Another glance at the sky, now basted with hues of pink and orange, told me the sun was on the precipice of rising.
With fantasies of its rays beaming against my pebbled flesh, I lay my head against the mattress of cool sand and closed my eyes, allowing sleep to lure me back into nothingness.
***
“Are you alright, Miss?” I was stirred from my dreamless sleep by the sound of a male voice above me.
Straining to open my eyes, I blinked once. Twice. Three times.
The figure of an elderly mortal man came into view. Squinting up at him, I raised a hand to shield my eyes against the glare of the early morning sunshine. There was concern on the age-lined features of his face. Concern, and embarrassment.
With colossal effort, I sat up and squinted at the man who would not look at me. Was I that much of an eyesore?
The man cleared his throat and spoke again. “Are you alright?”
“I’m grand,” I said flatly, massaging the ache in my neck.
He met my eye, then quickly looked away again, patches of red tinting his hollow cheeks.
Realization hit me: I was in my undergarments. I’d heard mortals held more conservative attitudes towards bodies than Velcarin did. Clearly my body was making the old man uncomfortable. I supposed I had better clothe myself if I wanted any chance at a productive conversation.
With a sigh, I reached for the dress perched across the rock. It was still saturated, but I pulled it over my head while the man began prattling on about how he had been returning home after a disastrous morning, when he happened upon the two of us lying on the beach. He held a shabby pouch and some sort of fishing net with stone sinkers. His worn trousers and shoes were wet. This man was obviously a fisherman.
“Where are we?” I asked, interrupting his nervous chatter.
“On the outskirts of Barvik,” he replied, only meeting my gaze once I wasappropriatelycovered.
Thank the goddesses. From my extensive geography lessons, I knew that Barvik was the capital of Solvardunn. I could have kissed the ground in relief that the currents hadn’t led me astray.
“What happened to you?” he asked.
What had happened? Knowing full well I couldn’t tell the truth and break the terms of my agreement with the Crow, I decided to go with a vague, but not entirely inaccurate version of events.
“A shipwreck.” My voice sounded hoarse, reminding me of how thirsty I was.
“And you swam all the way to shore?” he asked, incredulous.
I nodded. To a mortal, it would be an incredible feat. Admittedly, in the aftermath of clashing with the storm, the sprintto land had been both challenging and humbling. It had gotten dark, especially towards the end.
All things considered, itwasan incredible feat.
“It took us hours to get here,” I added for good measure.
His eyes widened. “You must be exhausted.”
“I am.” I gestured to my new ward, still sleeping on the sand. “Can you find help? Urgently?”
“Of course. Yes.” He nodded as if only just remembering the child. “The edge of the city is not far from here. I’ll get help.”
He offered me a flask from his pouch, which I wholeheartedly accepted. The water was lukewarm, but my mouth, dry as parchment, relished it all the same. Tempted as I was to drain every last drop, I saved some for the child. She was going to need it.
My eyes followed the man retreating away from the beach. He walked with a slight limp, which slowed his pace.
I settled myself in for a long wait. If he did indeed bring back help, I’d see to it that he never went home with an empty net again. After I’d broken the curse on Vantillios, of course.
To pass the time, I took in my surroundings. The beach had a rugged, rocky landscape that stretched for miles on either side. Behind us were dunes that were part-sand, part-grass. It was so unlike the flat, unblemished shores of Vantillios.
The fisherman had made his way up one of the dunes to a pathway shrouded in bushes. In fact, all the dunes led to dense bushes stretching out to the surrounding bluffs that made this strip of beach quiet and secluded. It was a wonder we were discovered.
