Page 95 of Seaborn and the Seven Seas

“You are the second prince of Varen.” She lowered her head into a slight dip. “You believed the crown would never be yours, so you walked away from it.”

Jina clapped a hand over her mouth. Minha’s eyes went wide. Even Fraya went still.

“How do you—” Ranis started.

“The same way I know everything that walks through that grass.” She tilted her head, her golden hair gleaming from the light filtering in from the window. “You will go back before this quest is over, the Crown Prince of Varen. Not as a son, but as king.”

Ranis let out a short breath. “I’m no king. I do not care for such title.”

“Not yet.” Her eyes didn’t waver. “But the defeat of the Seelie queen will require your service. And its ruler is sitting at my table.”

Ranis stared at his hands on the table. “My father will not wage war against the Seelie queen. He’s afraid.”

“You must change his mind.”

Theron clapped his shoulder. “I always knew you were too well-mannered to be a commoner.”

“So that’s why Russo always said I held a sword like a nobleman.” He shook his head. “I thought if I could survive Russo and learn from a ruthless pirate, I could be one too.”

Theron’s mouth curved. “You’re a terrible pirate, Ranis.”

“I know.” He exhaled. “Apparently I’d make a great king instead.”

Jina snorted. Even Fraya’s mouth twitched.

The Priestess watched all of us, smiling. “The crown will wait, Ranis. There is work to be done first.” Her eyes moved back to me. “For all of you.”

“How do we get to the land of the dead?” Minha took out her stone from her pocket.

“Through sleep.” The Priestess took a quick glance over her shoulder at the shelf of herbs. “I will create a concoction. It will put you in a state between sleep and waking. Half in the dream world, half still here. Your body will remain in this room. But your mind will cross.”

“And the stones?” I picked it up from the table.

“You hold them when you sleep. They will guide you to where the gods wait.” She rose from her chair and moved to the shelves, her fingers trailing along the small jars. “Lavender,” she said, unstopping the first. The scent hit immediately, calming in a way I hadn’t expected. “It will ease your mind into the crossing.” She set it down and reached for the second, small dark berries suspended in liquid. “Nightshade. Enough to take you deep, not enough to keep you there,” she said, like that distinction wasn’t terrifying. Then the third, pale and stringy. “And shadowroot. It grows only in the deepest part of this forest, where no sunlight reaches.” She glanced at us. “It thins the veil between this world and the next. The gods cannot come to you, you can go to them.”

“All of us?” Fraya asked, examining the stone Minha held.

“Those who carry stones. I suggest only four of you go. But Theron and Star must go.”

“Is it dangerous?” Jina asked, smoothing her thumb over hers.

The Priestess reached for a teaspoon and four small cups from the shelf. “Everything worth doing is.” She glanced between us. “I must warn you… beware of the creatures that guard the gate, and the evil spirits that wander between worlds. They will sense the living among them.”

That was not reassuring.

“What do they want?” Minha watched The Priestess scoop herbs into the cup and mix it with water she poured from a small jug.

“What all lost things want,” The Priestess said, mixing the concoction with a spoon. “Your soul.”

No one spoke. The fire had burned low, the herbs scent thick in the air, the jars lined up on the table. I looked at the stone in my palm, warm and humming faintly against my skin. Whatever waited on the other side of sleep, I got the feeling it already knew we were coming.

Chapter Thirty

The Priestess clapped her hands. “Who will be joining Theron and Star?”

“I will.” Ranis straightened in his chair.

“Me too.” Minha spun the stone, turning it in circles.