Air

by Rosie Scott

  “I'm a water mage, Kai. I get emotional,” the Sentinel jested, before pulling back from me with a smile. “You are here and unharmed, and Narangar is underwater. Somehow, you did it.”

  “How much of the city is destroyed?” I questioned.

  “We don't know completely, but during our search for you, we were looking through the wreckage of the cove. Buildings, ships, people...it's all destroyed. The water is blocking the tunnel, so we can't know how far it traveled, but we can safely assume it reached the city.”

  I looked at Nyx. “The city itself is very vertical, right?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. It may have flooded the lowest tier, but the majority of Narangar is likely safe. The whole city has three entrances. The tunnel to the harbor, a lower entrance in the mountains, and an entrance near the top tier that leads out of the city to the northeast of the mountain. It might have flooded enough to affect the land on the other side, but the people would mostly be safe because of the top entrance.” When Nyx noticed Cyrus watching her with intrigue due to her knowledge, she added, “I used to kill people for a living.”

  “You still do,” Jakan said, to which she grinned.

  “Speaking of such things...” I looked at Cyrus. “I saw an Eteri galleon in the wave before it hit.”

  The Sentinel grimaced. “Yes.”

  “How many are dead?”

  Cyrus sighed. “Before I tell you, just know that the blame should not go to you. You remember how excited Altan was to see this plan through.”

  My heart sunk. “Please tell me he's okay.”

  “Physically, yes. Mentally, he's a wreck right now. His navy and Uriel's had retreated far enough to be safe even though your spell was pulling water from the ocean much farther than we'd anticipated. He evidently became impatient and moved closer, because he thought the smaller waves were the spell and he was determined to fight with them so he could see the destruction. Lo and behold, that's when the big wave showed up. Altan and his men retreated again, but it was too late for some. Two ships were swept along with the wave. We found one of them right away and were able to save many who were on board. The other?” Cyrus shrugged helplessly.

  “It was pulled up to the cove,” I told him. “The ship itself was nearly at the top of the wave. During my escape from the cove, I came across some of its soldiers.”

  Cyrus nodded. “We figured as such. We found some of the men here as well. Altan and his navy are searching the ocean for survivors. He feels awful.”

  “He does this a lot, doesn't he?” Cerin spoke up for the first time. “He is brash and enthusiastic one minute, and when it gets him into trouble, he gets solemn. It seems like a cycle.”

  Cyrus frowned, deep in thought. “Altan loves nothing more than to have fun and for people to be happy, but he also has an intense commitment to honor. His enthusiasm makes him impulsive, which can lead to tragedies. You're right, Cerin, this is a cycle. He's gone through many stages of this, and it will continue to happen until the day one of his brazen attempts gets him killed. Until then, it will remain the reason he is held in such high regard by our queen.” The Sentinel motioned toward the cove. “Narangar's harbor is destroyed. Most of the credit goes to Kai, but if it weren't for Altan's audaciousness to attack in the first place, she wouldn't have had the chance. Many of Eteri's victories have belonged to him.”

  “As much trouble as it may get him in, it is also his greatest asset,” I commented. “Most of Chairel's navy has been demolished. Our victory here today cannot be understated.”

  Nyx chuckled and patted me on the arm. “And what a relief that is, friend. All of my pessimistic talk the other day was for nothing. You had me convinced I'd lost you today.”

  I smiled back at her, but I wasn't as willing to feel total relief yet. Only one threat had been dealt with, and it was just temporary. I would allow myself to feel comfortable with our victory once we reached the shores of Eteri and found it had remained safe in our absence.

  *

  A navy that once had consisted of thirty-five ships now only sailed together twenty-two ships strong. Even though we'd had the advantage in the battle of Narangar, eleven ships were lost in the final battle. Many of the soldiers on these ships had been saved, but many had died in combat or were lost to the sea. Ten thousand men and women had left Makani, and just over six thousand were returning.

  Narangar's harbor was destroyed on the 13th of High Star, 422, and only after nearly a season of sailing did Eteri appear on the western horizon. The majority of our return trip, then, was spent beneath the sweltering heat of direct sunlight. Once the sharp, jagged chocolate cliffs of the highlands appeared over the ocean, the weather had cooled considerably. Not only were we in the beginning of Red Moon now, but the closer we were to Eteri, the moodier the weather became. No matter the time of year, it seemed the country was always anticipating trouble because storms rolled through the skies so often.

  I stood at the bow of the ship, my eyes on the setting sun over the high Cleves. Eteri was beautiful from this distance and angle. The cliffs themselves were intimidating from the sea to any potential attacker. Of course, the cliffs did not protect the entirety of the country's land. I wondered how Makani had fared since we left it. Despite our recent victory, the ominous weight in my gut had only grown heavier.

  “Don't be a stranger, Kai.” I glanced over at Jakan, who stood just beneath one of Anto's muscular green arms. The thief grinned before motioning for me to come over. I hadn't wanted to bother them, but I went to be beside them as they watched the sunset.

  “I didn't want to bother you two, looking all snuggly over here,” I teased them.

  “The sunset doesn't belong to us,” Anto pointed out. “Speaking of which, where is Azazel?” The orc nodded toward the brightly colored skies, which were redder than normal around the sun. “He'd like this.”

  I glanced back to the ship, where the archer was nowhere to be found. “Not sure, actually. He told me a while back that some soldiers were gossiping about him being by my side at all times. I think it bothered him.”

  Jakan chuckled. “I noticed that. I think it's kind of cute. It's like he's terrified you'll be brash, like in the underground.”

  I laughed softly. “Yeah, and I've done nothing but prove him right. I told him I wanted him beside me a lot of the time. I feel really protective of him. He has the worst luck.”

  “Do you blame yourself for his disability?” Anto questioned.

  “Disability?” Jakan huffed. “He's got a blind spot. The rest of his sight's better than ours. He's still the lucky one.”

  I smiled at Jakan's comments before I answered Anto. “I don't blame myself, really. But it is because of me that he was there at all, and I was unable to completely heal him. That does bother me.”

  “You know what I think, Kai?” Anto piped up.

  I grinned at the orc's almost bubbly question. “What's that, Anto?” I replied teasingly.

  “I think you put too much blame on yourself.”

  “For Azazel's eye?”

  “For everything.” The orc's eyes glowed red as he watched the sunset. “You're used to making decisions and leading us. Maybe that's why you think that everything that goes wrong is your fault. But it's not. Azazel was hurt because he was with us, yes, but if he weren't with us, he'd be as lonely as he's always been. You are his best friend, Kai, and he is happy beside you. He has a blind spot, but he doesn't seem to care. Because he has you, and he now has freedom and purpose.”

  “I have often tried to tell myself the same thing about Theron,” I murmured.

  “Was he unhappy before he met you?” Anto questioned. There was no way for either man to know, given Theron had entered my life far before either of them had.

  “Not necessarily, but without purpose.” I frowned as I thought about the things Theron had told me. Even so long after his death, I wasn't willing to go against the ranger's wishes and tell Anto and Jakan his private stories. “Theron had tragedies in his pa
st that he never fully dealt with. He was with us only because I hired him.”

  “Really?” Jakan commented. “And here I thought I was the only one you bribed with gold.”

  I chuckled. “No, Theron was the first. He didn't like me at first, I don't think. Thought I was a spoiled little clueless heir. I found him to be gruff and intimidating. Over time, we became great friends. I nearly killed myself trying to heal him near Whispermere, and I think that's what changed the tune for him. After that, he was happy.” I thought back to our battle with Mantus. I could still hear Theron's voice echoing in my head, teasing me for risking my life to help slay the beast. “I think he was truly happy for the first time in years.”

  “And being with you allowed that,” Anto said. “If Theron hadn't died back then, he'd still be with you today. I'd guarantee it.”

  “If he ever decided to like you,” Jakan commented to his lover.

  “Theron came up to me that night you gave him the saber,” I told Anto. The orc glanced over at me, intrigued by me admitting this. “He thought I'd put you up to everything. I told him the truth. He said he wanted to like you, but he feared you.”

  Anto nodded. “That makes all the sense in the world to me, Kai. I appreciate you telling me that.”

  The three of us were silent for a few minutes, simply appreciating the view as the variety of reds molded into purples and lavenders in the skies ahead. Finally, Jakan broke the silence, a bronzed finger pointing to the high cliffs.

  “I can almost smell Welkin,” he said. When I looked over at him, he was grinning. Jakan had started teasing me about his hometown since we kept meaning to visit it and hadn't yet.

  “What's it smell like?” I goaded.

  “Manure,” Anto replied, to which he received a playful slap on the arm.

  “I'll be excited to see it, Jakan,” I told him honestly. “I wish the war wasn't raging as it is. We could have already gone.”

  “You know I'm just teasing you,” the thief replied. “I believe you want to go. As Anto said, you blame yourself for everything, but you can't help the war. Once things calm down, we'll go. It's beautiful, you know,” he added whimsically, making Anto chuckle beside him since we'd heard it all before. “When you're up on those highlands, you feel like you're flying. It's so high up from the sea.”

  “Mm,” Anto placated him. “I'm sure it'll be gorgeous. Reminds me of home, myself. High up in the Cel Mountains, surrounded by those ancient white trees.”

  “Yeah, but there won't be any trees blocking the view here.”

  I stared at the highlands, my mind wandering through various thoughts. “Once we win the war, are you guys going to come back here to live?”

  “Oh, I don't know about that,” Jakan frowned. “We'll see, I guess. It's possible Welkin isn't as great as I remember, after all. Your perspective changes so much as you grow up, you know? Besides, I don't think we'd want to be too far from you and the shenanigans following you around.”

  Anto chuckled. “Now I'm imagining little creatures called shenanigans chasing after Kai.”

  I laughed at that, having not expected the orc to joke about such a thing.

  “Does Sera have a harbor?” Jakan questioned.

  “No,” I replied before I hesitated. “Well, I know it has some docks, but only for fishing boats. And even those aren't very popular. Sirius always meant to build a harbor north of the city, but Sera hasn't seen much war in the past few centuries, so maybe he thought he wouldn't need it during his lifetime, so it's not his problem.” I shrugged.

  “You should build one,” Jakan suggested. “Then Anto and I can have a house in Sera, buy a vacation home in Eteri, and travel back and forth.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “I actually like that idea. I think I'll promptly steal it from you. Sera needs a harbor regardless. It's too close to the ocean to be without one of any significance. Calder also mentioned wanting to eventually live in Sera, but he'd be happiest if he could build a ship there.”

  “Where are we going to get the gold for two homes?” Anto asked his love.

  “Kai's gonna make us rich,” Jakan replied. “She already said all the prestigious positions are going to the Renegades, and since we're both Renegades, we'll be making bank.”

  I burst into laughter at that. Jakan grinned over at me charmingly, pleased to amuse. “I'll name the harbor after you,” I promised, “and then you can even make gold off of the use of your name.”

  “I didn't even know that was a thing,” Jakan commented. “But now that I do, I'll hold you to it.”

  I reached over to lovingly squeeze the thief close to my side. “You do that.”

  Thirty

  11th of Red Moon, 422

  Makani was bustling with life. We'd only left three thousand soldiers in the city when we had departed it half a year ago, so to see it overrun with soldiers and civilians alike was both a surprise and a relief. The Sentinels and Renegades left the ships to be tended to in the harbor and set off into the city to see what we information we could gather.

  Altan's mood had brightened since the casualties of the tsunami a season ago, and his energy was contagious as he led us into the heart of his home city. Now that we weren't in such a rush, I allowed myself to admire the city's architecture. The combination of gray and brown stone from the cliffs of Eteri and sandstone imported from Nahara made it beautifully unique. Makani also had a variety of statues dedicated to the gods, one of which was Vertun's. The sculpture was chiseled out of gray stone and was wildly inaccurate, depicting the god as short-haired and thin. I'd only ever seen Vertun from a distance, but I remembered his hair was longer than even Cerin's and just as black. For looking like a Vhiri, he had also been quite muscular. I had to wonder if Eteri allowed the statue to be inaccurate because they wanted their people to remain ignorant to the gods even when one had been utilized in their own country's army.

  I also found myself nostalgic while in Makani a second time, because I remembered this had been the home city of Vallen and Jayce. I wondered where they'd grown up, and if the same city streets we walked over were the paths they'd used to escape. I thought about how their parents had been killed in a scuffle similar to the one we'd recently become involved in. If Vallen were still alive, perhaps he'd be happy with our part in taking the fight to Narangar.

  “You there!” Altan's booming voice pulled my attention back to the present. The Sentinel pointed to a soldier in the midst of overseeing a few others as they unpacked a set of crates. The soldier immediately stood straight and saluted. “What's going on here? There was only a small army here in New Moon.”

  “The queen pulled Zephyr Lian and most of her army from Scirocco,” the soldier replied. “We received word there that Naolin needed support in the north. Our orders were then updated to defend Makani once the queen learned of this attack.”

  “Thank the gods, Zephyr's here,” Uriel murmured. “Scirocco should be safe now that Narangar is off our backs.” To the soldier, he asked, “Where is she?”

  “Just on the edge of the city in the southwest,” the soldier replied, pointing a finger through the streets. “We brought supplies with us from Scirocco. Originally meant for Esen, of course, but here we are.”

  We thanked the soldier before following his directions to find the fourth Sentinel. I looked forward to finally meeting her since she was the only Sentinel I hadn't gotten the chance to see yet.

  A few caravans were set up just outside the city, and true to the soldier's word, supplies were being unloaded and transported into town. Among them was Zephyr, instantly recognizable by the prestigious Sentinel armor. Her height rivaled Uriel's, standing just between six and seven feet tall. A cascade of silver hair fell over her shoulders to midway down her back, kept from her face with only two pins. In the sunlight, sometimes the hair glimmered in a light shade of lavender.

  When she turned, I was shocked by how much she reminded me of Cerin. Her skin was extremely pale and glistened silver almost as if it were wet.
I'd seen pale Vhiri before, but this was shocking even in comparison to the light-complected Uriel. Both of her eyes were the same piercing silver of Cerin's, and they widened in recognition as she saw us all for the first time.

  A weapon that appeared quite similar to Cerin's hung from her belt. It looked almost like a scythe, but the blade and handle of the weapon were much smaller. Attached to the bottom of the handle was a thin chain that led to a steel weight. I couldn't begin to imagine how the weapon was wielded.

  “Well, if you are all here alive, I have to imagine the fight at sea went well,” Zephyr commented in greeting, giving us a gleaming smile.

  I stepped forward, reaching out a hand. “Narangar's harbor is destroyed.”

  Zephyr laughed joyously at that unexpected news, taking my hand before cupping it with both of her own. “Truly? Then this is a good day! I have been worried you all would not return. I am Zephyr Lian, the fourth Sentinel.”

  “Kai Sera.” I waited for the others to introduce themselves before I asked her, “What is your element?” I pointed at the weapon at her belt. “And what is this?”

  Zephyr chuckled. “I am a dual caster of life and air magic, friend. This here,” she patted her weapon, “is a chain-sickle.”

  “How does it work?” Anto asked curiously, eyeing the weapon as if looking to recreate it.

  Zephyr pointed to the weight at the end of the chain. “Immobilize limbs and weapons,” she said, before pointing to the sickle. “Slice and dice.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Nyx replied approvingly.

  “Why are you here?” Cyrus questioned. “Naolin needs you to the north. Queen Tilda should have known all of us were here because we came across her messenger even before meeting up with Altan.”

  “Cy, I am here because she wants me to be here,” Zephyr replied with little more than a shrug. “I agree with you, but I'm just following orders. Tilda knows Naolin has few ships up in Esen. Her focus is on keeping our navy strong, given her plans for Hammerton and the like, and she knew most of her ships were here.” She twirled a finger in the air. “After all, Kirek took most of the ships from Scirocco. Informed me we are now allied with the desert folk, thanks to this one.” She raised an eyebrow at me.