beautiful, but they are deadly together. That is why Sorva has separated you. The draw you feel toward Caspian is being met with repulsion from her. That opposition can and will test you. But reacting like this? It is what Sorva wants because it can dismantle everything you have fought for.”
Before I could reply to my mother, Syoran moved to stand beside the former prince.
“Rohen, Kael, and I will scour the northern part of Hollowmere. Alastair—you, Leilani, and Parran will focus on the southern part. That way, everyone has a bit of time to cool off.” His attention fixed on me as if he had heard the conversation I’d been in the middle of having with the Goddess of the Sea, that flare of concern lingering in his dark irises. “Good?”
Too hung up on Ellira’s incessant warning, I dipped my chin and turned my back to them, storming toward the innards of Hollowmere.
We were here to hunt for one of the five artifacts and start unwrapping the prophecy. But to me, it wasn’t solely about that.
I was here to oppose the Others and remind her of all that awaited her demise.
I was here to uncover the truth within my bond and the power lingering just below the surface.
I was here for him.