Page 53 of The Eye of the Fifth
‘It is why you were never told, Kyra,’ Naal said simply to conclude. ‘Your grandmother worried that if word got out thatyouwere the next Earth Warden, you would be targeted. I… hadn’t known that Winvara had kept it from you. But please know this… she only did so because she so desperately did not want to lose you.’
There was more to it. Far more. But to delve deeper at this moment would be an overload of information Naal wasn’t sure Kyra was ready for.
‘What happens after?’ Kyra said quietly after a few moments of thoughtful silence. ‘I learn how to use my magic, how to be a Warden… and then what? I just… go back to Vrethian?’ She shook her head. ‘They hate me, Naal. The Daeiros name isn’t exactly revered in Avaldale. Being the Earth Warden won’t change anything.’
‘I think…’ Naal began slowly. Carefully. ‘That you could be the one to change things, Kyra. Though I cannot know for sure what goes on in Zarynth, I feel certain we have not seen the last of Empress Azar. As a Warden, it will be your duty, along with my own, to counteract the chaos that is about to unfold.’
Stretching her legs out in front of her, Kyra said casually, ‘That’s if I don’t mysteriously die before then.’
Naal’s lips twitched. ‘You made it this far. I feel certain you will live to fight on a battlefield, and not in an arena.’
Kyra looked at her then. ‘You really think there will be another war?’
Nodding solemnly, Naal said, ‘Gallena has been warning me of its coming for some time. And we must be ready for it when it arrives.’
Chapter Fifteen
The Raider
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The Thilene, The Valcier Gap.
Kyra.
Staring up at the black sky was the only thing that kept Kyra’s nausea at bay. The sickness was passing and her stomach was finally getting used to the ship’s movement, but laying inside in a stuffy cabin made it worse. So, she retired to the deck, a burlap sack filled with grain for a pillow beneath her head, and a thick fur blanket thrown over her body, given to her by a sailor who couldn’t have been older than eighteen.
Her breath puffed white against the cold, dark air, and it was near-silent save the splashing water as the ship sliced through it like a knife in soft butter, disturbing its pristine surface.
The stars above were impossibly bright. Uncountable in their masses. Her whirling thoughts suddenly stilled as she stared at them, at the vastness of that wide unknown. She felt like a speck of dust in comparison.
She breathed deeply again. It felt good to breathe in the darkness. It was… comforting somehow. Like she wasn’t alone with the night and stars above her.
‘Is my cabin not good enough for you?’ a gravelly, mocking voice sounded. Fractionally lifting her head to locate it, she spied Kawai swaggering over to her, hands in his fur coat pockets.
The winking fool, she’d decided to name him, for up until now he’d done nothing but catch her eye from across the ship and wink. Incessantly. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but shewassure her blatant ignorance of it seemed to encourage him.
‘No, it’s not,’ Kyra said drily as she stared at the night sky once more.
Without invitation, Kawai sat down next to her, heaving a hefty exhale. ‘You know, I’d be wary out here at night. The mer have been known to jump on board and drag unwitting men to the depths.’
‘Good thing I’m not a man,’ she said smugly. Then, curiosity catching her, she added, ‘Is that true?’
Kawai’s face split into a wonky grin. ‘If it was, would you be scared?’
‘Should I be?’
The winking fool laughed. ‘One: we’re too far from Nevatis to see a mer. And two: you’re fae. Mer have no taste for fae flesh. Only human.’
‘Ah,’ Kyra said, looking him up and down. ‘Good.’
His gaze lingered on her face. Determinedly, she kept her own on the sky. ‘So, what brings you to Nythanor? Quite far for an earthling, isn’t it?’
‘I heard it’s a great place to catch a tan this time of year.’
‘You’re mocking me.’
‘I am.’
