“Yes, in the Lydel summer court. Your parents spent their summers here and the colder months in your court north of here.”
A court annexed by the king. “Is there anything left?”
She clutched my upper arms. “People who are desperate for you to lead them. A manor house that’s quite lovely and in good repair. And wisps of your court’s magic. He overran the territory, but the heart of your court still remains.”
I gave her a pert nod. “It’s time for me to claim it, then.”
“Yes.” Tightening her grip on my arms, she flitted us to a jagged and unyielding shore, the enormous, smooth rocks a testament to the sea’s endless plunder. I shifted my feet on the uneven slabs of stone making up the top of the rocky cliff, barely maintaining my footing between the wind and the rocks slick with spray. Pools of briny water collected in crevices by myfeet, where small creatures found refuge. This place felt ancient. It had witnessed countless tides surging and ebbing long before me or my ancestors stood here.
Gusts of salt-tinged wind channeled off the sea, whipping my hair in my face. I quickly secured it in a rough braid.
“I sometimes come here to remind myself of how small I am,” Aunt Vera said, speaking loudly to be heard above the crash of waves below us on the rocky cliff. “It’s both humbling and exhilarating.”
“Amazing,” I breathed. I closed my eyes and sucked in big breaths, shooting them back out while I centered myself in both my magic and me, the lonely orphan from a border fortress who was still trying to find a place to call home. “I’ll do my best.”
“It’s yours, love,” she said, stroking my arm. “You just need to claim it. I wish I could tell you how or what you might expect but know that I believe you can do this. No, I know you’ll triumph over this, not only because you have to in order to save Lydel, but to save yourself.”
I opened my eyes, sucking in the sight of the ocean stretched out before me, a deep blue canvas reminiscent of Vexxion’s sapphire eyes, woven through with shades of green and hints of gray. Far offshore, whitecaps danced fiercely on the waves, their frothy crests catching the early morning sunlight briefly before vanishing. Patches of darker water hinted at enormous depths below, while closer to shore, hues shifted with each swell’s rise and fall. It was alive, moving ceaselessly in its powerful rhythm.
“You’re right,” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure she’d hearme over the churn of the sea directly below. “I can do this.” I had to, but even more, Iwantedto. Lydel was me, and I was a part of it. No one could steal that from me.
She hugged me, speaking low by my ear. “Come find me when it’s over. Take care. Don’t be afraid. And trust that you will be able to do whatever’s needed.”
We parted, and after one more smile, she flitted back to the manor.
I walked to the edge of the cliff and stopped, staring out at the sea.
A mix of awe and insignificance coursed through me. The endless ocean stretched all the way to the southern continent, though I couldn’t see it from here. The sea held a wild beauty, as if something unseen called from beyond the horizon, whispering secrets only those brave enough could discover.
“What now?” I whispered, then lifted my voice. “Lydel? I’m here for you. I’m yours, and I pray to the fates you want to be mine. Come for me.”
An enormous wave surged up the cliff and engulfed me.
45
TEMPEST
Swept off the top of the cliff, I was dragged into the deep, churning mass of indigo water. I flailed, kicking my legs and flailing my arms, but I couldn’t tell up from down. For a moment, panic grabbed onto my bones and shook me.
Then I centered myself and stopped moving. I opened my eyes and took in the world around me.
I swore I was drowning and then I wasn’t. I wasn’t necessarily breathing beneath the water so much as not breathing at all. My lungs felt normal, and my heart rate slowed from the furious thunder that had grabbed hold of me when I was swept out to sea to something more normal.
An eerie calm enveloped me, and I stared around, fascinated by this new and stunning landscape. Sunlight filtered through the surface above in dappled patterns, illuminating a hidden world of vivid blues and greens. Kelp swayed gentlywith the current in this underwater forest, and small fish darted between the spears, glistening silver and gold and every other metallic color imaginable. Farther below, shadows hinted at deeper mysteries I ached to explore. The water was alive with strange creatures clinging to rocks and the edge of the cliff or scuttling across strands of floating vegetation.
Something dark and ominous approached from the open sea, its body undulating through the water. I flapped my arms and looked for a place to hide, but the kelp was too narrow and there were no boulders big enough in sight.
Dark and, I sensed, ancient, it glided toward me with delicate grace, its body as long as a wing in Lydel Manor.
Brown. It was as brown as a rich slab of fessalile wood, and its body held nicks and scars as if it had survived a terrible battle. I recognized its smoothed frame, though I couldn’t remember where I’d seen it. Its enormous wings stretched out away from its body, and I spied a long tail swirling through the water behind it.
When it stretched its mouth wide, its jagged teeth glinted in the murky sunlight, forearm-length things that could rip prey apart.
A water dragon? I’d heard they existed, but living far from the sea, I’d never seen one. They were a part of myths and legends, though I’d read once they could do magic, like the fae.
Its mouth stretched wider; a gaping maw larger than a villager’s house.
I should flee, but I remained in place other than the soft kicks of my legs and the gentle sway of my arms.
