Page 52 of A Monsoon Rising

The Shadowgate whizzed past her in the form of a grappling hook, sinking into the wall by the grotto entrance. Alaric held out his free hand expectantly, only to blink as Talasyn forged her own radiant version.

“I had a good instructor,” she couldn’t resist teasing.

And itwasn’tthat she was holding out for some compliment on her prowess, but it would have been nice to hear. However, he just grunted, and the proffered hand swept out in a curt “after you” gesture.

She hastened to leap off the rock shelf and swing over the pitto the grotto entrance so that he wouldn’t see how puzzled and put-off she was by his behavior. He had been free enough with his praise when she aethermanced that first solid shield …

Without the flood currents to carry her through the Mouth, Talasyn found the trek arduous, a combination of scrambling over rockfalls, crouching when the limestone ceiling hung low to the floor, and shimmying up narrow vertical shafts. Through it all, Alaric was a dour presence behind her, always there to give her a boost whenever she needed it but otherwise as stiffly silent as the grave.

The storm surge had left the cave system smelling like salt and fish. Tendrils of seaweed clung to Talasyn as she walked. Higher up, closer to the exit, there were shallow, overflowing pools where the ocean had not completely receded. They eventually led to the river trickling in from the cave entrance, which was now a peaceful, almost somnolent thing ringed in daylight.

The light didn’t hurt Talasyn’s eyes as much as she’d thought it would after spending so much time in the darkness of the Mouth. On the contrary, she had the sensation of soaking it up, as though she were a plant in the early morning. Her visits to the Light Sever had bestowed on her a higher tolerance of sun, in the same way that Alaric could navigate without it.

It made her think, with sadness, of Ideth Vela. All of the Continent’s Shadow Severs were located on the Kesathese half, and the Sardovian Amirante had never been able to refine her shadow magic to the point of gaining that ability. An aethermancer was nothing without their nexus point.

Alaric and Talasyn walked along the river and out of the Mouth of Night. It had stopped raining and the wind was less bitter, although the heavens remained relentlessly iron-gray.

The Kesathese shallop, predictably, had been tossed onto its side when the storm surge flooded the beach and the gale tore through, and a mooring rope had come loose. The vessel wasa limp, pathetic sight on the white sand, against a backdrop of uprooted coconut palms.

It was too heavy for two people to upturn. They would break their backs even trying. And Talasyn’s moth coracle—hopefully still safe where she’d docked it atop the cliff—couldn’t accommodate both of them in its well.

“I’ll contact Lady Bairung for assistance,” said Talasyn. Chal was House Matono’s domain, and Bairung would be all too eager to ensure that the Night Emperor and the Lachis’ka were indebted to her—as well as to have another tidbit of juicy gossip to share with the other noblewomen.

At Alaric’s nod, Talasyn hoisted herself up the shallop’s now-horizontal mast, using it as leverage to clamber up railings flipped sideways until she reached the aetherwave transceiver on the quarterdeck.

“You’re going to fall,” Alaric called out, sounding markedly unhappy. He dropped his pack and readied to catch her.

“Bet?” From where she dangled on one arm, Talasyn reached out to turn a knob on the transceiver. “I used to climb all the time, this is hardly—”

The transceiversparked.

Perhaps waterlogged, perhaps jostled within their nest of circuits or damaged in the crash, the Tempestroad-infused aether hearts within the device emitted a miniature lightning storm that flowed out through the hinges. A sharp shock shooting up Talasyn’s right wrist jolted her, and suddenly, just like that, she was plummeting to the ground, the world a rush of sand and ocean.

Alaric seized her out of the air and pulled her to his chest, with one arm wrapped around her torso and the other tucked under her knees. It was as though the lightning had lingered in her system, spun out into threads of static. She felt small and safe in his grasp.

“Thanks,” she said, breathless.

Alaric swallowed.

Then hescowled, hastily deposited her onto her feet on the sand, and stepped away.

“The transceiver’s broken.” Talasyn was stating the obvious, but she was rattled. He’d barely said a word to her after waking up. “We can use the one on my ship, but it’s all the way up there.” She gestured to the clifftop.

“Don’t let me keep you.” His gaze swiveled to the ocean, where it stayed. “After you make contact, you may go ahead. Back to Belian, or Iantas, or wherever you please. I’ll wait for help to arrive.”

“Iamthe help that arrived,” Talasyn wryly pointed out. “Besides, don’t you want company?”

“I don’t need it,” he said tersely, almost snapping at her. “And you have better things to do.”

“I can’t justleaveyou here—”

“You have managed to before. I’ve no doubt that you will again with little trouble.”

Regret spasmed across his features the moment the words left his mouth. His hands clenched into fists.

I’ve missed something,she thought.Something important.

She stepped into his field of vision. He could have just continued looking over the top of her head, but he didn’t. His gray eyes flickered to her face, as though he was surprised that she’d come near.

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