“The banished god wants to sail through giant serpent-filled waters,” he explained.
My eyes shot open wildly. “Why?” I breathed. That definitelydidsound like a death wish.
“Wehaveto see the Threnai. What’s the point of finding the entrance to Shadeborne Bound with no way in?” Noctis’s voice raised an octave at his irritation. Shadowed veins bulged from his biceps gripping the edges of the table before them, his scarlet wings flaring in protest. My attention caught, narrowing in closer, trailing the blue lines in his muscled arms until I froze at the transparent tunic hugging his chiseled flesh peeking through.
“Oracle arachnids,” Calvin further established in a hushed whisper to me. “The Threnai will tell us what is needed to get into Shadeborne Bound, the underrealm that holds one of the trident pieces.”
Zahara’s fists slammed into the wooden table, the chiseled-out pieces marking specific locations teetering and falling over. “It’s too close to the nearby villages on Plumsu Island. When Marrowtwists awaken, they destroy until they’re killed. They won’t stop when we are dead. They’ll ensure all civilians along that coastline meet death’s gateswith us,” she snapped back, clear frustration lacing her words as she jabbed her finger into the map, sharp eyes never leaving the god’s.
Jun’s veiled head leaned across the map of the Bounds, studying it carefully alongside the argument, focused on the conversation. “We could go straight to the entrance of Shadeborne and ask around for the key.”
“Serpentwake is the fastest route—one we don’t have to hope someone can give us the answers for. The Threnai will know. It’s the one we take.” The finality in the god’s words boomed. Chills peppered my spine like short endings being awakened. My people died at the hands of the Terraguard Bound, the land folk draining the merfolk’s power to fuel the gilded beasts, and even I agreed we must endure the most agile course. More innocent people would die with every passingmoment. Memories, I possessed none; loyalty and sympathy, I carried in full measure.
What’s the point of surviving if everything else dies?
Zahara glared at Noctis with heat that roared like a celestial forge, her brimmed chestnut hat casting shadows across her ebony skin.
“This ismyship,” she spat. The metal medallions sewn into her long, twisting braids glinted in the daylight.
“And I wouldn’t jeopardize it if I didn’t think we could make it through the waters,” the god barked, cutting her off.
Calvin swallowed audibly.This was about to get interesting.
“I don’t believe that. You’re the fallen God of the Forsaken. I think you’d beeagerto punish this crew of misfits and anomalies,” she seethed through gritted teeth.
The god leaned forward, nearly nose-to-nose with the crew’s leader, but Zahara did not cower.
Scarlet wings expanded on command, a feathery umbrella blocking the sun from the main deck. “Would you like me to punish—”
Noctis’s words clipped short, interrupted by a hasty Calvin, his blonde curls swaying with his head. “There’s no need for all that.” The usual cheery demeanor he carried fell in that moment, and my nerves trembled. “Zah, we have to get answers from the Threnai. They’re our only chance to get into Shadeborne. We can’t just pray someone around the entrance knows how to get through, but the spiderswillknow.”
If looks could rip the sentience from a person, Zahara would have ensured Noctis fell to the ground in an unseeing, agonizing heap.
“Turn her east. Haul in the starboard lines and let out the portside. But not foryou. For Calvin. Ifanythinghappens to my boys, I’ll drag you screaming to the gates of Aetheron, and even gods will tremble before death’s blade.” Fury flared her words, and she stormed off to the wheel on the helm.
Noctis leaned back, arms folding as he exhaled, the air thick with quiet arrogance. He shifted his attention to me as I silently assessed the conversation and the danger we seemed to be rushing ourselves into.
The crew just agreed to sail east through serpent-lurking waters to reach the Threnai, oracle spiders capable of telling us how to get into the entrance of Shadeborne Bound. I agreed with Zahara; itdidsound like a death wish. But I also agreed with Calvin. Every second, I got to choose who I became… and I chose to help.
“Do you trust me?” Noctis asked, a slight tilt of his head and twinge of plea in his voice, as if begging for someone to be on his side. His proximity stirred something in my chest—something unrecognizable but slithering.
“No, but I trust them,” I replied, nodding toward the crew. How could I trust an exiled god I’d just met? The crew saved me from the Tide Reapers and worked to end the sacrifices put on by my own worshipped goddess. They’d proven their loyalty, whereas he had only proven to be a self-centered prick.
His gaze flickered, a frown growing across his scarred face. He stalked away to the lines of the ship. A quiet pain settled across the god’s face when he looked at me, and for some confusing reason, I cared a bit to understand why.
The others worked quickly, pulling ropes and unfurling sails I did not understand. When their direction shifted and the ship became steady hours later, Calvin spread a breakfast of bread and tea from the food galley across the top deck. Noctis and I joined the crew hesitantly as if inviting ourselves to a meal we weren’t intended to partake in, but Calvin waved his arms quickly, urging us to sit. There was something about the crew’s innate nature to include me that sang to my heart.
We basked in the heat of the sun in silence at first for several hours, cross-legged in a large circle over the beams looking out on the open sea. The beauty entranced me, eachwave breaking only to be reborn, as if every ending gave a promise to begin anew again.
“What are the Threnai?” I finally asked, eager to learn more of the creatures of the Terraguard Bound and what awaited us. A wry smile lifted on Calvin’s lips as he turned to look at Jun, who sipped his tea under the veil of his onyx cloak.
“This one’s on you, cleverboots,” Calvin quipped from between Zahara and Noctis.
The hooded assassin rubbed his hands together, dusting the bread crumbs before he shared the lore.
“Long ago, before ink knew paper, the gods divided all the gifts to the world's creatures. They gave birds their wings, trees their leaves, and humans their hearts.” He stopped to take a sip from his tea. A shadow lived in his voice, a haunted echo that trembled beneath the surface.
“I think you’ve gone too far backwards in the history,” Noctis murmured.
