I didn't turn as his footsteps approached and the weathered merchant joined me at the railing.
I hadn’t spoken to him yet. I knew he had a lot of questions.
Questions I didn’t want to answer, but his presence was steady and familiar. A welcome reprieve from the chaos in my head.
"Hope I didn’t interrupt your travels by summoning you here." I continued gazing ahead at the waters.
Kaem sighed. “I can assure you whatever I planned to do wouldn’t have been more interesting than this. Never been to the Land of the Dead, never seen a Reaper, and I…” His voice trailed off.
I cut him a glance, already knowing. “Never seen a Deathwalker.”
He shook his head. “I can’t say that I have, my boy.”
My boy.
It was strange. Here we were, talking about serious matters, but I was still able to take comfort in the familiar term of address.
Kaem was the only living soul who still called me that. He’d been a friend and ally to my family since the days of my grandfather. At eighteen hundred years old, my mere three hundred years made me a boy to him.
“So, I guess the rumors are true.” He stared back at me, brows raised, expectancy in his eyes.
“They are. But you already knew that.”
Kaem placed a hand to his heart and patted his chest. “You know me, young Nightblade. I never officially know something until you tell me. Or I see it for myself.”
Galaythia was still in the dark. Let them stay there. They’d heard whispers of my curse, of my ruthless terror, but they’d never seen me in Deathwalker form. To some, it was a myth. I wanted to keep it that way. Fear of the unknown kept people obedient—and my secrets stayed where they belonged.
“Sorry you had to find out like that.”
“I completely understand. I suppose it should be an honor to be someone you’d seek out your hour of need.”
Outside of my Veythral and the Seer, Kaem was theonlyperson I could call on in an emergency. Not only as an ally but for his extraordinary expertise in using certain magic.
Kaem was what we called a traveling merchant. One who’d travelled to all realms, dimensions, and planes of existence.
He was a collector of every- and anything, including powers.
I knew he’d gathered death magic over the years, so when we needed a ship, he was the first person to cross my mind. He was the only one who knew where to find my ship, and the only one who could manipulate the magic in this realm well enough to sail its sea.
Kaem cut me a curious stare. “Is this the part where we talk? Or do you need more time?”
I looked back at him, and my shoulders sagged. “I think I owe you an explanation.”
He chuckled. “Sound just like your father. I’d pick him up, too, from here, there, and everywhere. He always felt like he needed to explain himself. I’ll tell you now what I told him—you don’t have to explain anything. Only tell me if you want to. Granted, I never picked him up in the Land of the Dead, so there’s that.”
A weak smile tugged on my lips. “You’re a good friend, Kaem. I do owe you an explanation, if only for your troubles on these seas.”
His expression grew serious, and he glanced at my chest. My shirt covered my bandages, but he was looking at me like he knew I wasn’t whole.
“You got hurt, didn’t you? Real bad,” he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
“I did.”
“Bad enough to end up in theLand of the Dead?”
“Bad enough to takerefugein the Land of the Dead,” I clarified. “I was in Morgäven.”
His skin paled. “Fuck. What happened to you? What madness sent you there, boy?”
