Chapter 15
15
ROOK
R ook’s pulse fluttered in his throat as Widow’s Cove came into view. The sheltered inlet was obscured by a thick wall of towering trees that framed a rocky shoreline. Unlike many of the inlets that carved into the Isles of Mythos, Widow’s Cove did not have a beach. Instead, the claw-shaped shoreline was composed of steep cliffs that abruptly dropped off into a solid wall of stone. Unruly waves crashed upon the rock face, shattering stray pieces of driftwood in the process. Teeth-like rocks jutted out of the thrashing water, lying in wait to impale passing ships. The lethal cove had made widows of many sailors’ wives after their ships were wrecked by its turbulent currents. At the center of the cove’s reservoir, a mass of splintered ships had accumulated to form a veritable island of its own
Rook spiraled down toward the layered heap of jagged masts, fractured hulls, and shredded sails. He found a relatively dry alcove within the mountain of wrecked ships, weaving between broken beams and webs of frayed ratlines. He found himself standing on what looked to be a crow’s nest?or at least what remained of one anyway. Violent waves crashed against the ridge of shattered ships, pitching a spray of sea foam up the sharp incline. Water speckled Rook’s boots as he paced the small perch. The sun hung low on the horizon and gleamed like a polished gold coin. There was no sign of his sister. He hadn’t specified a time of day in his message. Had she already come and gone?
“I was starting to think you wouldn’t show.”
Rook jolted at the sound of her voice. He spun to find Raven creeping forward from the shadows. How long had she been lurking there?
A sharp surge of emotion speared through his heart as sunlight spilled over her familiar ink-dark hair. Her glossy feathers shifted in the wind, the same shade as the tiding feather in Rook’s pocket. Her steel-blue eyes glinted with unreadable sentiment; her mouth unsmiling as she came to stand before him. Raven’s dark cloak fluttered around her ankles as the wind whispered between them.
Rook’s mouth tasted of ash as he stared at his sister. She was the Queen of Revelore, but he couldn’t help but see Raven as the haunted girl in that carriage, the one who’d pulled him from the arms of his dead mother and carried him back to Coarinth without a single tear falling from her eyes.
“You smell of swamp,” she observed flatly.
Rook glanced down at his algae-stained tunic and leathers, stiff with sweat, mud, and dried swamp water. He didn’t doubt it.
“Raven?” he began. There were so many lies wedged between them he didn’t know where to start. It had only been a matter of weeks since the Tournament, but it felt like a lifetime had passed since he’d last seen Raven before the final trial. He settled on saying, “I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye.” He meant it.
Raven’s frown deepened. He wanted to see pain in her eyes, any kind of emotion to indicate that she’d been worried for him or even hurt by his absence. Instead, her blue eyes were cold and inscrutable as a frozen lake.
“I see you’ve picked your side, brother,” she said. “I must warn you that it is the wrong one.”
“I am on your side,” he countered. “I am fighting for Aurandel’s deliverance just as much as you are. There is more at play here, sister. There is a greater threat coming for us all. This goes beyond political rivalries and royal feuds. This goes beyond the Crown of Revelore. I am not your enemy.”
Raven scoffed, finally tearing her eyes away as though she couldn’t even look at him. “You’ve been brain-washed by that Tellusun princess and her ‘rebellion’, just as High Elder Korina predicted. And that Mer princess, too. Your mind is addled with emotion. I didn’t think you’d be so blinded by beauty that you’d abandon your kingdom just for a couple of nights in her bed.”
“It’s not like that,” Rook protested. His words suddenly grew thick on his tongue and he felt the tips of his ears grow warm. “I have made my own decisions based on truth and experience. If you saw the things I have?”
Stirrings of anxiety crept up his spine. How did his sister make him feel so uncertain of himself? How could she make him lose his nerve with just a handful of words and a sharp tone of voice?
“You have a good heart, little brother. You always have. But it has been your weakness for far too long. It has made you susceptible to temptation and whimsy. You’ve only ‘seen’ what you’ve wanted to see.”
Rook balled his fists. Anger burned through his blood at her condescending tone, searing away the anxiety that jumbled his words.
“My whole life I’ve only seen what you wanted me to see, sister. I know you’ve hidden truths from me for many years. You merely let me play at being a captain of the Aerials. You never confided in me once . You chose to trust the Elders’ counsel over your own flesh and blood. I have ideas, you know. I have thoughts of my own?thoughts I would’ve shared with you if you had just asked . But you never did. You’ve never valued my opinion, even if you let me believe you did at one point. You’ve belittled me at every turn. I know you still see me as an emotional child, easily swayed and susceptible to manipulation, but I am not the same person I was eight years ago.” He was breathing heavily with the confession, as though all the pent-up words had scalded his throat as they came tumbling out.
Raven was quiet for a long time. The crash of waves and the cries of seagulls permeated the heavy silence. Was that a flash of guilt in her ice-blue eyes? It vanished before he could read the emotion fully.
Pursing her lips, she said, “You found out about the missing merchant ships, I presume?”
“Yes. The night before the final trial, I heard you discussing it with Eros and Veila in your tent. Raven, how could you do that? Tellusun has long relied on maritime trade for survival. In sinking those ships, you wasted valuable provisions and potentially sentenced innocent people to starvation. All for some political ploy to frame Elorshin and gain Tellusun’s allegiance? It sickens me. And you lied to my face about it, too. Do you remember that? You told me the Mer were to blame. You wanted to turn me against Saoirse. Why?”
“I did what was necessary,” she replied coldly. “If Tellusun did not want their trade to be disrupted, they should’ve remained satisfied with our occupation and trade settlements. There was talk of uprisings. I needed to take preventative action.”
“By turning our nations against each other? You did what the Elders guided. You obeyed their whims like a puppet on strings. And you lied to me .”
“Do not question my authority,” Raven snarled. “I am the Queen . Anything I have decreed has been carefully considered. I’ve only ever wanted what is best for all the kingdoms of Revelore. I have only ever fought to maintain the peace. That is more than you can say about your decision to join Hasana’s cause.”
It was Rook’s turn to be silent. How could his sister not recognize that the very manipulation she accused him of falling prey to loomed over her at every turn? The Elders whispered in her ear, their words seeping like poison in her mind and clouding her judgment.
“The past cannot change,” he finally said. “I do not want to waste your time speaking of previous mistakes. We can change the trajectory of the future. I must tell you of the coming storm the rebellion is working to fight against. Please find it in yourself to hear me out.”
“Fine,” Raven replied flippantly. “Tell me.”
“Do remember the final trial?”
“Of course I do. Your beloved rebellion blew up the citadel and stole the Crown of Revelore. Our family’s most valuable possession.”
“Did you see the creature who freed the hydra? She is a shapeshifter who appeared as a Mer woman. I know it is difficult to believe, but that creature is named Selussa. She was summoned from the Underworld by the Order of Elders a hundred years ago. She is behind the War of the Age and all the turmoil that has plagued Revelore for the last century. She has returned to resurrect the Titans.”
Raven looked at him as though he was a hydra who’d grown a second head after the first had been lobbed off. “You’ve succumbed to madness,” she breathed. True concern finally gleamed in her eyes as she scanned his earnest expression. It was the same look she’d given him as a child when he’d mispronounced a word and she needed to correct him.
“Yes, I saw the Mer woman you speak of. But you are wrong about her. This woman?Selussa as you call her?was once the potions mistress of Elorshin. She possessed dark magic that resulted in her imprisonment many years ago, but she is not ancient by any means. Your Mer princess freed her from the Fretum as part of some twisted ploy to use her power as a weapon against Aurandel. She was a distraction in the Tournament, used to divert our attention from Coarinth while the rebellion carried out their secret mission.”
“What, no?”
“You deny that Saoirse freed the Mer woman from the Fretum?”
“Well, no. She did, but?”
“Stop making excuses for her,” Raven cut him off. The pity that filled her voice grated against his heart and sent his blood boiling. “Princess Saoirse freed that abominable woman from the Fretum and now she must deal with the consequences. I can’t say I’m surprised by the results of her actions. Anyone who deals with deceivers and conspirators is asking to be betrayed.”
“You’re not listening,” Rook ground out. “Have you not heard a word I’ve said? Darkness is coming for us all. Surely you’re aware of the chaos unfurling across the Maeral Sea. Thousands of Merfolk are fleeing from ancient monsters. Cities are being razed to the ground. King Angwin is missing.”
“None of that is my concern,” his sister snapped. “Elorshin has collapsed on its own. The Mer kingdom has been teetering on a fragile foundation for years. It was only a matter of time before Angwin and his daughter lost control of the Maeral Sea and the cracks gave way to catastrophe.”
“This affects us all! Don’t you understand? What is happening in the Maeral Sea will happen all across Revelore if we do not join forces to stop Selussa. Put aside your political games temporarily and join us, Raven. There won’t be a world to fight over if Selussa fulfills her crusade.”
Raven shook her head sadly. “I would rather die before I sided with those who stole my Crown. Those who killed our parents believed in a similar cause, or have you forgotten? Hasana’s little rebellion is no better than Ballar Grimstone’s, and we both know how badly his followers suffered in the end. I fought tooth and nail for the right to rule. I lost everything for it.”
She held up her scarred hands, trembling as she waved them in his face. “This dream you’re chasing is an illusion. There will never be a united Revelore in our lifetime. Hasana and Saoirse are manipulating you. Every one of those rebel leaders has ulterior motives. If you don’t think any one of them wouldn’t hesitate to slip a blade between your ribs the second their ‘mission’ is complete and you are no longer of use to them, you’re more foolish than I thought. You’re just leverage for their cause. They’re playing you, Rook. Just like Queen Eleyera and Ballar’s rebellion played our parents eight years ago. You’re going to get yourself killed just as they did.”
Rook’s heart ached as his sister’s scathing words fell over him. He’d anticipated she would resist the truth, but he hadn’t imagined she’d be so uncompromising. It was clear nothing he could say would change her mind.
“I know you don’t understand what is at stake now, but you will soon. I know you don’t believe me, but I am doing this for our people.” He took her hand, his heart tearing in two as the sun sank below the horizon. He felt the ridges of scar tissue that twined around her fingers, a constant reminder of her own Tournament ten years ago. She looked up at him and he finally saw his older sister, the one who used to read him bedtime stories and name constellations with him on the roof.
“You shouldn’t have had to raise me, Raven. None of it should’ve fallen on your shoulders. You had an entire kingdom thrust upon you at such a young age. I’m so sorry you were forced to grow up quickly.” At last, her mask of cold detachment seemed to crack as tears suddenly shimmered in her eyes. “But you must understand that I’m working with Hasana and the rebellion so that no more children lose their parents the way we did. So that no more assassination plots or Tournaments take the lives of family members and friends.”
That icy mask slipped back into place as Raven processed his words, hardening her features into apathetic stone. “I love you, little brother,” she whispered. “But you will come to regret this. And I will not be there to save you when you do.” She dropped his hands.
“Raven, I?”
She cut him off, “I have half a mind to send my Aerial troops to the beaches and set fire to your encampments. The Elders advised me to leave no one alive, you know. But I am not entirely heartless, nor am I beholden to their whims as you seem to think I am. For your sake and yours alone, I will let your little rebellion continue its parade of goodwill just this once. You may continue your rescue efforts on the Isles of Mythos for now. But I must warn you that if anyone from Hasana’s rebellion encroaches on Auran soil, their head will hit the sand before their body does. I will consider it an act of war.”
With that, she leaped off the edge of the crow’s nest and caught an incoming breeze, vanishing into the clouds as if she had never been there at all.
Hel’s teeth. If he hadn’t agreed to meet Raven, she may have slaughtered all the Mer refugees and volunteers in one fell swoop. His stomach churned at the thought. She had always been stalwart and fiercely protective of their family’s reign, but Rook had never imagined Raven could be so cruel. Numbing sorrow settled over him like a fine sheet of frost.
“Sune wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, but I always knew you were hiding something,” Aurelia’s voice hissed in his ear. Too late, Rook realized the Mer captain was pressing a wickedly sharp dagger to his throat. “How long were you planning to betray us? When did you arrange this meeting with Raven? Was it before or after Hasana defended you publicly at the war council?”
Aurelia pressed her knife harder into Rook’s throat. The salt-laced wind whipped around them and he felt the crow’s nest sway under his boots.
“I didn’t betray you,” Rook countered, trying to stay as still as possible. “I didn’t tell Raven about Saoirse and Hasana’s mission to the Under Kingdom, nor the Relics.”
“Lies,” Aurelia hissed in his ear. Though she was much shorter than him, she had him locked in an iron grip. If he wasn’t so bone-weary, he might’ve been able to twist out of her hold.
“I swear it on my life. I foolishly believed I could persuade Raven to join our cause.” Saying the words out loud almost made him scoff. How could he have been so naive? Perhaps he truly was just as gullible as his sister accused him of being. “I only wanted a moment of her time. I just wanted Raven to hear me out.” Not that she heard me, he thought.
Aurelia didn’t remove her dagger from his neck, but she seemed to loosen her hold. “If your secret meeting was not malicious, why did you neglect to inform us? Why hide it?”
“How would you have reacted if I told you? Had I been forthcoming, you would’ve chained me up and sent me back to Tellusun in one of the carriages. You wouldn’t have allowed me to meet with my sister even with a full troupe of guards present. I had to make this meeting happen. She is my sister, the only family I have left. Even if it turned out to be futile, I had to try.” He let the words hang between them. Her silence was confirmation of his accurate assumption.
“While that may be so, your record isn’t exactly trust-inducing,” Aurelia hedged. “You’re not doing a great job at convincing us of your loyalty. We’ve risked a lot to have you here, you know. Saoirse has vouched for your character and risked her reputation in the rebellion to have them accept you. You cannot afford to keep secrets.”
At last, she removed her knife and stepped away from him, her turquoise eyes guarded. Still feeling their precarious perch lurching in the sea breeze, Rook braced himself on the broken railing and turned to look out at the Southern Sea. The sun slipped below the horizon and the last threads of sunset melted into a velvet-dark night sky that bled into the dark waves.
He drew a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you of our meeting. There were several times I wanted to, but if I hadn’t arranged the meeting, she would’ve destroyed our refugee encampments and slaughtered every last Mer on the beach. I couldn’t sway her to join forces, but I did convince her to leave the relocation efforts alone. At least for now.”
Aurelia’s eyes glinted with horror. “ Titans . What would possess her to kill innocents?”
“The Elders. They’ve gotten in her head. They’re advising her every move, shifting her around their board like a playing piece. Not even I could talk sense into her.”
Aurelia dragged a hand through her tangled blonde hair, raking her gaze across the sea. “In that case, I’m glad she spared our encampments. But still, if you want us to trust you, you must learn to trust us. Do not attempt to hide anything else from?”
Her words were cut off as the platform tottered with a swift gust of wind. The wood beneath their feet fractured with a sickening crack. Suddenly, they were hurtling toward shards of broken planks, serrated rocks, and pounding surf. Rook reflexively grabbed Aurelia as they plummeted, unfurling his wings just before they were impaled. As the wind caught in his wings and he was snapped backward with a jerk, Rook bit back a cry of pain. Clutching a flailing Aurelia in his arms, he attempted to stabilize them in the air. The string of incoherent curses that flew from her mouth was snatched away by the rushing wind.
Rook flapped his wings and hauled them upward, each beat sending splinters of pain through his shoulder blades. When they hovered safely over the wreckage of Widow’s Cove, Rook readjusted his hold on Aurelia, who was doing her best to keep as much distance between them as possible.
“I promise not to withhold anything else from you,” he finally rasped. His entire body felt like it was on fire.
“Thank you,” Aurelia replied, a self-satisfied look on her face. She looked down at the thrashing waves below. “You can just drop me. I’ll swim back.”
Rook nearly laughed out loud. Did she really find the idea of flying with him so abhorrent?
“Don’t be daft. I’ll fly you back to camp. You don’t know what beasts might be lurking down there.” He began flying toward the direction of the beach.
“Is this how you wooed Saoirse?” Aurelia called over the wind. “You scooped her up and she swooned in your arms? You’ll not win me over so easily.”
This time, Rook really did laugh. “Yes, that’s exactly what I did.”