Page 13

13

ROWAN

“Wait until you see it when the sun sets.”

I’d been in many inns and taverns in my day, but none quite like this. As we approached, it became clear its regular patrons included seafarers and sailors. Sitting so closely along the coast, the building seemed in imminent danger of being swallowed whole by the sea. It was also remarkably clean and well-kept. Even from the outside, it was clear the innkeeper took great care of the place.

Two stories tall, the most striking feature was a rounded section, complete with rounded windows. As we walked inside, not one person turned to look at us, a sign its patrons valued discretion. Although the sun hadn’t yet set, flickering candlelight and a two-story fireplace in the corner invited us in further. Driftwood accents and shipwreck remnants lined the walls as the strum of a lute played soft music, further lulling us inside.

“Will this do?” Nerys asked, gesturing to a small table in the corner.

“Perfectly,” I said, sitting and surveying the room for threats. Being without weapons in a clan of immortals had set me on edge all day. Aware, even with my sword, I could do little in a room of Thalassarians, I turned my attention back to Nerys.

“Your sword,” she guessed.

“How did you know?”

“Your hand moved to your hip many times today. I did attempt to regain it for you, just for today, but was denied.”

“Even when I am not in the palace?”

“The queen takes no chances. You have intimate knowledge of the palace, having stayed within its walls, and we plan to return at day’s end. It makes little sense to me, but…” She shrugged. “Her kingdom. Her rules.”

Now that I knew Nerys better, it was easier than ever to pick up on her resentment, one I began to understand. Outside of Thalassaria, the queen had a reputation of being closed off, a fair monarch but one concerned with her people alone. Inside her own kingdom, it seemed Queen Lirael’s reputation was even more of a mixed bag.

“It seems I’ve heard of this tavern once before,” I said as a woman made her way toward our table.

“Since that first day, Marek and I have made The Moonlit Current a regular haunt. As you can see, it is a popular spot for men, and women, of his ilk.”

“Of his ilk?”

Our server’s brown hair was darker than many in Thalassaria, but her piercing green eyes marked her very much as one of them. She was older, perhaps halfway to thaloran.

“You can only be talking of Marek.”

“Indeed,” Nerys said. “Nerithia, this is Rowan. Rowan, meet the innkeeper, or tavern keeper, if you will.”

“Nerithia. I am certain we have not met before, but there is something familiar about you.”

Nerithia locked eyes with me and did not look away, as if searching for something.

“The winds remember the first crossing, and the stone keeps their weight.”

She was a Keeper.

“What did you say?” Nerys asked.

Thankfully, Nerys was focused on Nerithia and didn’t notice my surprise at the innkeeper’s words.

“A phrase,” she responded. “When you are told you look familiar. A way to say that we are all connected, and ’tis likely the reason.”

Aye, she was a Keeper for certain. All knew that phrase, to identify another Keeper they may not have met. But, just as importantly, they were prepared with an explanation on why they used it, avoiding suspicion.

“I’ve never heard that expression before.”

When Nerithia smiled, the corners of her eyes wrinkled, further revealing her age. A perhaps three-hundred-year-old Keeper, living in Thalassaria. If he knew of her, my grandfather would have told me of Nerithia before I left for this mission.

Grandfather. My god keep your soul.

It was difficult to comprehend I now lived in a world without him. He had tried to prepare me, but like most in my family, his lessons on becoming the next Keeper never fully penetrated. I never actually imagined it would be me. Our network had grown large, and there were many just as worthy.

“Rowan?”

Both women were looking at me.

“Seafood? Or land-based?” the innkeeper asked. “Human, and all.”

It was a clever way to hide her connection to us. “I will have the same as Nerys.”

“Fish stew and a Tidal Kiss?”

“Perfect,” I said as Nerithia walked away.

“What is a Tidal Kiss?” I asked.

“You’ve not had one before? It’s rum-based, with lavender and sea salt, always served in a shell-shaped glass.”

There was another type of kiss I could not help thinking of, since we were on the topic. I was best to avoid considering that too deeply.

As darkness began to fall, the reason for The Moonlit Current became apparent. With a wall of windows, many of which were open, the soft glow of a full moon bounced off the waves outside the inn, casting a silvery reflection across the floor.

“Spectacular,” I said, of both the moon’s reflection and my companion.

“I remember the first time I came here?—”

“With Marek.”

Nerys paused. I hadn’t meant for the words to slip out, and certainly not as acidly as they had.

“Apologies for my tone. I suppose you do not need to have my human intuition to sense my envy of him.”

“Envy? Why?”

These visions, the unwanted flood of emotions, had taken their toll. There was so much I could not tell her; I would at least offer honesty in this.

A servant put our drinks in front of us, and just as Nerys predicted, the glasses were shaped like conch shells. I took an extended sip.

“When I read your emotion that first day, and I told you that you were not alone in your desire, I was being honest, Nerys. In truth, I am as drawn to you. I don’t say that to make you uncomfortable. On the contrary, I know relations between Thalassarians and humans are rare for your kind. I say it only because there is much I cannot tell you, such as what happened to me in the marketplace. I would offer you honesty, however, where I am able.”

Nerys took her own sip of rum, her long lashes peeking out from under the glass.

“You have me at a disadvantage, being able to know my emotion at any time.”

“Yet I do not use that ability with you. I made that promise and intend to keep it, when I am able.”

“What does that mean, Rowan? When you are able?”

“At the market… something did happen. But there are things about me I cannot share. Even if I wished to do so.”

Nerys was the embodiment of calm. Like the ocean to which she was so tied, she had the ability to make those around her feel at ease, as I did now, even revealing what I had. But the power inside her, the storm that simmered beneath the surface… I thought back to what I’d seen her do at the water’s edge.

Before she could respond, Nerithia arrived with our food.

“Pardon me,” Nerys said, standing. “I’ll return shortly.”

I watched her walk off, part of me wishing to follow, not wanting her to come to any harm. But the other part of me able to admit, Nerys was much, much more powerful than me. She didn’t need a protector and was more than capable of attending to her needs alone.

“Why are you here?”

Nerithia asked the question in a whisper so low, I almost did not hear her.

She knew the code. Was a Keeper. The familiarity I sensed must be tied to one of my new abilities.

To her, I could be honest. “To seek the queen’s aid in helping King Galfrid reopen the Aetherian Gate. How did you know?”

“My ability. I can sense other Keepers. My father was human. My mother, Thalassarian.”

I pulled the stew toward me, smelling it as if we were discussing the food. “My grandfather said nothing of you, yet knew of my mission here.”

“I’ve hidden myself well these many years and, like the queen, remain out of human affairs. Rowan of Estmere. Your grandfather is The Keeper.”

“No longer. He has passed, last eve,” I said, for the first time aloud. “I am The Keeper.”

Her eyes widened. “You are certain?”

“Aye. I was trained well to recognize the signs.”

Nerithia swallowed, looking behind her, presumably for Nerys.

“My condolences on the loss of your grandfather. The pain of losing my father, though it has been many, many years since he left us, is not one I’d wish to endure again. It is for that reason I do not involve myself in human affairs, but there is Harrow in my blood. If I can be of service in any way, you know where to find me, Sir Rowan.”

She said my name with more reverence than I deserved. I may be the new Keeper, but I’d not yet earned the title.

“I wish to get word to the others. They will not know yet, and I’m needed here still.”

“Consider it done. Nerys,” she said, standing aside as my companion rejoined us. “your human is more affable than most.”

“He is not mine, Nerithia,” Nerys said, a smile in her voice.

Winking, the innkeeper replied, “Not yet,” as she strolled away.

Neither of us commented on that.

With the low murmur of voices around us, we ate, mostly in silence. A compatible silence broken only periodically. I wondered if it was coincidence, a concept most of my people did not believe in, to have found myself in the single place in Thalassaria where I might get a message back home. More likely, I was meant to be here.

More accurately, I was meant to be here… with her.

It had been less than a day, but I did not need to be The Keeper to know these visions were of Nerys and her destiny. One, I was now convinced, that I’d been brought to help her claim.

Which meant my feelings for her were nothing more than that. I desired her. Wanted to kiss her. Wanted to be with her in every way possible. And yet, Nerithia was a reminder why Elydorians so rarely married humans. The inevitable heartbreak was, for most, too great a price to pay. Perhaps Marek was onto something, as bleak as his “love is not worth the pain” motto might be.

More importantly, this was not just any Thalassarian. Tonight, I shared a meal with the future queen. Caelum was meant to take me to her. To show me firsthand what she was capable of. What he did not realize was that, because of my new role as The Keeper, a reminder of Nerys’s destiny was not necessary. We could not ever be together.

“What are you thinking?” she asked, pushing her finished bowl of stew away.

Unfortunately, Nerys wasn’t quite ready to accept the destiny I knew awaited her. So I offered another truth instead.

“That I’ve never felt so at peace with another before.”

A small sigh escaped her lips as Nerys reached for her drink. “I feel the same. Which is remarkable, given the circumstances.”

“Such as?”

“That we both find ourselves at the mercy of the queen. I await a reprimand, and you, an answer. An important one at that.”

That’s when it hit me.

If Nerys did challenge Queen Lirael and won, she would be the new queen of Thalassaria. Use of the Tidal Pearl would be her decision alone.

This was a problem.

I didn’t wish Nerys to question my motives in pushing her to challenge the queen, yet I couldn’t reveal my visions without breaking my oath as a Keeper. As The Keeper.

“Wielding battle,” someone yelled near the door.

One moment the tavern was filled. The next, every single patron was on their feet, rushing toward the door. Including Nerys.

“Where are you going?” I asked, resisting the urge to grab her hand and pull Nerys back to safety.

Her wide grin was the only answer I needed. But she responded anyway.

“To see the battle, of course. Hurry, or we’ll miss it.”