“Go keep Jorn and Eirlik company,” Sig yells. “Oh, and Fin is ready for bed. He’s asking for the next part of his story.”
I glance at Sig, then back at Weston in shock.
Has Weston been putting Fin to bed every night?
My heart swells at the thought, but I quickly push it away. I want Fin to have every kindness in the world, especially if he is going to be a child forever in this one, but how is it coming fromhim?
She walks toward the opening for the gangway before calling back over her shoulder, “And get some sleep!”
Weston rolls his eyes before turning his back on us and crossing the deck. I expect him to disappear below, but just before he does, he spins again, and crosses his arms, waiting. I can see the tension in his shoulders and arms from here. It’s obvious he is not happy about staying on the ship while we leave. His eyes flicker to mine for a moment, and I turn away to join Sig and the girls.
I don’t know what he is so worried about. I’ve been on Dawnlin for months, searching for the healing waters alone every day. I know the island; I know the dangers, and I’m not alone. Just because they took me captive doesn’t mean I lost all of my experience and need to be coddled on this shift. Besides, the weapon is more for my comfort. The Voyagers would never hurt me.
“Let’s go, ladies,” Sig says and steps up to the edge.
The boards under our feet rumble and I watch as a gangway appears out of nowhere, extending out from the side of the ship directly to the slip of rock that juts out creating the cove. It stops extending with a thud, and everyone bounds down it toward the rocky land on the other side.
The back of my neck tingles, and I know Weston is watching me as I follow behind the group, down off the ship for the first time. It takes a lot more effort than I want to admit to stop myself from glancing back, but I don’t. My boots pound on the gangway as I jog to catch up with them, muddling my way along the jagged rock toward the beach.
Moonlight brightens the clear sky, lighting the way along the rocks. The glowing waves roll through the cove, and the memory of the last time I stood on these rocks pops into my mind.
Life has changed so much. Then, I felt carefree and happy, excited for the possibility of a future, and now? Now I’m trying to survive, battling with a horrible man daily, all so I can make it back to the person who brought me here.
Once we are on the beach, Sig falls into step beside me, letting Stassia and Auralie lead the way. Stassia walks up to the cliff face, on the opposite side of the beach from the steps Dane and I took to get down here, and steps right through the rock.
Auralie follows right behind, and Sig gestures me forward. “After you,” she murmurs.
If I didn’t already know that portals existed on the island, watching them disappear into the stone would be shocking. Using a portal is the same way we got into camp, but the shocking part is that there is an entire system of tunnels under the island that none of us have ever found.
But now I know the entrance, or at least one of them.
The portal magic surrounds me as I step through it into a dim tunnel carved into the earth. Auralie and Stassia wait patiently, and I glance back to watch as Sig steps through, the space around her transparent as if there is a hole that leads out to the beach. The only other place I’ve seen a portal look like that, transparent on one side and completely hidden on the other, is at the exit of the mountain.
I look around, trying to pick up on any details, but the carved land is plain. There’s enough space to walk side by side, maybe even with three or four people, and torches that line the walls throw off light. I peer past Stassia, trying to see anything farther down, but all I can see is a split, and then darkness.
“Phew! Now we can talk. I’m so glad you’re with us tonight Lennox! It’s about time you got off that ship,” Stassia rambles.
Auralie leads us down the tunnel and we turn off to the right. Just like in the mountain, the torches light as we move through the carved space, but everything looks exactly the same. There’s no way I could do this on my own. My sense of direction is completely gone down here, despite knowing the island extremely well.
“How do you have any clue where you’re going without getting lost?” I glance back to where the tunnels branched, the light already extinguished.
“Years of practice.” Auralie smiles over her shoulder.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Far side of the island,” Sig says. “We don’t have a ton of ground to cover today, so it’ll be a good first time.”
“So, is this just the same as looking for the healing waters? We just…search?” I ask.
If Dawnlin was a person, I would have a few choice words to say about the amount of time we have spent searching for things that should be obvious on the island. Why are things so damn difficult? The purpose of getting to the island is to get the healing waters, and the purpose of the dust is to come and go. So why do we have to spend years looking for both? If we’re supposed to have hope to get here, why is it ripped away from us the second our foot touches the ground?
“For the most part, yes, it’s the same,” Sig says. “The big difference is we didn’t come here for dust. We knew we were searching for the healing waters, but we didn’t know we’d be trying to find a way to leave. We don’t know if Dawnlin even has it concealed like the waters, but we have to try.”
“Do you know how boring it is to just sit on the ship and do nothing all day?Forever?” Stassia says.
“I do, actually,” I say.
Auralie gives me a sympathetic smile.
