Page 125 of The Eye of the Fifth
He’d sought out the twins shortly after his conversation with the merking, and it had been harder, much harder to tell the twins he was leaving Nevatis, than it had been to tell Cyraneous. Especially as Akraia had yet to say anything at all. The entire time he’d been talking, she’d avoided his gaze. Her long legs were pulled tight to her chest as the three of them sat in the shallow turquoise waters of their favourite spot, far away enough from the heart of Nevatis yet closeenough that they wouldn’t be bothered by banished mer looking for a meal.
‘I mean what I said,’ said Akeria, a slight bite in her voice. ‘You’re lucky to get out of Nevatis. But then again, you’ve always been treated like a little prince here. It’ll probably be a downgrade for you.’
‘Akeria,’Akraia hissed, glaring at her.
‘What?’ her sister demanded. ‘Am I lying? Kano supposedly escaped the landking’s servitude by coming here. Would we not be doing the same thing ifweleft Nevatis?’
Kano blinked. Akeria had never had a problem saying exactly how she felt, but she had never been so bold as to speak out against the merking. ‘You’re not bound to Cyraneous,’ he said. ‘He gives you protection here-’
Akeria laughed. ‘At what price? We spy for him, we do his bidding, we sell ourselves to him and westillget treated with disrespect. Just because we are not mer.’
‘It’s better than being alone out there,’ Akraia said in a small voice, nodding to the Birlissus Ocean to their left.
‘Is it? Because I amsickof the mer looking down at us. The lowly orphan nymph twins, never really belonging anywhere,’ said Akeria with acute bitterness. ‘Well, maybe it’s time we did find somewhere to belong. To be respected for once in our lives. Maybe the Lorish king will treat us how we deserve to be treated-’
‘I just told you that I wasusedby the landking for my Warden powers, and you want to go off and join him?’ Kano said incredulously.
‘You don’t remember anything anyway,’ Akeria snapped. ‘How do you know that everything those landwalkers told you is true?’
Gritting his teeth, Kano tightly replied, ‘I just know.’
‘You just know,’Akeria mimicked him with a roll of her eyes. ‘That’s convincing.’
‘Stop it!’ Akraia cried, suddenly standing as she glowered down at both of them. ‘I am sick of your bickering. Kano is leaving, Ria.Youmay not care about that but… but I do,’ she finished, her cheeks blushing. For the first time ever, her gaze did not waver from Kano’s.
There had always been a spark of something between them, but up until this point, Kano was sure it was just the spellbound effect that both twins occasionally had on him… if they willed it.
Akraia was different to her sister though. The effect she had on him had nothing to do with any nymph spell.
Suddenly, he found himself not wanting to leave. Or rather, not wanting to part with her at all. ‘Come with me,’ he blurted. Her face softened at the prospect, but those dark eyes instantly flickered to her sister, and because he knew she would never leave without her, Kano begrudgingly added, ‘Both of you.’
‘And go where?’ Akeria sneered. ‘To play hero with you and the other Wardens? Raia and I don’t have the luxury to just leave-’
‘Yousaid you wanted to leave,’ Kano retorted. ‘So,leave.I’m sure Cyraneous will understand if you-’
‘Because you know himsowell.’
Kano ignored her, turning to Akraia. ‘What doyouwant to do?’
To his surprise, Akeria didn’t interrupt again. Instead, she quietly waited for her sister to reply, her gaze piercing the face that was so like her own, yet softer. Kinder.
Akraia didn’t respond right away. She stared down as the gentle tide pulled in and out around them, her sapphire feet half buried in the sand. Finally, she lifted her head. ‘I want to come with you, Kano,’ she said quietly, and he sensed the ‘but’ before she even continued, ‘but Ria is right. We can’t just leave. The merking protects us here. There’s no other place in the world for creatures like us… not really.’ Tears welled in her eyes. ‘I’m sorry.’
She was right, of course. From what Kano understood, nymphs were abundant in the oceanic realm, but they were nomads. A wandering people who had no home, no roots. At least here in Nevatis they had purpose.
So this was to be it, then. The only friends he had known (or could remember for that matter), were about to become another memory.
Somehow, knowing he wouldn’t forget this one, it hurt far more than he cared to admit. ‘Right,’ he mumbled, now not able to look at Akraia at all. ‘I guess I’ll see you, then.’
He began wading back into the water to tell Cyraneous he was ready to leave, but Akraia caught his hand in hers. Her fingers were soft. So soft.
Her hand squeezed his, but still he couldn’t look at her. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to tell her…
But it didn’t matter anymore. He would probably never see her again.
That softness disappeared from his hand. And without another word, he moved into the waves, letting them submerge him, to take him away from all he’d known, or remembered, into all that was unknown. Into all he had forgotten.
Chapter Thirty Six
