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“I should hurl you into the deepest trench this instant, but I would break my own heart in doing so.” The Seamother’s eyes flash as she takes hold of my chin and forces me to meet her gaze. “So heed this warning, for it is the only one I will give. Stop your ears to the prophet’s songs. Learn to delight in the roar of an angry storm. Trust in the Challenge to give you a suitable mate—one whose power will join yours in sweeping the invaders away once and for all. Fail in this, and my favor will rest on you no longer, though you are my only child.” Her fingernails dig into my flesh. “Yes, daughter?”
“Yes, Mother.” I force out the words through clenched teeth.
“Good.” The Seamother shoves me backward with a strength that makes my head spin. “Go and prepare yourself as quickly as you can. You’ve kept the contenders waiting long enough.”
She turns and drifts toward the palace as calmly as though out for a quiet evening swim.
My heart twists, torn between fear and rage as all of the night’s feeble dreams crumble into sand. How could I have been such a fool, even daring to hope?
Daring to hope ...
A strain of Keliveth’s song drifts from my memories, calling tears to my eyes. Maybe courage is foolishness, but what is the alternative? A world without his voice, without beauty, without a chance of peace?
Resolve clenches me tighter than the Seamother’s iron grip. There has to be another way, something that can save my people besides my mother’s relentless storms. I won’t give up, and I certainly won’t marry a monster like Arcorlan.
If the Seamother can champion her favorites in the Challenge, so can I. I might have only the scantest power over my future, but I will use what I have.
I have only to find my own contender to favor—a man who can join me in standing up to the Seamother—and then to make sure he wins my hand no matter how my mother manipulates the Challenge.
Depths, I’m doomed already.
Chapter 4
Keliveth
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Ifound her. I foundher.The words dance in a joyful rhythm in my mind as I pick my way along the rocky shore toward the fortress. The moons have risen, and they shed bright silver light on my path. I wind my way around tidal pools and through copses of dead trees, choosing my steps carefully even as my mind races.
I found her. And she’s even more breathtaking than in my visions.
I cast a glance back at the sea, hungry for even one more glimpse of Evya, but the tuath woman is long gone. The waves are tossing again, dark and angry, filling the air with icy mist that prickles my bare skin. It will be a cold walk home in only my trousers. A small price to pay for finally seeing her face to face. I hasten my steps toward the cliff that looms to my left.
I’ve done what the visions told me to do. Now to see what comes of it.
That thought sends another thrill through me. Burning stars—the visions are actually coming to pass. Maybe the gift of the Dalzanas didn’t die with my brothers and sisters.
