Daughters of Fire & Sea

by Holly Karlsson

  “Except for what?” Lyric asked.

  “He can breathe underwater,” Eleden said.

  Runa leaned forward, eyes intent on the Captain’s face. “Are god-children powerful?” she asked.

  Eleden’s brow furrowed. “Yes.”

  Kell looked at Runa, considering. If Elaina was a powerful Burner and their father was a god-child, how might that affect their magical ability? What would this revelation mean to King Rakarn? What might he do to them?

  Worried, his thoughts returned to Raendashar. He’d been so close to finding the truth about his silencing. He’d been on Rakarn’s doorstep. What would he have learned if he’d gotten inside?

  Kell thought about his Thendian mother and father and felt the familiar ache deep inside his chest. Lyric shifted under his hand, and Kell blinked, returning his focus to the room. He relaxed his fingers, realizing he’d tightened his grip on her shoulder.

  “I don’t know what it’d mean to the Gale,” Eleden said. “Being part Sireni should extend our laws and protection to you, but there’s hatred in the hearts of many, passed down for generations.”

  “You want to stop the war,” Runa asked. “Why?”

  “I don’t believe Sae’shara wants us to remain locked in this conflict,” Eleden said. “We are more than this war. The land we’re fighting over is just land. It’s not the life-giving water beneath us that carries our ships, greets our young, and buries our dead. The Sea is our home, not Raendashar.

  “We are proud, just like Raendasharans, and it’s hard to let go of old grievances and choose a new path. To stop meeting blood with blood.” Eleden spread his hands. “But when does it end, if every knife is met with another?”

  “Have you tried to negotiate with King Rakarn?” Lyric asked. “Tell him you want peace?”

  “He doesn’t want to listen,” Eleden said. “Your mother tried persuading him many times.” His face darkened, and a muscle twitched in his cheek.

  “How can you lay aside vengeance after what he did?” Runa asked. “Mother told us about the woman who came to Raendashar to discuss peace.”

  “Yes,” Eleden said. His eyes glittered dangerously like shards of glass. “Iledasha, the daughter of Bethseida, one of the Gales and the head of my clan.”

  Kell studied the Captain’s face. How could he be willing to work with a man who’d murdered someone from his clan? What kind of man must Eleden be to be able to set that aside?

  “Your clan?” Runa asked. “And yet you still seek an end to the war?”

  “It’s what we’ve worked for,” Eleden said. His eyes still blazed, but he seemed to have mastered his emotions. “Hating the man does not help our people. If we keep fighting, maybe we’ll win, but at what cost? How many Sireni will be left at the end? Bethseida understands this, and despite her loss, she continues to speak for peace whenever the Gale gathers. She’s a stronger woman than all of us, and I will see her vision carried out.” Eleden steepled his fingers, eyeing them in turn.

  “The survival of our people, our way of life, isn’t the only thing we must consider,” he said. “There’s a greater danger to all of us; not just to the Sireni or to Raendashar, but all of Erith.” Eleden looked at Kell, and Kell realized that with his shirt off, the man could see the tattoo ringing his throat. Did Eleden know what it meant?

  “A greater danger?” Lyric asked.

  “The Taint,” Eleden said, looking at her. “The poison that edges farther out into the Sea of Screams that wiped out Thenda. The nations of Erith seem content to leave it be, to think it will remain where it is, but it’s growing.” He grimaced, irritation shifting through his eyes. “Even the Sireni clans don’t see its magnitude. They think the war is more pressing, and so they ignore it. A problem for another time. They don’t see the Sea Reaper drifting towards them.”

  “The what?” Runa asked.

  Eleden blinked then laughed. “I’m sorry, you’re not familiar with the Sea, are you. It’s a fleshy, bell-shaped animal, transparent, quite beautiful actually but its sting can kill. It’s slow, so if you pay attention, you can swim away from it. Avoid the danger.”

  He paused and stroked his chin, eyeing Lyric and Runa. “Dandashara would likely wish that I return you to her so you can hide from those who seek you, but that’s not a solution. I hope she’ll forgive me for suggesting this, but I believe you can help us end the war.”

  “Return us to her?” Lyric asked. “You’d let us go?”

  “If you wish it,” Eleden said, “but I urge you first to consider my proposal. You are from both sides with Sireni and Raendasharan blood. You belong to both the Sea and the land, and can be the bridge between us.

  “Like your mother, it’s unlikely Rakarn will listen to you on your own, but if you have strong allies at your back, he’ll be forced to reconsider. He’s drawn to power and will seek an alliance, but if he or the other Sireni clans capture you, you’ll be powerless, a tool to use how they wish.” Eleden leaned forward, his eyes fierce and passionate, ablaze with hope.

  “With allies to protect you, you’ll be free to make your own choices,” Eleden said. “Free to demand change. You can broach peace with a mandate to work together to heal the Taint before it destroys us.”

  “What allies?” Runa asked. “Your crew?”

  “No,” Eleden said. “We are too few. I propose speaking to the Ayanarans.”

  “The Ayanarans?” Kell asked, surprised. The Ayanarans were a peaceful people who lived in a forest on the western coast of Erith, as far from Raendashar as you could get. They believed they were descended from Aya, the Mother Tree, and that their sacred duty was to cherish all life. As a result, they’d always sought to remain apart from conflicts. Kell had always wanted to visit their forested country but had never traveled farther west than Elesieayn.

  “We share a border with Ayanar,” Lyric said slowly. “They’re peaceful, aren’t they? They live in the forest?”

  “Yes,” Eleden said. “I hope you won’t ask me to turn around. We’re heading there now. I believe they’re your best chance for maintaining autonomy. Kaia’s chasing us, the woman who took you from Rathgar’s Hold. She’ll hound us until she can take you to the Gale as ordered. I don’t think I can protect you if we don’t go to Ayanar.”

  “But we can’t,” Lyric said, drawing Eleden’s eyes. “Mama is dying. We have to go to her.”

  “She’s what?” Eleden asked. He pushed up from his chair, his eyes wide.

  “We were in Rathgar’s Hold to find a healer, a Dragon Blessed,” Runa said. “When Kaia took us, we were trying to gain an audience with our grandfather.”

  “What happened? Where is she?” Eleden asked.

  “We traveled up the Tainted Shore,” Runa said.

  Shock crossed Eleden’s face, and he sat back into his chair. “Up the Shore?”

  “We ended up there when Mama came for us,” Lyric said. “After we left the Veil —”

  “The Veil!” Eleden swore and scrubbed his hand through his hair.

  “A Tainted creature attacked us,” Lyric said. “It bit Mama, and the wise woman in Ivernn said the only way to save her is for a Dragon Blessed to remove the corrupted magic. We have to go back.”

  “I can’t take you back to Rathgar’s Hold,” Eleden said, frowning. “We’d sail straight into Kaia’s arms. Maybe I can send someone to get your mother and take her to a Lifesinger.”

  “A what?” Lyric asked.

  “A Sireni mage healer,” Eleden said. “I can have her brought to us in Ayanar.”

  “You can do that?” Lyric asked. She looked at Runa, then at Kell behind her.

  “Laerdi!” Eleden bellowed, his voice echoing in the room.

  The door creaked open, and Laerdi stuck his head in, letting in a blast of rain-scented air.

  “Laerdi, tell Elverna to send a gull to Hurlen,” Eleden said. “Dandashara has the mage sickness and is at an inn in Ivernn. Tell him to get her on a ship and have them follow us. That is …” He loo
ked at Runa and Lyric. “If you’ll let me take you to Ayanar? It’ll be faster to send Hurlen than to go ourselves. If she’s there, he’ll help her.”

  Lyric and Runa exchanged glances.

  “It sounds like the quickest way to help Mother, without a Dragon Blessed,” Runa said.

  “Yes,” Lyric agreed. She swiveled on the stool, looking up at Kell.

  He felt a thrill at the question in her eyes and nodded. She always sought to include him.

  “Yes, please hurry,” Lyric said, looking back at the Captain.

  Laerdi, listening to the conversation, nodded. “At once, Captain,” he said. He shut the door with a solid thunk, cutting off the howling wind.

  “Can the bird fly in this storm?” Lyric asked. “What if it gets lost?” She glanced at the window, worry creasing her face.

  “This is but a light breeze to Elverna’s gulls,” Eleden said, waving a hand. “They’ll enjoy the challenge.”

  “You’ll let us know as soon as you hear something?” Runa demanded.

  “Of course,” Eleden said.

  “Thank you,” Lyric said. “We just got her back.”

  “Of course, Dandashara is family,” Eleden said. “Now. You should eat and rest, recover your strength after your ordeal. I’ll have Laerdi bring you food. You’re welcome to rest here in my cabin. We’re on the edge of the storm so we should make good time to Ayanar.”

  “You’re familiar, then, with the creatures?” Runa asked.

  Eleden, adjusting something on his desk, looked up.

  “You said she has mage sickness,” Runa said. “You’ve heard of this before?”

  Lyric, caught in the motion of stretching her back, reached out for Kell. He shifted closer, enfolding her hand in his.

  “Yes,” Eleden said gravely. “Shortly after Salta’s destruction when survivors were deciding whether or not to rebuild. There were mages then who tried figuring out what happened. Whatever they did called the creatures.”

  “What are they?” Lyric asked. “They looked human, but they had gills and claws.”

  “I don’t know,” Eleden said. “I think they were Thendans. Perhaps they were inside the city when it happened.”

  Kell felt a buzzing in his head as he listened to Eleden. If he just tried to remember and— No. No, he had to keep his mind clear. He couldn’t think back to that day.

  Swallowing, he looked down at Lyric’s hand and focused on her smooth skin. He sensed her looking at him as he moved his thumb back and forth across the back of her hand, trying to ground himself.

  “Let’s talk of something else,” Lyric said, her eyes still on him.

  “What?” Runa barked. “Why?”

  Laerdi’s arrival saved Lyric and Kell from responding. The wind brushed past the big man as he carried in a box and set it on the table. He uncovered four bowls filled to the brim with thin green noodles and shredded white meat in light brown broth. Reaching for a small woven basket, Laerdi lifted its lid, releasing a cloud of steam and revealing four pale dumplings.

  “The gull's been sent,” Laerdi said, then left the cabin.

  “Hurlen will send word once he has your mother,” Eleden said. “Now, please eat.”

  Lyric’s belly rumbled, and she laughed, leaning over Eleden’s desk with a hungry look.

  Eleden chuckled and even Runa’s lips twisted into a grudging smile. Faces a little brighter, everyone grabbed a bowl and began to eat. The food was warm and delicious, and Kell found himself wishing for an extra dumpling.

  After eating, Captain Eleden repacked the dishes in the box Laerdi left, then stepped over to the bunk, stripping off the blanket and tossing it over his shoulder. He removed clean blankets from the trunk near his bed and handed them to Lyric and Runa. “You can share my cabin,” he said, nodding at them. “I’ll sleep with my crew.”

  “We don’t want to force you out of your cabin,” Lyric protested.

  “No need to show us special treatment,” Runa said. “There are women on the ship. We can sleep as they do.”

  Captain Eleden smiled. “I’m sure you can manage hammocks just fine, but you’re my guests, and I insist. Kell, here, can join me with the crew.” He smacked Kell good-naturedly on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over. “I’m sure my crew would love to test your knowledge of Sireni sea shanties,” he said.

  Kell grinned. It’d been a while since he’d hunted for new songs. “I look forward to the challenge.” He turned to Lyric. “You’ll be fine?” he asked softly.

  “Of course we will,” Runa snapped.

  Lyric rolled her eyes at her sister and stepped into Kell’s arms, tucking her head beneath his chin.

  Kell couldn’t resist looking at Eleden to see if Lyric’s uncle disapproved of their intimacy, but the older man merely smiled.

  “I’ll be close by if you need me,” Kell murmured against Lyric’s hair.

  Lyric tightened her fingers on his back then stepped aside, smiling at him in a way that made him feel like they were alone. When she looked at Eleden, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, Kell felt apprehension prickle his skin.

  What are you doing, Kell? he asked himself. Ignoring his inner voice, Kell turned to Eleden. “Ready to go,” he said.

  As Kell followed Eleden from the cabin into the cold, rain-filled wind atop the deck, he glanced back and saw Runa say something to Lyric. He couldn’t hear their words, but he saw Lyric shake her head and turn away from her sister with a blanket in her arms.

  The door shut, hiding the sisters. Kell chewed his lip. Had Lyric told Runa yet about his back? No, if she had, Runa would have confronted him. He frowned, stomach twisting. Why did it bother him that Lyric had kept his secret? He didn’t want her sister to know, did he? Runa was unpredictable and quick to judgment. But if Lyric hadn’t told her twin, was it because she was afraid Runa would reject him, try to pull her away, or was it because she feared him herself?

  “This way!” Eleden yelled over his shoulder.

  Holding on to his cloak, Kell followed the Captain across the deck to the hatch below. As he climbed down to the crew’s quarters, he tried to ignore his worries.

  22

  Lyric

  The next morning the storm had dissipated, and the sky stretched clear and blue in all directions. A strong wind drove them swiftly west. Runa was in a dark, brooding mood, so Lyric had left her staring at Captain Eleden’s maps and retreated to the ship’s open deck. She’d almost brought up Kell’s back, curious what ruminations her sister might have about his origins and concerns.

  Should you risk it? Gandara had asked, slipping into Lyric’s head as easily as the near-constant breeze skipping over the waves. She already doesn’t trust him.

  Afraid of what Runa might say or do, Lyric had stayed silent.

  “Be careful of the Captain,” Runa had called as Lyric reached for the door. “We don’t know if his loyalty is to family or his people first.”

  “He’s our uncle,” Lyric said, incredulous.

  “And Rakarn is our grandfather,” Runa countered back.

  Out on the deck, Lyric watched the sailors as they scurried about the ship, tying ropes and adjusting the sails. Not wanting to get in the way, she leaned against the south-facing rail, studying the coastline as they sailed past. From what she understood when she’d asked Eleden over breakfast, they’d sailed north along Raendashar then followed Erith’s landmass west on their path to Ayanar.

  They’d left Raendashar behind hours ago and were currently sailing along the northern border of Elesieayn, a country that, according to Eleden, was very rocky and difficult to navigate unless you enjoyed scaling the sides of mountains. Elesieayn’s primary and only export was very large, very mean, bearded mountain goats, who lived everywhere on the treacherous peaks. The goats had rich milk and thick, warm wool, but their tough, stringy meat kept them out of the meat market.

  Lyric was watching several dalphinea swim alongside the Talan, sleek, bottle-nosed mammals with blowholes and shi
ny, black eyes when Kell slipped an arm around her waist. She knew it was him even before turning her head. He smelled like the fresh air that swooped down off the mountains back home, but there was a spiciness underneath it. “You smell like cinnabark,” Lyric said, taking a deep breath as she leaned into him.

  “What?” Kell asked, laughing. “Is that good or bad?”

  “Definitely good.”

  “Well, then thank you,” Kell said, his voice amused.

  Lyric pulled free several strands of hair that’d blown into her mouth when she’d turned towards him, and looked back down into the water. “I’ve been watching the dalphineas,” she said. She pointed at their silvery bodies as they cut through the water alongside the boat. Occasionally they’d flip into the air and land with a splash, sending droplets of water sprinkling across Lyric and the deck.

  “One of the sailors told me their name,” Lyric said watching them. “They look so untroubled, don’t they? Like all that worries them is the feel of the sun on their backs and where the next fish is.”

  “Thinking of your mother?” Kell asked. His arm tightened around her waist, and Lyric leaned her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

  “Yes,” Lyric said, softly. “I keep wondering if Eleden’s man will reach her in time. I keep wondering if …” She shook her head. She wouldn’t go down that road — not today. “No, I’m sure he’ll bring her to us. She’ll be ok. Do you think we’re doing the right thing, going to Ayanar?”

  Kell absently ran his hand along her back, his eyes far away as he stared at the water. “I’m not sure there’s a better choice,” he said.

  “That’s what I think too,” Lyric said. “We’re caught between two sides now. Maybe we could try to go back and see my grandfather, but if Kaia captures us again, we’d be right back where we started, waiting for someone else to decide what to do. Going to Ayanar at least feels like we’re doing something ourselves, taking control.” She tilted her head back, looking up at Kell’s profile. “Will you try to go back? To Rathgar’s Hold? I’m sorry you didn’t get what you wanted.”