Map
1
Aethra
The Empty waited below the sea. Crystal-clear waves lapped against the shore, concealing the death lurking beneath the surface.
Salvation and a whisper of destruction, bound as one. A mirror of myself, and the fate I might bring to the world.
Taking a deep breath, I drank in the unfamiliar scent of salt and flexed my wrists against the shackles binding them behind my back. Steel dug into my skin, an unpleasant reminder of what happened last night.
Ainwir had died to keep me away from Phaedrus. Seth had delivered me back into his hands.
A man’s shadow stretched over me, and I stiffened.
“You’ve had your time to think.” Phaedrus spoke with the elegant accent of the nobility. “Have you made a decision?”
Setting my jaw, I turned around, avoiding his gaze. Instead, I looked to our west. An enormous ship was moored on the beach. Several men in dark leather emblazoned with a golden chalice prowled its deck or loitered by its bridge.
Guild members. I should have known Phaedrus neverintended to bring his soldiers.
The fiery-haired nobleman looked like a Guild member himself. A dark blue toga with a high collar wrapped his leather armor, and an elegant cape draped his shoulders.
The outfit reminded me of Ainwir.
Ainwir.
I closed my eyes and breathed out. A heavy weight lifted from my shoulders, now that I could remember him fondly again.
Phaedrus’ sage green eyes bore into me. “Well?”
“I have conditions,” I said, meeting his gaze.
He chuckled, motioning for me to follow him. “Are you in a position to bargain?”
“No. But I can come quietly or kicking and screaming. Your choice.”
“Name your price, then.”
We trudged through the sand, back to the ship’s bridge. I placed one foot on the wooden board and stopped. “First, I’ll have your solemn oath that you won’t harm the others if we run into them.”
“I won’t.” Phaedrus twisted to look down at me. His eyes darted away. “I shouldn’t need to, at least.”
“Oath,” I spat.
He offered me an amused smirk before dipping into a bow, hand pressed to his chest. “You have my most solemn word.”
A muscle in my jaw ticked. More and more, I could see the Ainwir in his mannerisms.
Phaedrus resumed his ascent to the ship’s deck, and I followed, pausing once more when I stepped aboard. “Second. I want to knoweverythingabout Ainwir.”
“Easy enough,” Phaedrus agreed, leading me past the Guild members toward the captain’s cabin. “We have many days of travel ahead and silence aplenty to fill.”
“Good,” I muttered, eyeing him warily as he opened the door and beckoned me inside.
A luxurious room greeted me, complete with a canopied bed and stately mahogany desk. A beautiful ebony gown lay across the sheets. Swiveling, I raised an eyebrow at the lord.
“That’s your disguise,” he said plainly. “Waltz around in . . .”He eyed my dirty pants and threadbare tunic with disapproval. “That, and you’ll be outed as a foreigner quickly.”
