AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"You are a Rhòdhaire, and still the heir to the throne. You will attend as such. The matter is decided. Now, eat. Your mamè had all of your favorites prepared."
With that, King Izakaya turned to add more meats and cheeses to his plate while I sat glued to my chair, ridiculed by my unseen crown.
Chapter 10
From the Sea to the Skies
RAESHELLE
Iam both grateful and unimpressed as we journey to the Surface.
"I expected this to be a... longer trip," I told Kianga. She's seated at my right, her legs crossed, as she idly plays with one of her wings. Her trident is balanced on her hip, bouncing as the sumaren travels along. "More complicated, even."
My Seaveiller turned to me, her ocean blue and fiery orange eyes shining. She gave me a pretty smile. Too pretty for a Seaveiller, but I kept the thought to myself. Her tiny scales shimmered under the growing light of the sôlight above, beaming through the Surface of the Mistwind Sea.
"My guess is, we're using uncommon waterways," Kianga said. "I overheard King Bakari, long may he reign, telling Wheel Ryder Tunde to make sure we moved with the speed of sea serpents. I think the Avariens are expecting us in no less than a few dawns."
My eyebrows arched like reefs balanced atop hidden sea coves. A few dawns? Was payè mad?
"But Kia, how could he assume we could cross so much sea in such little time?"
Kianga shrugged. "Beats me."
"I think it's because the king has gone to the Surface himself," Tobe butted in. His mauve and emerald eyes danced between the eight Wheel Ryders, navigating the sumaren at a speed that made the fastest shrarks look like seaslugs.
Tobe looked uncomfortable, his face contorting into a grimace. I didn't blame him. Traveling this fast had to be illegal. But if the king had given his permission...
"I think we are using a waterway no one in either kingdom knows about. There's barely any fish out here. And no chance of Serène, Maergels, or Troks, either. We can move."
I snorted. "We're moving alright."
The weight of the invitation I carry didn't help my mood. I wanted to throw the thing in a frost spring, watch it turn to a block of ice, and explode.
The Seaveillers, all from my personal guard, had their eyes on the water. Everything was a blur. I couldn’t make note of the changes to the Mistwind Seas here. We were going too fast. My hearts pound in my chest. I did not want to go to the sky kingdom. There wasn't a single good thing that could come from me going to Avari. Not one.
"Don't try to look like the dead so soon," Terfitti quipped.
We all snapped our gazes at her. I hissed at the insult, wanting to shred her gills and block her waterflow.
"Excuse you?" I said in a low voice. "How dare you suggest?—"
"The truth, princess?" Terfitti lifted her chin, squaring her shoulders. She was tall, so I had to look up to glare at her. "We all know El'Tide is soon. The time has come, Princess Raeshelle. Quit moping. We all have duties. You do, too."
I lift a hand, silencing whatever she planned to say next.
"That's enough, Seaveiller."
The other Seaveillers glared at Terfitti, several scrunching their nose with disgust and anger. Kianga looked at her with downright hatred. I knew the two didn't get along. Being this close to Terfitti, I could understand why.
The sumaren fell silent and remained that way for the next four dawns. We got closer and closer to approaching the Surface. Ignoring everything but the capsule in my possession, I kept my eyes on the dividing line between sea and sky. It was terrifying knowing I would soon be out of the sea. I'd never even left the kingdom. Leaving Mistwind altogether had me shaken to my core. All because payè wanted the Avariens at El'Tide, in the name of building relations between the kingdoms. A barrel full of searot is what it all was.
I brushed the skirts of my gown, feeling the large lump in my throat swell. All I want to do was curl up into a ball and cry. I stared off into nothing, awaiting the beginning of my end.
As the sumaren pressed towards the Surface, I noticed traces of the Taint. There were streaks of oily darkness in the water that could only mean one thing. Poison. None of us knew where the Taint came from. All that was clear was, everywhere there was the Taint, all sea life died.
That would explain why there was no life here. No fish, no angels, no corals, nothing.
It shocked me to see how bad the Taint was beyond Azizien waters.
