The exiles didn’t start until high noon, which meant I had a few hours to make myself emotionless.
I pocketedthe three tranquil vials and tied the rope around my chest after I put on my hides.
As soon as I exited the bath, they were waiting for me on the bed.
I allowed myself one cycle of breaths before I stepped outside. I was used to hunting at night, when most of Moriann was asleep, but it didn’t make that much of a difference. The thick Moriann fog blocked out the access to the suns.
The six moons were the only light we ever saw, and that was onlyduring the seven-day phenomenon of theWatala.Once a year the fog thinned during slumber to glimpse the glow. Night time was brighter than day here and it only lasted a week. The rest of the time, we were covered in varying gray shadows that shifted from dark to darker.
Moriann in general was the colder kingdom. Viven was built above the Senith Cliffs, closer to the two suns, while Moriann was stuck in a sunken valley. The Cliffs, Black Sands, and Valdern Forest separated the two, and they couldn’t be more different, or so I was told.
I’d never been to Viven, even if my kind—Wielders—originated from there. I didn’t have the exile burn across my arm, which meant I was Moriann-born. My parents, or some ancestor down the line, committed a crime that got them banished here. But I’d heard enough about the kingdom on the streets to know what I was missing.
I walked down the stone steps that sprawled into the cold streets of Moriann, relaxing with each step that took me further from Dahes. Not that the streets were anything to look at. All Moriann consisted of was criminals, the dying, and Vivenian outcasts.
And then there was the actual dead. Dahes’ castle was the entrance to Hell and there was no forgetting it. His castle was built directly over the Examinis River, separating the two sides of Moriann—Salvira and Oiremoor—in half.
Rumor was that if you fell into its depths, you’d die. And despite the fact that it resembled nothing of death, I wasn’t about to test the theory to find out if it was true. I’d seen too many exiles fall into the water and never come out to not believe the stories.
Moriann had three bridges that allowed access between the two sides and all were known areas of robbery. It was the brightest section in the kingdom, making it easier to see what you wanted to steal. The entire river was bioluminescent, regardless of the time of day, it glowed. The current was fast, creating a constant roar of rushing water whenever you walked centrally. Foam lingered over the surface, making it too murky to see underneath. The ripples were blended shades of gleaming blues and purples, creating an enchanting but deadly luminosity. It was probably the only beautiful thing in Moriann, but the crimes by the river completely negated it.
The river curved through Salvira, forcing me to change directions as I crept through the streets. I left through the gates on the eastern side, so I wouldn’t have to cross over one of the bridges. It held the entrance to the Senith Cliffs that led to the Sands. Oiremoor, the western side, bordered the Adrian Ocean. It was the better of the two halves. Salvira was smaller and more known for its ruthlessness. More homeless. More crimes. More debauchery.
Oiremoor had homes, most rundown, but the few who made a living in the kingdom had gates to keep out most of the thieves. It was the kingdom’s only legal place to purchase goods. There was no official market—no concrete buildings, just rolling carts that moved to new locations every day to limit the chance of robbery. Not that it worked.
Salvira was for stealing. They had their own underground network through a series of caves that bordered the southern cliffs. They bartered in things outside of currency, and out of desperation, many did.
I never entered the Dark Market caves. If you did, you took the chance of not making it back out, and I never wanted to take the risk.
Maybe I should have. Maybe I would have been better off than I was now.
The constant fog rolled over the low rise buildings, reminding me of a cage. It never dissipated, just dispersed and spread, but today it was so thick I could barely see a foot in front of me.
I took the long route, taking my time roaming through Salvira, praying I would seehim—see Masin—but I never did. I walked up the entire Examinis before I was forced to veer east, making my way to the Senith.
I stared up at the looming cliff face, but could only see a few feet above my head. The wind ripped at my back, threatening to knock me over.
It was why once you were exiled to Moriann, you never left. No one dared to climb the cliffs. The wind had a better chance of killing you before you even made it to the Sands and the height alone would send you plummeting to your death. It was the tallest natural formationon our continent, its height completely vertical, creating a straight drop.
I used the fog to blend in as I waited for the drop off. Mercifully, the strong winds kept a lot of people away from the area, and I was alone. It didn’t take long before I heard the roar of the dragon.
No one in Moriann ever saw them, the fog was too thick. They only ever dipped into our kingdom to drop the criminals off, but even then they didn’t swoop low enough to care if the Vivenian exiles got injured.
I wondered if it was the drakin rider or the actual dragon that made the call, but regardless, most of them were severely injured from the drop.
I had my hand clutching the first tranquil when I heard the screams followed by thuds. All three girls landed on the ground at once.
A bone cracked and I had no idea which one it was from before I moved. I didn’t bother looking up, knowing the dragon was already flying skyward.
I was on them in an instant, injecting the vials into their skin before they had a moment to shift off one another.
Their screams died the moment the tranquil hit their veins. Recapping the needles, I shoved them into my hides, before untying the rope.
I was about to lift the first triplet onto my back when I paused, taken aback by how beautiful she was. Her long blonde hair was draped over a slender shoulder, her lips slightly parted like I caught her mid scream, while the tranquil had her chest rising and falling slowly. She looked angelic.
Eternal. Peaceful. Serene.
And I was about to shatter it.
