“It’ll have to wait.” Seraphim’s sharp voice sounded behind us. She stepped over a thick root. “We need to get these people moving.”
“Already?” I asked.
“Yes.” Seraphim dipped her head. “Come with me. I could use your help.”
“Where are we going?”
“Therapne.” She answered. “This place isn’t safe, and getting this sorry lot up won’t be easy.”
“Why dowehave to rouse them? Surely the lord could order his men to form a caravan.”
“He’s dead. The lord’s estate was at the mountain’s peak. We’re all that’s left.”
Seraphim turned and strode away. I had to jog to keep up with her pace. “Listen, I have good news-”
“Will it save these people?”
I hesitated. “No.”
Seraphim smiled grimly. “Then it can wait. Wrangle the guards if you can; I’ll ignite the uninjured.”
“Lady Seraphim,” Eleos called. “Can. . . can Aethra stay with me?”
Pausing, Seraphim stared at him over her shoulder. She looked between us, pale blue eyes softening. “Alright. Percy can assist me, then. Why don’t you help Eleos arrange wagons for the wounded?” Touching my shoulder, she marched away.
Clutching my bundle of herbs like a bride’s bouquet, I cocked my head at Eleos. “Why do you need me?”
“I don’t,” he admitted. “But right now, I can’t let you out of my sight.”
“Afraid I’ll run off?” I joked. His dour expression didn’t lift, so I changed tones. “Are you alright? Percy said-”
“I’m fine,” he said. “Especially now that you’re here.”
“Alright. . .” I said, though I didn’t believe him. “Let’s go get those wagons, then.”
* * *
Stranded bands of refugees were tales often told in the Merchant Isles. Whenever a rural settlement fell, those who survived would funnel toward the nearest city. Year after year, the cities swelled as the rest of the world disappeared.
Never before had an outpost or a capital fallen to the Empty. This would mark a new, frightening chapter in history.
Rousing the injured and the despondent was not an easy task. Coordinating a confused, frightened group of people who had lost their leadership was entirely more difficult.
Not all of them had come. Some we left behind, for they refused to move. They’d given up.
Sighing, I traced my thumb across my brow. The noise and weeping from the camp had become overwhelming, and I’dneeded a moment to myself. Our little band of thieves had been so busy becoming the new stewards of the refugees, we’d had no time to talk.
I stood by a small pond, watching ripples form on its surface. Living water, a pleasant shade of blue, giver of life. Mirror of the Empty, where in stillness nothing resided.
The smell of iron drifted on the wind. Startled, I stepped back, spotting a stream of blood curling through the air around me. A rush of heat brushed my cheek as fire streaked across the blood, creating a stream of light that coalesced into a little floating ball of burning red.
Seraphim appeared from the night, hand twirling as she controlled her magic. “There you are.” Joining me by the water’s edge, she lifted the ball of fire to rest above the pond. “Eleos is going to steal you as soon as he’s free, and I wanted to catch you first.”
I chuckled, rubbing my arm. With her light, I could see my reflection in the water.
Gods, I looked horrible. Scraped, muddy, bruised.
Lifting my eyes, I studied Seraphim, her tall, regal form a stark contrast to mine. Now was the perfect time to ask her about the masked nobleman’s accusations—the story of her youth and heretical crimes.
