Page 13 of Fate of Echoes and Embers (Heirs of Elydor #3)

MAREK

As I tied off the ship with Kael’s aid, the women were nowhere to be seen.

Though I normally remained on the ship at port, this eve was different.

After spending my days teaching Issa how to sail, and my nights mostly sleepless, waiting for her to emerge in the morn, one thing had become clear these past days.

Isolde deserved to see the Spirit of the Tides, a sight typically reserved for those who had given themselves to the sea for many years.

Convinced she must have Thalassarian blood somewhere in her ancestry, I was amazed how quickly she had taken to every aspect of sailing.

Not a hint of sickness, even yesterday during a brief, but violent, storm.

“If you stare at the deck harder, she’s not any more likely to appear.”

I had been staring. Finishing the knot, I stood beside him, waiting. “They know we are in port, aye?”

As the words left my mouth, the women appeared and made their way toward us. Handing Kael a satchel, Mev took the Gyorian warrior’s hand. She was so slight standing beside him, but they partnered well together.

Issa and I would partner just as well.

It was that sort of thinking that prompted me to flee Estmere in the first place. I reached forward to take Issa’s satchel as well.

“You don’t have to carry it for me.”

“I don’t not have to carry it either.”

Her expression made me smile. It was never difficult to tell what Issa was thinking at any given moment.

As we made our way onto the dock, Mev asked about the port town. At dusk, it was a sight to behold, its weathered, wooden piers, lantern-lit alleys, and harbor filled with ships of questionable allegiances were a unique blend of human construction with Aetherian architecture mixed in.

“Technically, we are in Estmere, but just beyond the town is the northern border of your kingdom, my lady,” I said.

“Oh God, no. Please. I get enough of that back home.”

“Home? That is the first I’ve heard you call Aetheria home,” Kael commented as we walked down the dock toward town.

“Is it?” she asked.

“Do you miss the human realm?” Issa asked.

“I miss some things about it. But mostly, my friends and my mother. Kael assures me, based on how we believe time between realms work, she won’t realize I’m missing yet. But if we don’t find a way to open the Gate…” Mev swallowed. “I can’t even think about it.”

I only caught her eyes welling with tears as we walked past a hanging lantern, one of many at the docks and on the nearby buildings. Stopping, I realized all talk of the Depths’ dangers had to cease. I was as guilty as anyone, but me failing meant the mission failed.

“Mev,” I said quietly. “I will get the Wind Crystal. When I do, Kael will retrieve the Stone and the Gate will be reopened.”

“None have survived it before. I hate that you’re even attempting this, Marek.”

“I’ve always been terrible at doing what’s expected of me.”

Mev let go of Kael’s hand and hugged me. Meeting Kael’s gaze, the Gyorian wasn’t angry, as I expected, knowing the possessiveness of his kind.

When she let me go, I cleared my throat and launched into the history of Valmyr Port.

“Like all of Estmere, this was once Aetherian. When your father gifted land to the humans, it was built up to what you see today. The coastal settlement is a smuggler’s haven, a trade hub, and political gray zone.

Estmerian nobles, Aetherian exiles, and seafarers all mingle, making it… unique in many ways.”

“There are exiles from Aetheria?” Mev asked.

Kael responded as we wove through the busy, cobblestone street, beside Issa.

“There are exiles to, and from, every clan. Some leave willingly, but most… do not.”

The cobblestone street seemed to narrow as we walked, and for a moment, I could feel the weight of unspoken words between Issa and me.

“Exile isn’t just about punishment,” Kael added after a beat, his voice lowering. “It’s about survival. Sometimes, it’s easier to stay away than returning to where you no longer belong.”

He was speaking of himself. When Kael had taken Mev to her father, rather than his own, he’d chosen sides.

“If not for the king,” I said, having voiced as much once before, “Gyoria would welcome you back.”

Kael made a sound of disgust. “If not for the king. My father.”

“He is right,” Issa added. “Look at us. We forged a friendship. Without his influence of hate, I think many would do the same.”

Kael only grunted. I understood his frustration. War was brewing in Elydor and had been since the Gate’s closing, a far cry from the kind of peace we discussed.

“Marek?” Issa’s pace slowed.

Immediately, all three of us surrounded her, Issa’s expression making it clear something was amiss.

“What is it?”

She held a hand to her heart and closed her eyes.

I looked at Kael, who seemed to understand what was happening.

“She senses something.”

I turned to Mev, who shook her head. She could sense both emotion and intentions, both good and bad, but apparently, there was nothing nefarious nearby.

Issa opened her eyes. “An artifact. Stronger than most. Ancient, perhaps.”

“Where?” Kael followed Issa’s gaze toward a poorly lit alleyway.

“That way. There is a crest above the door.”

I pointed to the closest building to us.

“They all do here. It is the mark of Valmyr. Each claims an alliance to a house of Estmere. A business or residence marked with a noble house’s crest is less likely to be targeted by thieves or rival factions.

Merchants and tavern owners align with noble houses to gain favor or a steady flow of customers loyal to that faction.

And some use the crest to strengthen false ties, misleading competitors or gaining access to faction-only dealings. ”

Issa closed her eyes again, her hand still lying gently on her chest.

How many humans had I seen use their abilities, some in ways that continue to amaze me, even after all these years? But there was something about watching Issa do it…

Her eyes whipped open.

“The crest is dark blue. Two crossed swords over a trexan?—”

“Gods,” I cursed, frowning. “Perhaps we should let it be.”

Kael’s eyes narrowed. “A powerful magical relic, possibly ancient, and you want to… let it be?”

Of course not. But the owner of that shop would likely have something to say and I would prefer he not.

“It is an antique shop,” I said. “You can settle and get a meal while I investigate.”

Kael’s rare, but not subtle, laughter caught the attention of two sailors walking past us. They looked at him, and then Mev. I could hear their whispers of “the lost princess” as they passed. “We will be coming with you.”

“It feels like… something important,” Issa said, ensuring they would come along.

Reluctantly, I led our group down the alley. “This way. Issa, stay close.”

As I said the words, a group of three men stumbled from a less reputable tavern. Mev’s pearl-white hair must have caught the eye of the largest of the three. Without even a glance at Kael, he made a sound of appreciation and took a step toward her.

A flash of steel from the corner of my eye reminded me that Issa had been trained by her father, a ruthless warrior who had defended Hawthorne’s borders tirelessly, according to Kael.

At the same time, Mev raised her arm, but no magic was needed.

He was already being lifted by Kael, the man’s friends heading quickly in the opposite direction.

“Kael,” Mev said in an even tone. “Let him go.”

“I intend to,” Kael replied as the man demanded the same. As if he were a leather satchel, Kael tossed him a good distance away. The drunkard grunted but extended his legs.

“He’s alive, at least,” I said, watching as Issa put away her blade.

“Not for long, unless he disappears quickly,” Kael said, loud enough for the man to hear. Somehow, he managed to stand and stumble away toward his friends.

“Gyorians,” I muttered, shaking my head.

“You do not agree with his methods?” Issa asked.

My eyes darted to the blade now at her hip. I’d seen her use it once, hunting, and had no doubt it would have been lodged in the man’s throat before he was even hit by whatever magic Mev had planned to use on him.

“Sometimes, more finesse is called for.”

Issa pursed her lips together to keep from smiling. “And what, precisely, would you have done in the same situation?”

I thought about that one, my pulse quickening at the thought of Issa being mine.

My partner. Mine to hold. To kiss at will. To make love to. Travel the seas of Elydor with, teaching her to sail as we’ve done these past few days?

A very, very dangerous thought.

“I would use my natural charm to talk our way out of an escalating conflict. Leveraging words is not something a Gyorian would ever consider, I will admit.”

“And if that didn’t work?” she asked as we stopped in front of Bram’s shop.

“I might make a pointed remark to undermine the man’s confidence, ensuring he knew I could easily deal with him as a Thalassarian but choose not to.”

“We’d call that a psychological advantage in my realm,” Mev added from behind.

Kael grunted. I assumed it meant he disagreed with my methods.

“And how would a Thalassarian deal with him, being there is no water nearby?” Issa asked.

This would be fun.

It was a tricky bit of magic that Nerys perfected well before I ever attempted it.

Lifting both hands, I first summoned moisture in the air.

It was easy enough this close to port. With the mists, I twisted my fingers, creating two deceptively thin ropes.

Bound by water, no human could break them.

With a final movement, I flicked my hands and sent the ropes coiling around Issa’s hands, first separately and then, with a stronger pull to account for her resistance, gently binding them together behind her back.

Grinning, I took a step toward her, grateful to have Kael and Mev as an audience.

There was no accounting for what I might attempt otherwise.

Kissing Issa again had become a near constant vision in my mind.

One “aye” from her and the thing I promised myself not to do—get close to her again—would be a foregone conclusion.

“I could, of course, also summon water from the bay. But this would do just as well.”

Issa rolled her eyes. “Are you planning to release me?”

I hesitated long enough for Kael to issue a warning. “Marek,” he grumbled.

A curse on meddling Gyorian princes.

Another flick of my wrists and the ropes turned back to mist, evaporating into the air almost immediately. When they did, I stepped past Issa and reached for the door, but not before whispering into her ear.

“A good thing we have witnesses, sereia.”