And then, with silent steps, I fled to my room.
Four
Niamh
The port of Clearwater was bursting with activity. Sailors polished ship decks and hauled trunks of weapons onboard. The king, thin and reedy Duncan Hinde, offered to show Alastair and me his collection before the humans prepared the ships for departure. I’d whistled at the impressive steel in every shape and size imaginable. Many of the weapons were inlaid with tiger-eye gemstones, which sparked my curiosity. I didn’t know much about the fabled gems from the mortal kingdoms. They were rumored to provide enhanced protection, though I’d never seen evidence of it myself.
Regardless, it was clear the king had been preparing for this day for a very long time.
Now I waited with Val and Alastair at a small pub sandwiched between a fishmonger and the harbormaster’s office. We sat in a cluster of chairs on the wooden dock itself, sipping bitter ale. Boots thunked on wood and soft waves rushed against the bank beneath us. The sailors’ ruckus had drowned out most attempts at conversation, but the din was beginning to die down. With most of the ships readied and fully loaded, it was as if Clearwater had taken a deep breath, then held it in anticipation.
Val stared at the nearest ship, which would carry the king across the choppy waters—and us. He’d donned it The Sea Fae’s Curse, which rankled my ass. For one, there was no such thing as a sea fae. Two, if anyone were cursed, it was these damn humans with their vision comets. Now that I’d spent some more time with the man, it was clear these visions had haunted him since he was old enough to know his left toe from his right. Half the time, he wandered around muttering to himself about knife edges, wings, tranquility and bounty—which made little sense to me—and someone named Fiadh MacCain.
When asked about it, he merely waved his hand and said, “I’ve shared all I can. Any more, and it could break the knife’s edge.”
Val tapped her finger against her full tankard. She hadn’t touched her drink, which told me all I needed to know about her state of mind. “Are we sailing straight to war?” Her voice was tight; her cheeks were pale. I wanted to soothe her worry, but I wouldn’t lie to her, either.
“Hopefully, no. The king has planned a route to Sunport, which is far enough south that it should have avoided getting swept up in the war. But I can’t promise you there won’t be surprises. The gods can fly.”
“But so can the little dove,” Alastair cut in from where he had been quietly observing the busy docks. “She knows we’re coming. And she’ll do everything in her power to distract the gods from the Bantam Sea, especially with you on board one of the ships. You’re her family.”
“That’s exactly what I’m worried about,” she said with a sigh. “I don’t want Tessa to put herself in danger trying to save me. She’s already done that far too much.”
“If only the damn king hadn’t thrown our communication stones out the window,” Alastair muttered.
Scowling, I nodded my agreement. When we’d contacted Kal, the mortal king had taken the opportunity to snatch our remaining stones. He’d chucked them right out the tower window. Something about the fucking knife’s edge again.
“Too much communication could snap the fragile threads that bind the past to the future,” he’d said.
I’d gone hunting for them on the rocks below the tower window, but the wind had blown away whatever shattered residue they’d left behind.
I understood why Duncan Hinde was the way he was, but I didn’t much like it.
The king suddenly appeared, as if my thoughts had summoned him. He approached the table in his swirling emerald robe and sandaled feet, flanked by a score of armored guards. He didn’t go anywhere outside the castle without them, which always made me wonder if there was something he’d seen from the comet. A future he wanted to avoid.
“Val,” he said with a polite nod. He always addressed her first. “You and your companions may board the ship now.”
We’d been assigned to sail with him on The Sea Fae’s Curse. Some might take that as an honor. I, on the other hand, knew it for what it was. He wanted to keep an eye on us. Even with his comet, he hadn’t anticipated our arrival in Talaven. Something about the comet’s potency faded over time. But I knew it unnerved him. Our being here hadn’t been part of his carefully constructed plan.
Deep down, I knew that should worry me, too. As much as I hated how the human kingdom had secretly woven their threads, manipulating and watching and twisting fate into what they wanted it to become, I understood why. They’d done everything in their power to protect the world from the eventual return of the gods. And, if they were right about Tessa, it had worked. She was fated to stop them.
But if our arrival wasn’t on the cards, did that mean the knife’s edge had cracked?
I didn’t want to think about what that might mean if it had.
Val stood and followed the king, and I let her lead the way. Alastair fell into step behind her, jaw clenched. I knew him well enough to read the tension in his shoulders and the way he rubbed his right earring. Everything I’d noticed, he’d noticed, too. We hadn’t spoken about it, too wary of the ears all around us. But he knew.
I gave him a nod as we approached the ship. He nodded back. We might be sailing into familiar waters, but there would be storms ahead.
As we walked across the gangplank, I spotted another ship leaving the harbor. Several more were easing away from the port. Brine thickened the air even as a soft breeze soothed the heat beaming down from the persistent sun. I gazed across the rippling blue expanse, awestruck for a moment at how far I could see. Somewhere beyond the horizon stood a land consumed by mist and shadow, now under threat by immortal beings intent on destroying us all. And suddenly, it felt like that darkness was racing toward us, even though the sky remained clear.
Despite the heat, a shiver raced down my spine.
“What’s wrong?” Alastair asked.
I shook my head. “I think I just feel uneasy about what the king said we—”
The furthest ship away from the port tipped to the side, the sea bucking beneath it. A tentacle twice the size of The Sea Fae’s Curse surged from the depths. Its skin was a deep reddish pink, and dozens of suckers dotted the arm that slammed down on the ship. Men screamed; wood snapped.
