Page 87 of Daughter of the Dark Sea

“And?”

“Nothing to report.”

Blake’s sigh was audible.

“Where’s Callan?” Samuel asked, the sound of metal against leather broke through the night, and she knew he’d unsheathed his sword. “I’ll give that scourge a piece of my mind.”

“And where’s Kora?” Aryn pressed.

“Gone. Theron exiled him. Thecaptainis . . .” silence followed, then footsteps thudded in the sand, nearing the tent. “Don’t go in there,” Blake commanded.

“I want to check on her,” Aryn bit back.

“Why?”

She held a bated breath.

“I have somemedical field training, in case she has any injuries.” Despite their friendship blossoming recently, Aryn had always been the first to offer medical assistance in the past, even before Koji.

“You can check on her tomorrow—” Blake’s voice cut out as she shuffled on the mat, her knees protesting at being curled up so tightly. She froze at the sudden quiet that slowly became deafening.

“I want someone on watch with Theron . . .” Blake’s voice faded, along with the sound of muffled steps in the sand as the trio walked away from the tent.

Kora squeezed her eyes shut, her hand clasping the talisman sprawled on the sleeper mattress and, as she slowly opened her eyes, her fingertips shone blue once again. The tears streaming down her face lifted from her skin, the individual beads of water pooling together to form one, floating, iridescent ball. No bigger than the size of a pea.

Her body didn’t crackle with energy, her core didn’t alight with pounding bolts. It was as if her power subconsciously was trying to soothe her, displaying parlour tricks of beads of water, swirling around each other.

“Run,”the voice returned to her mind and she growled at it. The voice could get fucked as well.

She pictured a mental wall building around her mind, block after block after block of sheer blue ice, until she was secure in her shimmering glacial dome. She wasn’t sure whether it would be effective or not, but the voice didn’t return for the rest of the night. Neither did Blake to sleep outside the tent. At least she had Cadence.

No one would save her in this world. She would have to save herself.

And that would start with mastering her power.

35

The rolling, lush green lands of Bellmoor’s territory were in their sights, and the terror and tension eased from Kora’s traumatised body as they neared the border.

She was sick of the desert. Sick of the sun. Sick of males.

Aryn had barely given her a glance over with hismedical field trainingexpertise. Mumbling to himself about gods-knew-what before mounting Fajra with Ivar after a very quiet, very awkward breakfast. All the males seemed to be taking a wide berth around her, so she stuck close to Cadence, repetitively running her hands through the mare’s mane for comfort.

Blake and Theron had taken charge of the convoy, leading them across the final dunes. Aryn and Ivar scouted the rear, leaving Kora in her familiar position of riding next to Samuel.

His face had remained pensive for most of the journey, his usual jovial personality muted. Even his eyes seemed duller. Whenever she tried to capture his gaze, his grey stare would dart away, shame riddling his face. Why was he ashamed? He hadn’t been the one to violate her last night. She shuddered. She hopedhe didn’t see her differently after Callan proved how easy it was to infiltrate her . . .tent.

Thank gods that was all he’d achieved.

She felt how Samuel looked. Kora had awoken with a hollowness within her, and her mind was lonely, confined to her new mental dome. She cast her eyes over Samuel. He’d tied his blonde hair up, knotted at the base of his head, with a selection of braids weaved throughout. She needed to know their friendship hadn’t changed. That he didn’t perceive her as weak. A question poised on her lips; she opened her mouth—

“CAAAWWWWWWWWW!”

Her head whipped towards the sound.

“Halt!” Blake yelled from in front.

They came to a stop atop of the final dune. Before them laid the remainder of the sparse tundra, blending into a canopy of palm trees and lush foliage lining the House of Bellmoor’s border. Pushing her goggles up, Kora scanned the horizon, squinting against the early afternoon sun. In the far distance, she could just make out the pale, towering turrets of Stormkeep Fortress. The tension eased a fraction more. She’d never been so glad to see those ivory stones.