Eira boarded the boat. It was Varren and Lavette in the back. Eira positioned herself in front of Lavette in the same row as Noelle and Alyss. In front of them were the pirates, Ducot wedged between them. Cullen, Olivin, and Yonlin all crammed in the bow.
Crow called for the boat to be lowered and ropes groaned. It swayed slightly and that was the opportunity Lavette used. The one Eira could sense she’d wanted and had given her.
“If anything happens to him, it’s on you.” She’d leaned in to whisper to Eira, breath hot on the back of Eira’s neck.
Eira glanced over her shoulder. “I’m not dictating what people can and can’t do.”
“That’s your job.” Lavette clearly didn’t want Varren to come. She probably didn’t want to come herself—and for good reason. Eira hardly blamed them and so she ignored Lavette’s cutting remarks.
“My job is to keep everyone informed so we can all make the best decisions we can.”
Lavette snorted and leaned away.
Eira shifted her attention to both of them, and before Lavette could speak again, she said, “Adela said she would bring you two to Qwint, no matter what happened to us.”
“What?” Lavette and Varren seemed to say in unison. They both stared at her with wide eyes.
“I asked her to. I didn’t think you were coming and I wanted to make sure that you would get home. If you don’t want to come, I can build you a ladder of ice to get back up,” Eira said hastily.
“Eira,” Varren interrupted softly. “Thank you. But I’m going. I need to do this. Not just for you all, or to get back home, but for me.”
She saw the resolve in his eyes as the rowboat splashed down into the ocean. Varren’s determination and fear were equallypalpable. So it wasn’t just for her. Eira gave him a small smile and a nod, turning forward. Lavette might still blame her, and that was fine with Eira. She could handle the responsibility and the blame that came with it.
“Eira, if you please.” Crow gestured to the mainland.
Summoning her magic, she called upon a swell of water. It collected behind the rowboat and they sped off, propelled by a current of Eira’s making. It arced through the water, turning toward the shore. The sun was rising, illuminating the distant strip of land as it rose up from the sea the closer they drew. These weren’t the sloping, gentle shores of the pirate island, but rocky bluffs more akin to the Solaris cliffs Eira was familiar with around Oparium.
“See that dark line in the rock?” Crow called over the wind. Eira nodded. “Go there.”
She did as she was told. The line in the rock was actually a split between two cliffs, a crack that went all the way down to the ocean, where it parted in two with a breeze like a sigh. Eira slowed the current as they entered the natural tunnel. The rock here was different than in Solaris, a pale white and compacted together like columns.
“Did a sorcerer make this?” Yonlin asked. The stone looked too perfect to be natural.
Alyss reached out and ran her fingertips across one of the columns as they passed. “If so, it was a very long time ago…”
“You might not be able to sense anything,” Varren said. “The cliffs have been around for eons. In Carsovia this region is called the Broken Wall of Thecules.”
“Who was Thecules?” Noelle asked.
“A sorcerer so powerful that he created these sheer cliffs across the entire eastern coast with a wave of his hand to keep back the ravaging seas of the early ages that would’ve consumed the land of Carsovia.” Varren spoke as though he’d had torepeat those “facts”—a generous term—many times. “He went on to become the first Emperor of Carsovia. It is said he lived a thousand years and bedded a thousand woman. He was the one to unite the far kingdoms under his banner. They called him the Lord of Endless Blood.”
“Cheerful,” Noelle muttered.
“It’s Carsovia. If the history isn’t written in the blood of the conquered, it’s not worth sharing…” Varren trailed off. His eyes were haunted in the low light of Olivin’s magic circle.
“Not sure how good the wall is at keeping out primordial seas. But it’s pretty miserable at keeping out pirates.” Crow grinned.
The tunnel opened to a small pool, surrounded by the columns like stepping stones. With no more water, Eira guided the boat to one of the lowest stone plateaus. Her friends needed no further instruction to disembark.
They got out one by one. Ducot, Cullen, Olivin, and Yonlin went first. Then Eira, Alyss, and Noelle. She reached a hand back, helping Lavette out.
Then it was Varren’s turn.
He stood in the rowboat, perfectly still. Eira held the boat in her grasp with the water around it. Varren stared at the rock as if he were squaring off with the man who ran the mines himself.
“It’s not too late, Varren. You can go back,” Eira said softly.
“None of us will think less of you,” Lavette added. The rest of them nodded in agreement. “If you want me to, I’ll go back with you.Gladly.”
