Lewis pursed his lips. "...No... but we’re closer than before."
"The waterfalls!" Vivienne jumped up. "The flower might be there."
"From one of the other carvings, right?" Owen followed her line of thought. "What about the one with the goddess crying?"
"Seems simple to me," Cirrus asserted. "The goddess was mourning her people.”
Lewis snorted. "If Cici is our emotional barometer, we’re doomed."
Vivienne bit her lip to keep from laughing. Cirrus wasn’t wrong, but she doubted the carving was so straightforward. The stone worker had taken the time to carve the scene.It has to mean something more significant.
"Ha, ha, Blume," Cirrus retorted. "One thing is still bothering me from yesterday?—"
"Same here," Lewis taunted, aiming his gaze at Cirrus.
Cirrus ignored him. "The earthquake and the Apocrita attack. Don’t you think it’s strange how those things happened right after Simon crushed the skull?”
Owen’s forehead creased in a deep line. "Perhaps the earthquake agitated the swarm and they attacked in response.”
"Fine," Cirrus conceded. "But what if it wasn’t naturally occurring? What if the goddess reacted to their desecration?”
Vivienne reflected on the sequence of events.No, they can't be connected. Maybe a lucky, or unlucky, karmic collision.
Lewis hummed a sound of doubt. “You’re saying Elandra herself caused the earthquake and sent a horde of nightmare bees after them?”
“It’s not an outrageous leap.” Cirrus crossed his arms. "We're literally on a quest to find a flower and break a curse."
Vivienne stared at him. Of all people, Cirrus was the last person she’d expect to suggest divine intervention. And yet, she believed him. She’d never seen so much death or been forced to reckon with the horrors her kingdom had buried. Even if they failed to break the curse, she felt they owed this island something.
Some form of justice, however inadequate it may be.
33
The river coursed beside them, its steady murmur a rare constant in the chaos of their expedition. They had spent a second night camping near the banks, allowing their aching bodies more time to recover. Vivienne inhaled deeply, the humid air swirled in her lungs. Her muscles throbbed and the sting wounds prickled beneath the thin bandages, but she was standing. Breathing. They were all alive despite the stacking odds against them.
She studied the others as they packed their gear, savoring the fleeting calm. Cirrus double-checked the straps of his pack, his usually tanned skin still pallid from the lingering effects of the stings. A few feet away, Lewis shifted his weight, testing his footing with a slight limp. Owen adjusted the wrappings around his shin, suppressing any outward sign of discomfort. He had endured multiple stings, yet his posture and facial expression gave nothing away.
“Looks like we’re as ready as we’ll ever be,” Cirrus said, slinging his pack over his shoulder. “We follow the river to the waterfall.”
Lewis raised a hand, a grin growing on his face. “Hey, Cici—” Cirrus’ scowl at the nickname only widened Lewis’ grin. “I was thinking, for a fun change of pace, we trywalkingthrough the rainforest instead of sprinting for our lives. What do you say?”
Cirrus exhaled through his nose, unamused. “I’ll do my best to keep the sprinting portions to a minimum, but we need to keep moving. As far as we know, Enyo and the rest of his crew are still out there.”
Vivienne shuddered, recalling the gruesome aftermath of the Apocrita’s attack. The sailors’ bloated, venom-ravaged corpses were a sight she would never be able to forget. Though she wouldn’t wish such a horrific end on anyone, she had no desire to cross paths with Enyo’s men again.
The group set off, slipping into an instinctive formation. Vivienne and Cirrus led, navigating the dense foliage while Lewis and Owen trailed behind, their injuries slowing their strides. The rainforest remained unforgiving with its twisting roots, uneven ground, and tangled underbrush, but for the first time in days, they weren’t running.
The crisp breeze offered a welcome reprieve from the stifling heat, its cool fingers brushing against Vivienne’s flushed skin. A delicate, floral fragrance beckoned her forward, and she followed the intoxicating scent, Cirrus keeping pace at her side. The rainforest opened into a small glade bursting with color. Clusters of vivid red and yellow flowers swayed gently, their nectar-laden blooms enticing a kaleidoscope of butterflies. Hundreds of them flitted from petal to petal, their wings gleaming like shards of sapphire, emerald, and gold.
Vivienne gasped in awe. “Beautiful.”
"Yes, you are," Cirrus murmured, his voice a breath against her ear as his fingers brushed hers.
She shot him a sidelong glare, though the warmth creeping up her neck betrayed her. She turned to face him, unintentionally disturbing the glade. The butterflies took flight in a dazzling spiral, encircling them in a whirlwind of fluttering gemstones. Cirrus reached for her hand, his usual easy confidence faltering. His stance was unsteady, his expression vulnerable in a way she hadn’t seen before.
“Banns… Vivienne,” he released a shaky breath, taking her by the hand. “Too many times on this island, I thought you…” a hard swallow rippled down his throat, “I thought you might die.”
“And yet, here I am." She smiled, attempting to lighten the weight of his words.
