Page 160 of Salt Between the Wolves

Beside her, Leander remained silent, and for once even he seemed willing to let the view speak for itself.

Eira stared at the city, at the sea, and at the world opening before her, and for the first time in her life she realized she had been wrong.

The world did not end at the mountains; it began beyond them.

By midday, the road finally descended into the city.

The closer they came, the more impossible it became to look in only one direction.

The harbor stretched along the shoreline like a second city built upon the water itself, with ships crowding the docks in every size imaginable and their masts forming a forest of timber against the pale winter sky. Sailors shouted across the piers while cranes creaked overhead, and carts rolled endlessly between warehouses and market squares.

Everywhere Eira looked, something was moving, whether it was people, goods, ships, or simply the restless pulse of life itself.

Nothing in Frostvein resembled this, and nothing in Ironfang did either.

The mountains and fortresses she knew suddenly felt very far away.

They entered through wide stone gates crowded with merchants, fishermen, laborers, travelers, and carts loaded with cargo from distant shores.

What struck Eira almost immediately was that no one stopped, bowed, or rushed aside to clear the way.

People recognized Leander, yet they did not react as they would have reacted to Vargan or Soren.

A fisherman lifted a hand from the docks.

“Back already?”

Leander nodded.

“Unfortunately.”

The man laughed.

“Then someone else’s voyage went poorly.”

“Several, actually.”

Another burst of laughter followed them down the street.

Eira turned toward him.

“You know him?”

“Not particularly.”

The answer seemed ridiculous.

“You spoke as though you did.”

“He repairs nets.”

“That explains nothing.”

“It explains enough.”

Eira stared at him while Leander continued riding as though the conversation had resolved itself, which it most certainly had not.

The city opened around them street by street.