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I swung my gaze to where she was pointing.

To our left, shreds of heavy fog clung to the waves, yet as we drew closer, fleeting glimpses of…something began to present themselves. My hands turned slick with sweat. This land, any hybrids who’d hidden during the attack and managed to stay alive…they were what we were fighting for.

The mist thinned, and I could make out the faintest suggestions of some kind of towering structure. Perhaps walls. Part of a castle? Or the once-fortified boundary of a city?

But we weren’t traveling toward the kingdom. No, we were turning back toward the east.

Telean stepped up next to us, wrapping an arm around my waist. She peered into the distance, her expression tight with grief. “We can’t go any closer,” she said. “Already, we risk much by traveling this far into the Sleeping Sea.”

We anchored offshore on the western coast of Eprotha, boarding a smaller boat to take us to the peninsula. The beginning of the Asric Pass was just a few thousand foot-spans away.

Demos had said if I was judged worthy, I would be taken across the sea. I had no idea who or what would be judging me, but it was clear we weren’t welcome in the hybrid kingdom until such a thing happened.

Lorian murmured something to Rythos, who nodded. “Regner will be having this area watched,” Lorian told me. He glanced at Telean, Asinia, and me. “Galon and Cavis will do a sweep of the forest nearby while Rythos and I check the beach. No wandering off alone.”

I nodded. Hopefully, we would all be back on the ship soon and crossing the Sleeping Sea toward the hybrid kingdom—as long as I was found worthy. My stomach churned at the possibility that we’d instead be turned away, but I forced that thought out of my mind, refusing to consider it until it happened. If we could find allies here, if there were still people with magic who were willing to fight…

Perhaps we would have a chance against Regner’s armies.

Lorian jumped over the side of the boat, landing gracefully next to Rythos, who was already standing on the rocky shore. If I attempted to do such a thing, I’d break a leg.

My gaze drifted toward the horizon, where the sea met the sky in a seamless embrace. Something caught my eye. A dark shape broke the surface, its movement disrupting the tranquility of the water. I squinted, and my heart skipped a beat as realization washed over me.

This was one of the monsters the hybrids had whispered about.

The creature surged upward, its sinuous body undulating with mesmerizing grace as it arched through the air. Scales, shimmering like a thousand suns, adorned its massive form, reflecting the sunlight in a kaleidoscope of iridescent hues. The monster’s serpentine neck stretched high above the waves, its regal, triangular head crowned with an array of twisting, pointed horns.

It opened Its mouth, displaying teeth the size of my fingers, and my lungs seized. Those teeth had been designed to snag its prey and hold it beneath the water.

The creature unfurled its vast wings, the membrane between the bones glistening with droplets of sea spray. The wings, resembling those of a bat but on a colossal scale, cast enormous shadows upon the water. The monster flexed its muscular tail, the fins at the end propelling it through the water with astonishing speed and power.

I got the sense it was…preening.

The creature’s eyes, pools of molten gold, bored into mine with an intelligence that made my stomach churn. A shiver ran down my spine at the keen curiosity behind that gaze.

The sea dragon was studying me just as intently as I was studying it.

“Gods,” Asinia whispered next to me. “What exactly are you supposed to do now, Pris?”

The monster dove back into the depths, its mighty wings folding against its body. I swallowed. “I have no idea.”

Telean stepped up next to me. “Now, we wait.”

“Wait for what?”

“To see if anyone comes.”

An arrow went whistling past my head. I dropped low, and Telean raised her hand, forming a shield. Several more arrows thunked into the shield, and we both ducked even lower until her shield disappeared, her power spent. My vision narrowed, blood pounded in my ears, and I bared my teeth. Iron guards. They’d waited for us as if we were their prey.

“I’m sorry,” Telean said. “My power…”

I pulled the threads of my magic toward me and stood. I hadn’t had a clear look, so I’d stopped time for everyone. But…there. At the edge of the forest. They were using the trees as cover so they could pick us off. We needed to lure them out.

Time resumed, but I knew where our attackers were now. I strained, until time stopped just for them.

“They’re in the forest, using the trees for cover!” I screamed. In the distance, Galon and Cavis began roaring curses.

“Stay there,” Lorian snarled from the beach below us, and then he was gone, sprinting toward the copse of trees with Rythos.