The implications of that. Of the Never—
“They’re starving,” I murmur. Finally understanding. The pieces slot into place. “Everyone is trapped on Asteria, and the land is dying. They’re starving.”
And a bronze-eyed captain loads a ship with as much as he can carry, if not more. “Callan is the only person who can get supplies through?”
Esme dashes a hand across her eyes. “Yes. We’ve managed as best we could, until now. The lichen takes everything, but at least it was slow. But there is so little left, Selene. And if we lose Callan…,”
I can’t think on her final words, pushing them away. “What of water?”
My unsteady heart settles when her head shakes. “The Falls are still there, at least for now. We ration on the ship to keep more space for supplies. There is water, and plenty of it, but there is no food to be had from the land, and the animals are barely surviving without it. Asteria is truly a land of the gods now, Selene. And they are taking itback.”
I can barely breathe. I spent ten years waiting for an opportunity to return home. To see it one more time. And it seems as though the window is closing. “Hala is avenging her faeytes.”
A nod. “That’s what is generally thought.”
Hala heard us. Saw us, that day, when I thought she had abandoned us.
And her punishment was both swift and painfully slow.
They murdered in cold blood, and so their loved ones paid the price.
They stole the land, and so the land they stole is dying around them.
They snuffed out our maegis,Hala’smaegis, and so pay the price for using their own.
And in the end, once all hope is gone, the Caelumnai will die too.
The thoughts swirl inside my head, almost dizzying me with their number as I try to pick them out. One thought pulls free, but I push it down, where I do not have to consider it.
Still, it nudges at my thoughts.
Justice.
Except it does not feel like justice. For some, perhaps. But not for all. Not for the female in front of me who wears her pain so carefully yet still offers empathy for actions not her own.
Swallowing, I shift away, unable to meet Esme’s gaze. “We should go up. The others may wish to use the water.”
A small furrow appears between Esme’s bright eyes. They seem darker now. Shadowed with the knowledge she shared with me. “Sure.”
I shift away from her when we reach the deck. The rest are spread out, Rio and Sol beside Callan as Rio sets cards down on an upturned barrel. Leo is spread out on his back beside them, arms out wide as he stares up at the stormy sea that crashesabove our heads. I can hear the roar even from this distance. A dark body of anger and fury. Callan half-rises, but I turn away.
I do not want to face those eyes right now. Nor test his ability to discern truth from lie, not with the thoughts I wish to keep to myself still lingering. Instead, I approach the hearth, a few feet away from the rest, and the male bent over it.
“May I help you?”
Merrick twists, a look of surprise in his blue eyes before he smiles. He gestures to the bubbling pot placed carefully over the hearth flames, contained within an iron square. “I’m just adding some herbs. But help is always welcome.”
He hands me a bunch. “Best to make use of them while they’re still fresh. Strip the leaves. The stew will need around a half dozen sprigs, and the rest can go into that container.” He points to a ceramic pot.
Lifting the laurus leaves to my nose, I breathe in the pungent, slightly bitter scent. We work in silence for a few minutes, my pounding heart soothed by the repetitive motion of stripping the fragrant leaves from the stems.
“How are you handling all of this?” Merrick pinches herbs between his fingers, sprinkling it into the strew. Stirring it, he glances at me. “Shadow maegis. Quite the sight.”
His gentle tone is an invitation, not a push. I push my tongue into the side of my cheek. “I didn’t know it could be used like that. Like yours.”
Something flickers across his face. “Nor did I. It hasn’t happened before?”
I hesitate again. But I have nobody else to talk to.
