Like a single cry loosing an avalanche, my heart set events into motion. Desire became momentum. Choice became force. Nothing could be undone.
Only reshaped.
Still—our lives would never return to what they had been.
A ridge from the carved sunray caught beneath my nail, and I rubbed the worn wood.
Elohios, hear me. Grant us safe passage.
Silence followed.
I waited. Hoped. Prayed for a breath of comfort.
Do not abandon me.
My heart reached outward, searching, pleading for the presence and connection that always felt like home. I closed myburning eyes, jaw clenched as my soul sent out fragile tendrils of hope, grasping for assurance.
The ship groaned, wood complaining as it shifted course.
I opened my eyes and fixed them on the sun engraving. Nothing answered.
The storm raged as someone entered the room, the door latched with quiet care. Soft steps crossed the floor, leading to the bed where sheets rustled under a slight weight.
The urge to confide in her, to spill the sting of rejection, tore at me. But Nienna deserved better than a man unraveling at his knees.
I would face this head-on. Like a king. Not a whipped dog.
Rising, I crossed to the closet and began the slow work of shedding my mantle, fingers stiff as I worked each clasp free. My thoughts drifted to Tallon and what he would wear in my place.
A crown?
Would he gorge himself on praise while my people bent over their fields? Parade gaudy gems before men who bled to keep him safe?
Or would he dare recreate the yoke—twist the symbol of shared burden into mockery?
Nienna’s hand found me, gentle but certain, turning me to face her. She kept her gaze lowered as she replaced my fingers with her own, small and deft.
“Ronan will push the rudder as far as he dares,” she said, her voice pitched low, the way one soothed a skittish colt.
“Is the speed comparable to a harnessed dragon?” I asked, memory pulling me back to Draconia, to the raw force of a Vessel channeling power into a hull, dragging it through water like a child’s toy.
“He’s conserving strength for landfall.” Her mouth tightened. “It will be faster than nothing.”
And we would need every scrap of his magic. We had no idea what waited on shore.
We were steering west, skirting the main ports where Tallon would expect us. Gyrak remained our only shield against lighter ships carrying word of our arrival. He was also our sole assurance we could make anchor at all.
Bitterness coated my tongue, and Nienna stilled, hands frozen on the final link. Her gaze lifted, searching my face.
“We will return soon,” she said. “This storm cannot last forever.”
My breath left me rougher than I intended. “My concern lies with what awaits when we do.”
“Tallonwillbe removed.” Her certainty didn’t waver, eyes fixed on my chest.
I caught her wrist, halting her hand before the mantle slipped free. “You’re holding something back. Ask.”
Guilt stirred. I demanded honesty from her while keeping my own fears locked away.
