“North.”
“Come on,” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and planting a kiss on the top of her head. “I’ve missed you, you little twerp. You know that?”
She chuckled, looking up at him. “I’ve missed you too, big brother.”
“Now, it’s important to note that the Temple isn’t in any one place. It’s why half the realm doesn’t believe it even exists. Not only is it invisible, but it is constantly moving from one place to another. Sailing like a ship among the waves. It’s actually quite extraordinary.”
“Have you been there?” she asked.
“Once, last year. It’s when I discovered it actually existed.” He smirked down at her. “It wasn’t easy. Only a Sorcerer can reveal it, and it only comes to those in great need. That’s why it took me so long to find it. I wasn’t in any great need until late last year when I was discovered on a ship while sailing to the Tower of Fajar.” He snorted, dropping his arm from her shoulder and bringing a hand down over his face. “I was on a packet boat and did something so daft I don’t even like thinking about it. One of the mainsail lines had gotten loose, the rope whipping around in the wind, and it almost hit a child on board. So, I didn’t even think, I just used the wind to stop it and bring it toward me so I could grip it. A few of the crew members saw me and started screaming out ‘Sorcerer’. I did the only thing I could and dove off the side of the ship.”
“Blazing biscuits! Did they shoot at you?”
“No, I dove down far enough beneath the surface and used the water to propel myself as far away from the ship as I could. But then the problem was I was all alone, floating in the middle of the ocean. That's when I began to wish for a miracle. I was too far away from land to use my gifts all the way to shore. After about an hour of hoping for a miracle, the Temple appeared out of nowhere and opened its doors for me.”
Kamira furrowed her brows. “So, if you are a Sorcerer in enough need, it just comes to you?”
“Kind of,” Adonis grunted. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s almost like you use your sorcery to put a beacon out for help. The Temple hears it and comes for you. Listen, I still don’t understand it all the way myself. I didn’t stay there long. Those people are, well, they just aren’t our people.”
“What does that mean?” Kamira laughed. They were quite literally the only other Sorcerers left alive. “They are exactly our people.”
“No, Kamira. They aren’t,” he snapped.
She was surprised by the vehemence in his tone.
“They don’t even want to come back to Emmoria. They could care less about the fact that their home—our home—was taken from us. It’s disgusting.”
“Well, maybe they are just happy there?” Kamira placated. It did seem odd that they didn’t want to come back home, but honestly, she understood it. Emmoria was a hostile place for Sorcerers. It was either stay hidden or get executed. Without peace, who would want to come back and live a life spent hiding their gifts?
He stopped and turned to her. “We deserve to be here as much, if not more, than the Ungifted, Kamira. This was our home first. You know that, right?”
“Yes, I know, Adonis. I’m just saying, if they are happy in their fancy hidden Temple, then why try to make them leave it?”
Adonis sighed, shaking his head.“You always did love a debate just for the sake of arguing.”
“I’m just optimistic,” she said with a playful smile.
He hooked his arm around her neck and pulled her into his side, rubbing his knuckles in her hair.
“Adonis! Stop, I’m not a kid anymore!”
He laughed and released her. “You’ll always be my little sister.”
She glowered at him, rubbing her sore head.
“You should be safe now. It doesn’t look like anyone saw us leave or followed us. Will you be okay from here?”
Kamira could see the bend up ahead that would lead to the northernmost point of Neilmaar, where her boat was buried under gallons of sand. “Yeah, we are almost to my boat. I’ll be alright.”
Adonis pulled her against him in a suffocating hug. “Remember what I told you. Don’t tell anyone you are a Legion.”
“Yeah, yeah. I got it,” she said, squeezing him back just as hard before releasing their embrace.
“Be careful.” He placed a hand on either side of her face, angling her eyes up to meet his. “For the Temple to appear, you have to be far enough from land so as not to be sighted. It won’t come otherwise.”
She nodded, and Adonis bestowed one final kiss on the top of her head before releasing her and placing a small vial in her hand with a black cord wrapped around it. “Take this, in case you need it. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said, looking down at the small bottle of violet liquid glowing in her hands. She placed the cord around her neck and turned away from Adonis with one final wave before she began the long trek back to her ship full of pirates.
