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Hopefully, I wouldn’t need them at all.

28 | The Seeping Mist

Ayla

Gloom misted my skin. Her waters leached life from my body. Everything dulled. My mind slowed. My anxiety calmed, and so did my wariness.

I looked at the strange sea, finding no movement. I reached out to Eleanor—she was silent and still. I touched my Brand, confirming it hadn’t shifted. Repeat. I scanned our surroundings again. And again.

Zayne stood at the bow of the boat while I took the rear. Ninti prowled between us.

Despite my best attempts to keep watch, I felt blind. Blackened water and dark clouds filled my short-sighted vision. Even at mid-morning, it was duller than dawn.

The ship sliced through the water, smooth sailing in the unusually silent sea. Even the waves seemed weary here.

Gloom dampened my fears. Surrender requires a special type of bravery—the faith to run forward, accepting consequences without consideration. Surrender became a power I could depend on.

We remained vigilant. We rotated through the positions, Ninti, Zayne, and me.

Even in her truebody wolf form, Ninti’s flames seemed dim. She seemed less magical, more like an animal, in the dim Gloom.

In contrast, Zayne’s necromancy practically bloomed. Spirals of darkness spun about us, scented of petrichor, the cleansing scent of rain. He wrapped us in his dark cocoon, intending to avoid the gaze of Shades.

Time passed in silence. So when Zayne spoke to me, his words sounded much louder than the whisper they were.

“There.” He pointed to the distance. “Do you see where it’s darker? That’s the coast. We’re not far now.”

I squinted. There wasn’t much to see. Yet, if I steadied my gaze on the darkened horizon, I could convince myself it wasn’t a trick of the light. Land was near.

Vanessa brought us to the coast slowly, the blue light of her magic diffuse at lower speeds. Only once we were almost upon them did I see the silhouette of hills and bluffs.

Point Bethia loomed over us, built upon steep, well-weathered cliffs. Jagged hills formed the rocky peninsula. Eyes narrowing, I struggled to see the top.

The cliffs looked slippery. Water coated everything. I shifted closer to Ninti, wishing her flames burned a little hotter.

“Once we’re in position, I’ll shadow-step us to the top,” Zayne whispered.

“Good.” I shivered. I checked my Brand. “We’re close. Eleanor is farther inland from here.”

Zayne pointed to a crevice. “What do you think of that cove?” he asked Vanessa.

“Out of sight and secure.”

Vanessa maneuvered us closer. The walls were barren. Where lichen might normally grow, there was nothing but gray skeletal rocks.

We hushed, stagnant air filling our lungs, our actions stilted. Everything slowed.

After a time, Vanessa settled the ship, planting a magical anchor in place. The ship swayed and soon stilled.

Meanwhile, I checked my weapons and packs for provisions and survival tools. Zayne tested his speaking stone, confirming he would have contact with Vanessa as we traveled.

Thanks to shadow-stepping, Zayne ascended the cliffs in a moment. First, he vanished, scouted the rocks above, and returned. He jumped Ninti first.

Finally, he took me. His hand cupped mine. At any other time, his touch might have been cold, but in the lifeless Gloom, my fingers weaved into his, stitching a tighter bond. I sought warmth.

I had sunk so slowly, so deeply into the haze of Gloom, I hadn’t realized how deep I’d descended.

“Focus on one task at a time,” Zayne advised.