86. Vera
Vera
The sun shone on the deck, kissing my skin as water lapped against the hull. We’d been on the water for days now, and the Saltmourne shoreline was finally in view.
We spent another day in Pyraeth before leaving, which gave some time for all the variables to fall into place.
Gathering supplies, getting the ship ready, organizing the prisoners.
Most were rebel Pyraethis who had been captured by the High Elders for treason and held as future vessels.
But some, like Starke’s family, were outsiders Mortep either coerced or kidnapped.
They had loved ones back in the Triad Realm they were eager to return to, and Starke promised he would get them where they needed to go.
Several rebels also accompanied us on a scouting trip.
They planned to meet with the three High Councils of the Triad Realm—after the world got over the shock of a new kingdom plopped in the middle of the Imarian Sea, at least. I was sure a casual, “Hello, we’ve been here for a millennium but were hidden by the Fates, and now we’re back,” would go over well.
Someone cleared their throat behind me, and I turned around. Starke took off his tricorn hat and shuffled his feet. “Hi, V.”
Silence stretched between us. So many conflicting emotions warred in my mind—anger, sadness, betrayal, all mixed with the good memories, the trust and friendship. Things I had wanted to be real.
“Starke,” I finally said, facing the water again. I propped my elbows on the rail, and a moment later, he joined me.
“Vera, listen. I—”
“I don’t want to hear another apology. There’s nothing else you can say.”
“I know.” He scratched his beard. “Trust me, I know you well enough by now. What I was going to say was…thank you.” I jerked my neck toward him, raising an eyebrow.
“You could’ve left me to die in those caves,” he continued.
“Fates, you could’ve killed me yourself, but you didn’t.
And because of that, I got to see my family again.
” His gaze wandered to the helm, where his father was teaching one of his brothers how to steer.
“You were right. Mortep probably would’ve killed them just to spite me.
I should’ve trusted you. Maybe things could’ve been different.
Maybe you and I…without all of this,” he swept a hand over the water, “maybe it could’ve gone differently. ”
“No, Starke,” I said softly. “It wouldn’t have. But I’m glad you got them back.” We both stared into the gentle waves, watching white foam hit the side of the ship and rush back into the blue water.
“We’re almost to Saltmourne,” I said, breathing in slowly.
“This is the last time I’ll ever see you.
” I played with the edge of my leather jacket.
Fates, I still wasn’t any good at this. “I don’t know how to forgive you, but I also know I wouldn’t have survived the last year without you.
And maybe it was all a ruse, or part of your master plan, but—”
“It wasn’t, Vera, I promise,” he interjected. “That’s what made it so hard.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter anymore.
But there’s still a part of me that will always remember the friend you were, Starke.
That’s the man I want to say thank you to.
” Tears pricked the backs of my eyes, and I wiped my nose with my sleeve.
It was like there were two sides of me—the girl who had needed his friendship, and the girl who had to let go.
“So, thank you,” I said, finally meeting his gaze. “To the Starke who saw past an angry girl in a bar and gave me a chance to do something better with my life. To get here.” Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Everett leaning against the mast. He gave me an encouraging nod.
I looked back at Starke. “To finally get back home.”
Starke’s lips curved up in a sad half-smile. “I’m glad you found what you were looking for.”
He tapped the rail, then put his hat back on, tipping it toward me one last time before turning on his heel. When he was out of earshot, I let out a long breath and slumped against the rail.
Everett took his place, instantly wrapping me in his arms. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled into his chest. “That was hard.”
He kissed my head. “I’m proud of you.”
I grunted. “Stop being so perfect.”
“Would you rather I toss you overboard?”
“Maybe,” I said. He instantly knelt and tackled me at the knees, throwing me over his shoulder. A squeal of laughter slipped free. “Wait! Don’t do it!”
I giggled as he swung around, his fingers gripping the backs of my thighs. I bounced against his back when he moved across the deck. Upside down, I saw the doors to the cabins below creeping forward, then he pushed them open with his foot.
He came to an abrupt halt, making me smack into his backside. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt,” he said. There was a smirk in his voice.
“What? What is it?” I scaled up his back until I could turn around and face forward. In the shadows behind the doorway lurked Kieran, his arms bracketing a very blushing Odessa against the wall.
“Oh,” I said, drawing out the word. I pinched my lips to keep from laughing. “Looks like this hallway’s taken, Swift.”
“I’ll say.” He chuckled and slowly backed away. Kieran rubbed his temples, red splotches creeping up his neck.
“Please, do not tell Tessa you saw this,” he rasped. “She will never let me hear the end of—”
“Don’t tell Tessa what?” Tessa’s black braids popped into view beside Everett and me. “That you two have been sneaking around this ship like a couple of teenagers?”
Everett and I burst into laughter. Kieran hid his face in his hands, shaking it back and forth. Odessa put a comforting hand on his chest, and the gesture pinched my heart. They were good for each other. There was a softness, an innocence, in a way, to both of them.
Kieran murmured something in Odessa’s ear, and she nodded, then slipped under his arm and down the hall. Kieran straightened his collar and followed Tessa, Everett, and me back to the main deck to join our makeshift crew in readying the gangplank as the Saltmourne port grew nearer.
“I have asked her to come with me,” Kieran suddenly said. “To the Veridian Empire.”
Tessa choked. “You what? You just met the girl!”
“Not permanently. Merely to see how she fares there. With passage opening up between us and the Triad Realm, it wouldn’t be too difficult for her to go back home, or for me to spend time in her land, as well. We’re still working out the details.”
Everett clapped his shoulder. “I’m happy for you. Maybe now Tessa and Arowyn will have someone else to tease.”
“Don’t worry, Ev. We’d never forget about you,” Tessa crooned.
“At least I’ll have Vera on my side.” Everett pulled me into him and nuzzled his nose in the crook of my neck.
“You’re sweet,” I said, giving his cheek a quick peck, “but don’t think I’ll go easy on you.”
Tessa cackled and pulled me away. “You’re gonna fit in just fine, Vera.” Looping her arm through mine, we skipped ahead of the boys, and I tossed a wink over my shoulder at Everett.
He shook his head with an exasperated sigh, but I didn’t miss the spark of pride in his eyes.
The next couple of days passed in a whirlwind.
We were relieved to hear that the Saltmourne High Council sent a rescue mission for the remaining members of our crew shortly after we went missing, and they all returned safe and sound.
We helped Starke’s family and the former prisoners get settled in Saltmourne, worked out a deal with the harbormaster to charter one of his ships to take us home, and I packed up what little belongings I’d accumulated in my year here.
Mostly clothes, broken weapons, and a box of trinkets from all the places Starke and I traveled.
Odessa and I visited our workspace at the harbormaster’s office, and I had to admit, it was bittersweet to leave the place.
All those late nights spent by the candles, poring over dusty tomes, and recreating maps of the realm.
My finger brushed over a stain on my desk, where Starke had snuck us a bottle of rum while on the job, and I’d knocked over my inkwell trying to catch it.
Odessa nudged my shoulder. “Do you think you’ll ever come back?”
I took in the scent of fresh parchment and old tea. “I don’t know. I don’t really have a plan. I just…I want to be present. For the first time, I’m not running from something or chasing someone. I can do whatever I want.” The thought brought a smile to my lips.
“As long as you’ll stay with me for at least a little while in Drakorum,” she said. “I’m a bit nervous. I don’t know how your people will react to someone without magic living there.”
“Oh, you’ll be fine. Everyone will love you.
Besides, you’re not the first one from a different land who’s come to live with us.
Devora, my brother’s fiancé, came from another kingdom called Mysthelm.
Well, he kind of captured her and dragged her there, but that’s another story.
” I waved my hand in the air. “It’ll be great, I promise. ”
Watching the white sand dunes and hills of Saltmourne fade into the sky as we sailed away the next morning made me feel more nostalgic than I expected, but it soon morphed to excitement the closer we got to Veridia.
We made it through the Shattered Spine with minimal damage to the hull and only a couple close calls.
Everything was different this time. Brighter and lighter, with hope moving me forward instead of loneliness and anger. I was going to see my family again. I would get to start over with the life I should’ve had, the future I’d been too scared to dream of.
I stared off the bow of the ship as dark lines marking the shore slowly revealed themselves. The Veridian Empire. We should be passing through the borders any second now…
Right on cue, a jolt of power crashed into me.
I gasped and gripped the rail, arms shaking as magic filled the empty well inside.
Heat licked along my spine, my waist, my skin, and the air was heady with the weight of it.
I took what felt like the first real, deep breath since our magic had disappeared again.
It was such a relief to feel my phoenix half come back to life, to feel its wings fluttering excitedly in my chest.
Footsteps sounded behind me, and I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. Familiar hands wrapped around my waist. I smiled as warmth hovered behind me.
“Did you feel that, sweetheart?” Everett murmured.
I tilted my head to the side so he could fit his chin in the crook of my neck. “We’re almost there.”
“I knew this day would come, you know,” he said, voice low in my ear. “You and me, here again.”
“Such a hopeless romantic,” I teased softly.
“Not hopeless, Songbird.” He kissed my neck. “Not anymore.”
I was still for a moment, watching the shoreline inch closer. “I’ve been trying to remember something,” I whispered. “The first time you called me that. Songbird. I know I should remember, but it’s just—it’s gone.”
His arms tightened around my waist. He was quiet for long enough that I craned my neck to look at him, and his soft expression made my chest ache.
“It was your first night in the cells. I could tell you were scared, and I wanted to make you feel better, but I had no idea what to say. And then you started humming. It was the most beautiful sound I’d heard in years.
” He kissed my temple. “Like a songbird. So that’s who you became to me. ”
I exhaled slowly. “What was the song?”
“It’s a lullaby you told me your mother used to sing you to sleep with.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “I don’t remember that, either.” My words were so soft, I could barely hear them.
But then he said, “Let me show you.”
Warmth spread from where his hands touched my waist, all the way up my neck.
My mind became soft and supple as the water before us dissolved.
The dark stone walls of the cell surrounded me, but it wasn’t the one I remembered.
This was slightly different. The cell bars weren’t positioned the same way, and the wall separating Swift and me was on my right instead of my left.
We were in his cell. I watched a seventeen-year-old Everett lean against the wall with his eyes closed, the hint of a smile on his tired face.
And then there was a sound. A soft hum that resonated through the illusion, echoing off the walls.
It was a beautiful, peaceful tune that made my shoulders instantly relax, even though I hadn’t heard it before.
But I knew it was me humming on the other side of the wall.
This was a memory I’d lost, a defining moment of my life that was stolen.
“That’s pretty,” young Everett said, getting on his knees to look through the hole. “It’s been years since I heard a song.”
My muffled voice came next. “Wait, I thought your eyes were green?”
In the illusion, I stepped closed, transfixed by the moment. I ventured near enough that I could see young Everett smile against the wall.
“They’re both. One gray, one green,” he said. “Yours are gold. I’ve never seen eyes like that.”
“I get that a lot,” the younger me said. “By the way, my name’s—”
“Don’t,” he said. “Don’t tell me your name. I know it sounds weird, but down here…it’s better if things just aren’t real, you know?”
“Then what am I supposed to call you?”
He paused. “You can call me Swift.”
“Okay, Swift. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Songbird.”
I didn’t realize I was crying until ocean waves replaced the illusion. Everett turned me so I faced him. He tenderly brushed my tears away with his thumb.
“Thank you,” I said, voice hitching. “Can you show me more? I want to see everything. All the things I’ve lost.”
“Of course, Songbird,” he said into my hair. “Every single one.”