“Perhaps,” he said in a low voice.
Fear burned my heart. I pressed a hand against my chest and breathed deeply, trying to calm my rising panic. Every time I thought about that power—and what it might make me do—I felt like my body might cave in on itself, taken down by the overwhelming thunder of my heart.
“I don’t want it,” I said in a harsh whisper. “I tried to use it yesterday, against the shadowfiend, but I don’t want it.”
“I know, love,” Kalen said with a sad smile. “But it can be a tool, one for you to wield. It’s something I’m forcing myself to face with my own power. It can do monstrous things. It can destroy anything in my path, but perhaps, if I just stop hating it and fearing it and trying to pretend it doesn’t exist, then I can use it for good. For once in my life, I want to use it for good.”
For a long moment, we stared at each other through the mist. His eyes were full of a wary hope, a contrast to the self-hatred and disgust I’d seen in him every other time he’d spoken of his power.
“What’s changed?” I whispered.
He strode through the mist and wound his hand around the back of my neck. “You.”
My heart trembled. “What if…what if itchangesme, the way it changed Oberon?”
“In Oberon’s darkest moments, he melted beneath the flames of his despair. He let them burn him up until he was nothing but a husk of the man he’d been before. But you…you grew stronger. You will keep growing stronger. Learn it. Master it. And then, when Andromeda arrives, she will see thatyouare one person she can never control.”
His words wormed their way into my heart, and as much as this power scared me, I wanted to believe he was right. Lifting my chin, I looked him square in the eye and said, “Then let’s begin.”
Twelve
Niamh
It took us a week to reach Sunport. Along the way, we’d narrowly avoided two pooka attacks by jumping in the river to hide our scent. They seemed to be wandering around in big packs now—strange, to say the least. In my long centuries alive in this world, I’d never seen or heard of the beasts behaving this way. As much as they looked liked wolves, they weren’t pack animals. They were more like the pale white bears in the far northern lands, solitary except for when they sought out a mate. A few would sometimes join together for a hunt, but I’d never seen more than ten in one place until a week ago.
That comet in the sky must be the reason.
Unlike Endir, Sunport felt like a ghost town. The once-bustling port city had lost three-quarters of its residents during the war, and they’d never recovered, even after almost four hundred years. The fae on this side of Oberon’s protective barrier hadn’t suffered from infertility like those in Albyria, but it was still difficult for fae to reproduce the way humans did. Our rapid healing meant our bodies weren’t well suited to it.
On my left, Val slowed as she gazed at the city before us. The buildings were bleached white stone, topped with golden tiled roofs that had once glittered beneath the light of the sun. The cobblestone streets wound through the buildings like a maze that eventually led to the shore, where wooden docks shot off into the sea. Four hundred years ago, there would have been dozens of ships hauling goods, but only a lone ship sat there now, swaying gently in the current.
“Where is everyone?” Val asked, her eyes bright with curiosity, her loose, wavy hair flowing around her shoulders. For the love of the moon, she was beautiful.
Alastair came up beside her. “Inside, where the pookas can’t get them.”
Val glanced over her shoulder at the dilapidated wooden wall we’d passed through. The gate had been bolted, but it had been easy enough to shove it open. “Pales in comparison to the one in Endir.”
“The last one got torn down in the war, and they’ve struggled to rebuild it,” I said. “As I’ve heard it, the noise attracted the beasts, so they had to make do with this hastily constructed thing.”
“Only problem is,” Alastair said with a frown, “it’s not very good at keeping the beasts out of the city. So the fae who live here spend most of their lives inside. Sad for a place called Sunport.”
Val swallowed. “I think that’s my cue to head for the docks.”
Bow held tightly in my hand, I watched the red-headed mortal sashay in front of us. Her hips swayed from side to side, her curves—
“Watch out,” Alastair said with a low chuckle. “You’ll get drool on your armor.”
Rolling my eyes, I shot a scowl at his back as I followed the two of them to the docks. Truth be told, I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off Val from the moment I’d first seen her in Teine. Her long red hair, those bright, bright eyes, and the courageous energy she exuded with every step she took. Not just anyone would be willing to sail off to unknown lands and leave behind everything she knew and loved, just for a little hope of making a difference. And look so good doing it.
Maybe I really did need to watch out for drool.
When we reached the docks at the western edge of the city, the ship was waiting for us. Two human men stood on the docks and watched us approach with frowns that made spiderwebs around their eyes. Their sunburnt faces and shocks of white hair were a surprise. Most of the sailors I’d met from the mortal realms were younger men in search of adventure. The dangerous lands of Aesir were perfect in that regard.
“Captain,” I said as we reached the two men, addressing the one who wore a fine tailored coat with three golden braids stitched onto its shoulders. He gave me a once-over before he turned to Val and frowned.
“One mortal. There were supposed to be a hundred,” he said in a low, gravelly voice. “What happened to the others?”
“Did you not get our raven?” I asked as I stepped up beside Val, edging my body in front of hers. “Our plans have changed.”
