“I’m going to run ahead and see what I can find out,” Kieran said. “And I’m going to use the two legs the gods gave me.”
I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“We will argue about that later.”
Casteel smirked. “I think you’ve traumatized him.”
“Possibly.”
“Come on,” he said, and we began walking toward the section of the Rise that overlooked Lowertown and the Stroud Sea. “Do you have any idea what we’re feeling?”
I shook my head. “Just that something’s here that shouldn’t be.”
A muscle flexed in his jaw. “Kolis?”
“I…I don’t think so,” I said. “We would feel him if he were here.”
“Here,” Casteel said.
I looked down to see the hair tie he’d slipped around his wrist earlier. “Thank you,” I said, taking it.
He winked.
Grinning, I gathered my hair, twisted it the best I could, and secured it with the tie just below the crown of my head. I had no idea how long it would last as several shorter strands had already slipped free, but I didn’t have time to braid the length.
We reached the westernmost section of the Rise. I looked down at the guards and soldiers perched on the parapets, eachcrossbow loaded with three arrows. The only difference was what they wore. The guards wore black, and the soldiers donned gold and silver armor. None paid us any attention; their focus was on the dark sea. My gaze followed theirs as the briny wind tossed my hair over my face.
“Fucking gods,” Casteel muttered at the same moment I saw what they were all staring at.
A merchant ship slowly sank beneath the eerily still water of the bay.
“What could’ve caused that?” I whispered.
“No idea.” Casteel’s stare lifted to the ships farther out, where men struggled against the wind to turn the sails.
I looked down. The streets of Lowertown were packed with mortals and guards. Many stood near the piers while others hurried among the wagons of wares offloaded from the ships at the port. The southern section of Lowertown, closest to the area of the bay where the vessel had sunk, wasn’t visible from where we stood, but I imagined the streets there were filled, too.
“Cas!”
We turned at the sound of Kieran’s voice. He was running toward us, Naill behind him. Naill pulled back, tension tightening the corners of his mouth as he turned to Casteel. “There’s something in the water.”
That vague yet creepy statement sent a chill down my spine. I turned back to the sea. The water was still calm, and there wasn’t a single soul in it. Whoever had been on that ship had either made it to land or ended up in a watery grave.
I had a sinking feeling it was the latter given some of the things I’d felt.
“Do we have any details on what’s out there?” Casteel asked.
“They…” Naill inhaled, looking out at the sea. “No one saw what did that to the ship.” He jerked his chin toward the barelyvisible vessel. “But something was seen in the water. And, honest to gods, I don’t think you’re going to believe it.”
“Try me,” Casteel stated.
“Ceeren.”
My head whipped around. “What?”
“Yeah.” Naill’s grip tightened around the hilt of his sword. “Several dockworkers said they saw…creatures that were part mortal and part fish in the water right before the ship was attacked. Sounds like ceeren to me.”
I turned to Casteel and Kieran.
