Page 66 of Legacy of the Heirs
“More than you, it would seem,” he said, twirling the pebble between the backs of his fingers like young children did for moneyat The Bay. Larelle focused on the pebble in the silence that followed.Ithyion. Four pieces.Osiris moved closer, and the talisman around her neck warmed. She refrained from moving her hands to the necklace and kept a neutral expression as Osiris’ eyes flickered to her neck. Thetalisman.
“I fear there is no information you can give me, Queen Larelle of Nerida,” he hummed. Larelle needed to stall him and find a way to retrieve the talisman.
“So, what now?” she asked. “Is it time for you to kill me and take me from my daughter?” Larelle’s emotions spiked with hidden fear and determination, envisioning Zarya’s midnight blue eyes again. Osiris tilted his head towards her.
“You have a daughter?” he asked, glancing at Arik, who shrugged. “Her name?”
Larelle clenched her jaw. “Zarya,” she said, trying to appease him long enough to think through a plan.
“Zarya Sevia.” He tested the name on his tongue.
“Zerpane,” Larelle said firmly, and Osiris turned to face her fully then. “Zarya Sevia-Zerpane.” His eyes narrowed a fraction.
“An old name,” he said. “There is power in a name.” Larelle did not respond. She did not need a history lesson on the origins of her dead partner’s surname. Osiris nodded towards Arik, who approached the cave ledge. “I believe our time together is over, Queen Larelle of Nerida.” Larelle’s heart quickened; she could not let them take the talisman, but how would she escape them both? She stepped towards them as Osiris handed the talisman to Arik, the other half warming her neck and humming in response to its counterpart. “It has been a pleasure making your acquaintance, even if we are meant to be enemies.” Osiris smiled, yet he had lost his earlier arrogance, and another emotion flickered in his gaze.
“Enemies,” Larelle confirmed, remembering how his creatures killed countless innocents in Garridon. She assessed the distance between her and the ledge. Arik and Osiris were far enough to the right, allowing a slight gap for her to squeeze through. But Larelle needed the talisman. She stepped closer again and saw the suspicion in Osiris’ expression.
“Daughter of mine…”A faded voice echoed through Larelle’s mind and caught her off guard. She halted as the talisman in Arik’s hand sang to its other half, calling and beckoning it closer. “Takeit. It will protect you,”urged the female voice again, like it spoke from somewhere far in the distance. Still, Arik stood with his back to her while Osiris watched.
“Even enemies can find a common cause. At least, that is what my mother’s religion preaches. Funny, isn’t it? How people place such weight on religious sayings.” Osiris slowly turned his head to face the ocean, giving her an opening. “We will meet again one day, Queen Larelle.”
“I hope we do not,” she said, and with her daughter’s face spurring her on, Larelle charged at Arik. The wet surface provided little grip, but she only needed to make several strides. Her toes curled as she pushed forward and fell into Arik, forcing her weight into him. He stumbled into Osiris, and the three of them collided on the floor in a tangled heap. The talisman skated across the floor towards the edge, and Larelle was quick to clamber towards it. She scraped her knees against the rock as she crawled, reaching for it.
Larelle gasped as power met her fingertips, unlocking the cuffs around her wrists that clattered to the stone floor. She pushed herself to standing, surprised by the power of the talismans when combined.Breathing in the salty air, her connection to the ocean returned, and power rushed through her veins. She had always been powerful, yet the energy flowing through her now was different, older, and intense. She stared into a puddle at her feet, which rippled with her reflection. Larelle’s blue eyes glowed, yet something else was there: a swirling pool of water in her irises, like a mirror to the sea.
She stumbled when a cold hand caught her ankle. She spun to find Arik holding onto her while Osiris rose slowly behind him, his movements much slower than Arik’s scrambling. Larelle did not try to shake him. Time slowed as Larelle summoned the ocean, where a wave so high rose towards their ledge. Panic filled Arik’s eyes as the sea darkened the cavern, and Osiris grabbed Arik’s jacket, tugging the boy back into his chest as Larelle released the wave and sent it crashing into them. Wasting no time, Larelle raisedher arms above her head and dived into the sea, streamlining herself as she plunged into the rocky depths below.
Saltwater consumed her, and Larelle breathed it in. A shoal of silver fish swirled beside Larelle, welcoming her return to the ocean kingdom. Her breathing eased, comfortable and secure as the water engulfed her like a blanket. She appreciated the water’s solace, never wishing to experience her power being cut off again. Yet her panic threatened to creep back in amongst her relief as Larelle glanced to the surface and sunk lower, remaining close enough to discern Osiris and Arik standing at the cavern ledge in the rocky karsts growing from the ocean.
The fish swam a path around Larelle and shielded her from view. The ocean would always protect her. The talisman burned in her hand as she watched and waited. The two men did not linger at the edge for long or attempt to follow her in, but why? Why would they release her with little fight? Bile rose in Larelle’s throat as their features shifted into that of two winged creatures. They jumped from the ledge and spanned their wings, taking off toward the sea border, away from the mainland. The ocean cocooned Larelle while she waited and wondered how much longer she would be kept from her daughter until it was safe to break the surface.
Larelle examined the talisman and rubbed her thumb over the engraving. She reached for the piece on her neck, the jagged edge matching the one in her hand, where together it formed a ship with three sails. She wondered if the other rulers had pieced together the prophecy, too, and searched for their own halves. Larelle’s stomach sunk at that.
Had anyone searched for her?
The fish around Larelle fanned out, vacating their defensive position. Hoping they were correct, Larelle kicked her legs and broke the surface, greeted by the cool, early evening air. She blinked away the water clinging to her lashes and scanned the horizon, searching for any dot in the sky, near or far. She found nothing and continued her surveillance until spotting a ship in the distance. Shesquinted. It travelled from The Bay but not for the usual fishing pools; it headed in her direction. If it continued, it would need to attempt to cross the rough waves and whirlpools surrounding the rocks where she hid—the perfect defences for a hidden talisman. She squinted again, faintly making out the Nerida royal sigil.Alvan.Her heart pounded.
Alvan.It had to be him; he was the only one who could commandeer a royal ship after naming him her heir until Zarya was of age.
While Larelle trusted her sailors' worth, navigating these rocks was a death sentence unless they had a water-wielder on board, which was unlikely given that few remained with a connection to the royal line. Larelle clenched her fist around the talisman, the perfect defence for hiding such a relic. She breathed in deeply. She would not be kept from her family any longer. Clinging to that thought, she sunk below the surface.
Larelle frowned at the dark waters, her eyesight faltering on something in its depths—a whirl of soft light. When she blinked again, she saw it for what it was: one of many whirlpools. Kicking her feet, Larelle manipulated the surrounding water to create a stream, propelling her towards the ship. She thought of Zarya’s terrified face when Lillian ushered her away, and the last time she relished in the warmth of Olden’s hugs; she thought of her pounding heart whenever her hand brushed Alvan’s, and the pain across his face when he screamed for her in the moments before she was taken. Larelle blinked back tears amongst the seawater as she realised she feared never seeing him again, not just her daughter and Olden. She screamed into the water, confronted by the pain of grieving one love while yearning for a new one.
She was not moving fast enough; she needed to know they were safe and they would remain with her forever. Both parts of the talisman radiated, and a glow encompassed Larelle as her hair floated in a halo and the ocean swam in her eyes.
Raising her hands, Larelle sank to the ocean floor, and onlywhen her feet met the rough sand did she clap her hands together and send the sound rippling throughout the ocean. The fish scattered as Larelle screamed, the sound of rushing water pounding through her ears. Larelle screamed endlessly as power blazed in her hands, as she, the queen of Nerida, parted the ocean. The water rushed away from her, divided into two halves that began at her feet. She stopped screaming as the water parted until salty air filled her lungs.
Larelle moved along the seabed, stepping over discarded shells and broken wood from years of floating debris having sunk to the ocean floor to be claimed by the darkness. Her eyes lingered on deep-set footprints with sharpened claws: a sea creature she had never heard of. The footprints faded behind the walls of waves, stretching and forming a path for their queen. In the distance, it continued to part, the dark blue fading to a brighter turquoise as it met shallower waters.
Larelle would not be claimed by the darkness of her fears; she would be reunited with her family and would help save her kingdom from the creatures whose real faces she had now seen.
Larelle’s feet quickened as the ocean continued to part to wherethe ship appeared in the distance, much closer than before. Water parted around it, and behind the ship, she saw The Bay. Her feet took on a mind of their own when her eyes tugged on a familiar body: the shape of his head, the breadth of his shoulders, and the size of his hands gripping the ropes as he hung over the side of the ship, looking in her direction. When Larelle saw his moment of realisation, she ran.
Larelle Sevia ran as though her life depended on it, and it did. Her life was Zarya; her life was Olden, and her life was the man hastily climbing down the rope on the side of her royal ship—the man who had stood by her side since the moment she was queen. The man who spent night after night tucking her daughter into bed and forming a friendship. The man who listened to her worries and offered his advice. Larelle heard the faint sound of his voice as he hit the sand, and the waves towering on either side of them fell like rain, soaking through her torn gown.
“Larelle!” Alvan screamed, and a sob broke free as she watched him sprint towards her. “Larelle!” he screamed again, and the water fell around him.
“Alvan!” Larelle tried to call back, but she broke down, sobbing, as the water fell harder, a torrent of rain reflecting her emotions as Alvan ran to her as though he felt every emotion within her just as strongly.
