That sparked something in Collin’s memory. He straightened a little. “Oh—you’re from Abyss Cove. My grandfather says it’s so remote you need a compass and a prayer just to find it.”
Logan grinned. “That’s the one. The rest of the world calls it Abyss Cove. We call it Nesaea.”
“Then Nesaea it is,” said Aries.
“Tell us about it,” Niall urged, nibbling at the edge of his bread, the fire painting color back into his face.
Logan shrugged modestly. “Small fishing village on the edge of the world. We trade mostly with Blue Isle sailors. Sometimes we show up at your autumn markets, but mostly we keep to ourselves.”
“Well, I’m glad you were out here to see Collin and Niall in the water,” Aries said, handing Collin a torn strip of smoked venison.
Collin accepted it with a nod of thanks, then reached for a slice of toasted bread. Now that warmth had returned to his limbs and the adrenaline had ebbed, hunger came back with a vengeance.
“But what are you doing out here all alone?” he asked, tearing into the venison.
“I’m on... a journey,” Logan replied, pulling a small plate from his pack and carefully deboning the fish. “Back in Nesaea, before a boy becomes a man, he has to go in search of his soul.”
“You’re working on a deadline, then?” Collin said.
Logan nodded. “Exactly.”
Collin took a slice of bread from the fire, now crisp and golden. He layered it with fish, passed it to Logan, then began assembling the next one.
Niall brightened. “How do you find your soul?”
Logan gave a crooked smile. “No one really knows. You think deeply. Look inward. Everyone’s path is different.” He shrugged lightly. “I’ve been thinking deeply for two days straight—and so far... no soul that I can tell.”
Collin chewed slowly. “And when you say you haven’t found it—how do you know? What does a soul feel like?”
“I’m not—”
Before Logan could answer, Aries cut in, still mid-bite. “Come on. We’re not soulless blobs before seventeen. I know I was born with a soul. Probably more than one.”
Collin shot him a pointed look.
Aries swallowed sheepishly. “I mean... this fish is excellent.”
Logan laughed. “Food always tastes better when you’ve survived another day.”
“How long have you been out here?” Collin asked.
“Almost a month. And I’m no closer. Maybe the soul is meant to find me.”
Collin stared into the fire. The thought snagged in his chest—the idea of searching for something invisible and unknowable, all alone, unsettled him more than he expected.
“You’ve really been here, by yourself, for a month?” he asked, quieter this time.
Logan nodded, eyes fixed on the flames. “And I’ve got nothing to show for it.”
Collin reached over and gave his shoulder a light pat. “Well, if it means anything—you saved two souls today. And taught us about riptides. That’s got to count for something.”
Aries let out a groan as he stretched his legs beside the fire. “I’m just glad I can officially cross ‘death by angry ocean’ off my personal wish list.”
Collin smirked. “So what’s left? Death by falling bread roll? Trampled by admirers?”
“I’m still hoping for dramatic heartbreak,” Aries said wistfully. “Something that makes poets cry and exes jealous.”
A ripple of laughter passed through the group. The fire, at last, felt a little warmer.
