But it’s the sea that stops me in my tracks.
Thesea.
I’ve never seen the sea before. It has no end. Iknewthat, in theory, but it’s different seeing it somehow. It’s a wide-open blue expanse of freedom.
The late-afternoon sun dances across its surface, like a thousand gold coins caught in a blue-black net.
I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.
“My queen,” Stark says softly.
I look at him and realize there are tears in my eyes.
His jaw tightens. His hair catches in the breeze—a cool breeze off the water, refreshing after our long days of riding in the sun. Even the wind itself smells different here.
I realize he’s asking me if I’m all right, so I smile and give him a hint of what I’m feeling over our bond.
His eyes immediately smile back at me. None of the rest of his face does, but I see it all the same.
We wind our way down into the city as one. Immediately, upon our approach, citizens scramble out of the way and cower from our wolves.
Others must recognize their king traveling with us, because they gather around and stare in wonder. Apparently, Lucien’s presence makes them feel safe enough to stand in the presence of direwolves.
As we draw closer to the harbor, the sound of seabirds crying fills the air. People shout and go about their jobs loading and unloading cargo. Bells tucked into towers ring in the arrivals and departures of ships. I wrinkle my nose.
“What’s that smell?” I ask.
“Fish,” Elias replies, also grimacing.
“And the sea, Meryn,” Noemi adds. “The salt water itself has a smell. Seaweed. Fish. But also just the brine of the water.” She would know; Eisenfall is also on the sea.
“And sweaty workmen,” Lucien adds unhelpfully, very obviously ogling one of said workmen as Venna rides past.
She turns to me and sends meis this guy seriouseyes, which makes me smile.
“We’ve arrived,” Lucien says. He then unfurls his arm like he’s bestowing a great gift upon me, and I follow the length of it toward the farthest dock in the harbor.
There’s amagnificentship floating there with a crowd gathered around it, staring and pointing.
It’s not as big as some of the cargo ships, but it’s got razor-sharp sails, a narrow but long hull with a curling prow, and its boards are painted in waves of cerulean, navy, and flashes of silver to imitate the glint of sunlight on the crest of a wave.
It’s large enough to accommodate our entire party, including our direwolves. Yet, to my untrained eye, it also looks as if it were designed for speed.
Noemi twists around, taking in all the sights. She jostles Elias in her excitement, who wobbles and nearly falls off, only managing to grip fur at the last second.
As we board the ship, something settles in me that’s been white-water churning since we left Brightbane. Or maybe even before that.
We’re on the narrow road that leads to Killian’s defeat. The razor-slim path that takes us to the tower and to the next Tear.
This is right. I know it is.
Whatever the cost.
The prow of our boat slices through the water, and I’m bent entirely over the railing, hair clinging to my clammy skin, insides roiling.
I squeeze my eyes shut as nausea gathers again, but I try to breathe through it.
It doesn’t work. My stomach surges.
