“Get out of my room,” Elara snapped before she did something she would regret.“Now.”
“Fine, you bloody child.”
Once there was a locked door between her and Signey, Elarapressed her forehead against it andbreathed. She had never felt so out of control, and, though part of her liked it, the rest of her was crawling with adrenaline that had nowhere to go. The anger leaked from her body, replaced by a rising anxiety. She was in Langley, she was at Hearthstone Academy, and her co-Rider blatantly hated her.
Fine. This was fine. Everything would be fine.
She had a mission. She had a purpose. And, best of all, she had a sister who was working hard on a safe extraction. All Elara had to do was make sure she had what she needed before that happened, and all of this would be nothing but a bad memory she would laugh about one day.
Still.
Faron, she thought, her eyes clenched shut, her heart cracked open.Please hurry and get me out of here.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
FARON
THEIRYAN TOWN OFSEAVIEW GLITTERED BEFORE THEM ASFARONand Reeve walked out of Nobility.
Renard Hall was at the top of a cliff cradled by the town. This estate had been in the Renard family for generations, and it boasted the oldest and most varied collection of books on the island. Faron and Reevecouldhave gone back to Deadegg with her parents, but, as Aveline had pointed out, Seaview provided them with the privacy and the resources they needed to make sure that, when they did go home, it was with Elara safely in tow. How the queen had managed to convince Faron’s parents of that, Faron would never know, but they’d only hugged Faron slightly harder than usual when they’d separated. At least this time theyknewFaron would be safe.
Though the capital of San Irie was officially Port Sol, it was Seaview that was their true treasure. The ancestral seat had once housed one of Aveline’s mothers, Nerissa Renard, before she and her wife had been killed by dragonfire during the war, and Seaview Temple was one of the first ones ever built on the island.
She should have known the latter would be a problem.
Santi were the first people whom Faron saw as she stepped off the exit ramp, and that was mostly because they were crowded in front of the manor house in their white robes and gold belts. An ocean of bent brown heads lifted almost at once as everyone fought to catch a glimpse of the Childe Empyrean. Behind them, Renard Hall stood as tall and proud as an oak tree, so close and yet so worryingly far from where she was standing.
Faron took a step back and collided with Reeve. She’d forgotten he was here.
His hands curled loosely around her shoulders. “Was the temple supposed to know you were coming?”
“No. I mean. I don’t know?” Faron caught sight of children in the crowd, children who weren’t wearing robes or golden waistbands. It wasn’t just santi before her. Townspeople were threaded through the gathered group, adding to the noise that hammered at her skull. Some of them held signs that begged her to intercede with the queen, to stop the Summit, to be the people’s champion again. “Maybe we should wait a bit before we—”
Reeve led her back up the exit ramp, where, in the absence of drake mechanics, the pilots were running their own logistics on the drake to prepare for the flight back to Port Sol. A few quick orders later, three no-nonsense Queenshield soldiers escorted them through the mob. Reeve stayed close by her side, carrying both their bags with a commanding expression on his face, but he didn’t need to. People cleared a path for the Queenshield, maintaining a respectful distance that Faron had never gotten before.
But to compensate for that distance, the clamor grew louder as people shouted over one another to catch her attention.
“Please—we came all this way just to see the Empyrean!”
“Stop the Summit! The Empyrean has the power!”
“At least take our offerings,” said a woman with a wicker basket in her arms. Fat mangoes in vivid shades of green, crimson, and gold nestled together inside. “I’ve been growing these for months. They’re the sweetest on the island!”
“Coconut water?” shouted another person near the back. “Would the Empyrean take some coconut water?”
“Irie curse your coconut water! The Empyrean needs to stop the Summit—”
By the time they broke through the other side of the swarm, she’d almost forgotten how Seaview had gotten its name. That changed when she saw the stunning expanse of ocean beyond Renard Hall, so bright that she had to cup a hand over her eyes like a visor to block most of the glare. Instead of taking the cleared path toward the front door, Faron walked around the house until she was a few feet away from the steep drop at the cliff’s edge. Far below, a narrow line of white sand was littered with rocks, sharp and dangerous. The waves crashed against them violently, even on such a crisp, warm day.
“This way, Empyrean!”
Faron turned from the water to see one of the hall servants waving her back toward the house. Reluctantly, she moved away from the overlook, making a mental note to come back here later and just…be. Once she brought Elara back to Deadegg, she had no idea when she’d next have the chance to see the ocean, let alone sit by it.
The inside of Renard Hall was just as lavish as the outside. White marble floors were covered with soft aqua carpets, scented with some sort of floral powder. Tasteful seaside paintingsdecorated the walls, threaded in between wall etchings of suns in Irie’s honor. By the time Faron made it to the second floor, where the bedrooms were located, she’d lost track of the details about her surroundings. It all blurred together into one message:This is what money and royalty can get you.
For a girl raised in a small village, it was as intimidating as the palace. And yet it would be her home until she figured out how to save Elara.
She felt woefully out of her depth.
