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niara

That night there were no dreams because I did not sleep.

I lay on my pallet staring up at the sliver of sky I could see through the smoke hole in our tent.

A smattering of stars interrupted the blackness of the night.

I replayed the conversation I’d overheard between Amal and Ylena over and over again, trying to wrap my head around the fact that they could be involved in this kind of conspiracy.

Due to the drain of maintaining Keeran’s cage, Valya had gone into sequestration a whole day early.

Normally a half day’s meditation was required by the High Priestess before the Day Six ceremony, since it was the most involved and intense one.

I’d desperately wanted to speak to her, to warn her of what I’d learned, and face whatever consequences may come, but she’d been deep in meditation, a state that left her essentially comatose and unable to be awoken early .

It had meant my duties for the day were limited, but of course I’d used the extra time to worry. If Amal and Ylena got their way, there would certainly be war. Not only would people I cared about die, but many, many more all across our land. I needed to do all I could in order to stop it.

The women I shared the tent with were all breathing deeply, in the embrace of sleep. When no one had stirred for two hours, I rose on wobbling legs and left the tent. Resolve plus the fiery, bubbling anger within me fueled every step I took.

I crossed the camp cautiously, avoiding every warden I saw, until I reached Keeran’s prison. As usual, he was positioned at the edge of the sandy shoreline, where it met the waist-high grasses. He looked up at my approach, eyes glowing orange-red. His beastly face was solemn.

I had borrowed one of Valya’s largest seaglass gems for tonight. Usage by someone other than a priestess was forbidden, but with her out of commission, I hadn’t been able to ask for permission. I would need it to channel as much of Morros’s power as possible.

The Melancholic Guardian was several nights away from being completely full, and overhead, the cloudless sky revealed him in all of his glory.

However, that meant the camp was relatively brightly lit for the middle of the night.

Thankfully, there were no guards stationed directly near Keeran’s prison at the moment.

I crouched on the sand in front of him and pulled the gem from my pocket. It was smaller than the egg-sized one Valya wore around her neck, but larger than the marble-sized ones the other priestesses bore. Nestled in the palm of my hand, it glowed a soft blue-green in the moonlight .

A gust of wind kicked up, causing the tall grasses nearby to bend and sway. I took a deep breath and regarded the cursed prince. I’m going to release you tonight. You’ll need to get as far away from here as possible , I told him mentally.

What about you? his deep voice rumbled through my head.

Don’t worry about me. If they get their hands on you and do this ancient spell they found, they’ll drain you of your power. If it’s anything like The Tragedy of Goldensky and Flickerfeet , that would kill you, wouldn’t it?

His eyes sparked. You’ve read our fairy tales?

Yes, I believe they must have been talking about the Lunar Fire spell.

Ignis is well known for his curses. By using Lunar Fire, anyone could drain the Fire Moon’s power from one He has cursed.

It was locked in the archive because it is forbidden.

And if they succeed, I would not survive.

My heart thundered in my chest.

But I cannot leave you behind , he said. They will certainly know it was you who freed me.

Frustration bubbled within me. It doesn’t matter if they know. What matters is their plot doesn’t succeed and you get away.

It matters to me, Niara. You matter to me.

Not only could I sense the sincerity in his mental voice, but I could feel it pulsing within me through our emotional bond. Why? I asked. Why do we have this connection?

His fiery gaze darted away. I will tell you once I am free. If you come along with me.

I snorted. Where would we go? My entire life is the Order. It has been since I was a child .

You will not be safe here once they unmask you. His voice was implacable.

When High Priestess Valya emerges from her meditation, she will protect me. I hoped.

But I was a failed Water Mage acolyte with no family and nowhere to go.

Freeing Keeran would stop the overthrow of the Order that I loved and the war that would surely follow.

But where would it leave me? Dead? In prison?

I hadn’t thought that far ahead. The chance that I would be heralded as a hero seemed low, but allowing Amal and Ylena to continue with their plan was impossible.

I shook my head, knowing that I wasn’t going to convince Keeran of anything.

I needed to move forward with freeing him before it was too late.

Focusing on the large gem in my hands, I worked to channel Morros’s power.

Overcoming High Priestess Valya’s enchantment on the water cage would be difficult, but now was the perfect time, since in her current meditative state, she would not be able to reinforce the magecraft. I just needed a crack to exploit.

I sank into the power, doing my best to funnel everything I could into the gem.

The smooth seaglass cooled in my palm, letting me know it was working.

It connected with my other seaglass gems, the ones in my hair and around my neck.

With them, I sensed the cage, the boundaries of it, and found a weakness, a tiny area where it was thinner than other places, where Valya’s exhaustion was starting to show through.

I pushed at the weak spot, deteriorating it further until it became a minuscule hole within the water cage too tiny to see. Little by little, I made the hole larger, retracting the stronger barrier around it. I felt Keeran sense the opening .

Experimentally, he stuck a clawed finger through and touched the sand on the other side. All I had to do was make the breach wider, enough for him to get through.

Sweat broke out on my brow. I was reaching the limits of my water magic abilities, but I had to push forward. I could not fail. The stakes were too high. The tiny fissure in the cage grew larger and larger until it was the size of Beast Keeran’s head. He peered at me through the gap and then froze.

Niara, get out of here now. They’re coming.

But I couldn’t stop.

Niara . Keeran’s voice in my head was insistent.

I have to get you free first. See if you can wiggle through.

You must leave now! he boomed at me, but I held fast. The opening was nearly large enough for his wide shoulders. That was all he needed.

The sound of feet racing across the sand broke my concentration. Rough hands wrenched my right arm, causing me to drop the gem. My left arm was gripped with a gentler touch. I looked over to find Safina, tears welling in her eyes.

Wardens surrounded the cage. The tall man on my right side glared down at me with menace. Amal stepped through the line of guards to face me.

“I’m not entirely sure what you are trying to do here, First Tidemaiden,” he said, his voice sounding honestly confused. “But freeing this creature that tried to kill us all is treason.”

“He’s not a creature! He’s a man!” I yelled. I turned to Safina. “His name is Keeran, he’s a cursed Ember Fae p—” But my words were cut off when a water mask was affixed to my face.

“I cannot allow you to infect anyone else with your treasonous speech,” Amal said.

“It’s a shame that the rigors and stresses of the Order’s initiation process have brought you to this, Niara.

We all held out great hope that you would become an adequate priestess one day.

I know Valya certainly did. She will be most disappointed in you. ”

He bent to pick up the gem that had fallen when the wardens grabbed me. “We shall have to add theft to the list of your crimes, along, of course, with treason against the Order of Morros.”

Amal turned, his face limned with moonlight that made it glow. Behind him in the cage, Keeran appeared to grow larger and fill the space more completely.

“Due to the Holy Convergence and the need for all the Archons to be in Solmane for the tournament and the royal wedding next week, we will not have time for a traditional tribunal. In cases of unequivocal treason, it is my prerogative as High Warden to sentence you to the Unmooring.”

Beside me, Safina gasped.

“In the morning, you will be bound on an unsteerable craft with one day’s worth of provisions and left to the fate of the sea. May Morros have mercy on you.” He sounded like he truly regretted having to pass this sentence, the fiend. A single tear dripped down Safina’s face.

“Take her away,” Amal ordered, and the male warden on my right jostled me, marching me away from Keeran. Safina had to keep up. My last glimpse of Keeran was of the dark lava of his skin glowing orange all over.

His roar split open the night. It was so anguished and furious that it caused my very bones to vibrate. The male guard, who was squeezing my arm too tightly, stumbled on the sand.

I had failed, again, and now it wasn’t just me who would pay the price.