Brusus nodded to a few people closest to the door, clapping one man on the shoulder and leaning in to whisper something, shaking another man’s hand, weaving from table to table as he greeted people. Within the tavern, his uncle was truly in his element. Regardless of what Brusus might say about his age preventing him from taking on the Forgers, Haern suspected there was a much more practical reason. The tavern suited him. In reality, Haern had a hard time seeing his uncle as anything other than a tavern owner. In all the years he had known his uncle, he’d been like this, always working a room, clearly at ease with the crowd, and always smiling as he visited with his patrons.

  Haern wasn’t nearly as comfortable within this environment. It wasn’t that he minded crowds, but they didn’t suit him the same way as they suited Brusus. Even his parents seemed to be better suited to places like this. And as his Aunt Alyse emerged from the kitchen, carrying a plate heaped with steaming food, he was reminded why that was.

  Brusus patted him on the arm. “I’ll be right back, boy.”

  He swept away, heading over to his Aunt Alyse and kissing her quickly on the cheek. She shot him an admonishing look before dropping the tray onto a nearby table and heading over to Haern.

  “Has your uncle been corrupting you again?”

  Haern smiled and gave his aunt a quick hug. “Not yet.”

  “Only because he’s already been corrupted. With that father of his—”

  Alyse arched a brow. “You blame his father and not the uncle who corrupted his father?”

  “I did nothing to corrupt Rsiran.”

  “You would blame his mother, then? I’ll make sure to let Jessa know the next time I see her.”

  “You would do no such thing.”

  “You don’t think so?”

  Haern laughed softly. There was a playfulness between them and an obvious affection despite the age difference between them. His aunt had to be ten years Brusus’s junior, but that clearly didn’t matter. There was a happiness to them even his parents didn’t have, though Haern blamed his father for that, along with his frequent and extended absences. Had Rsiran been around more, perhaps his parents would have the same playful banter, though he had a hard time envisioning that from either of them. His father, for one, was far too serious to have Brusus’s playfulness. And his mother spent most of her time worrying about his father.

  “I think the boy is hungry.”

  “And you intended me to whip something up for him?”

  “You are his aunt.”

  “And you’re his uncle. You can scurry back to the kitchen and see what you can prepare for him.”

  Brusus gave her a wide grin, leaning into peck her on the cheek before sauntering off toward the kitchen, though not before weaving through the crowd a few more times, pausing every so often as he visited with various people at different tables. Alyse watched him go, a smile quirking her lips.

  “How are you?” she asked as she turned back to him.

  Something within her medium-green eyes softened as she looked at him, and Haern shook his head, lowering his gaze. It was easy to lie to his uncle, to try and keep strong for him, and even to try to convince him that he was okay with all the training. It was the same thing he did with his parents.

  With his aunt, it was something else. It wasn’t so much that she was able to Read him, though he suspected she could. Alyse was known to be a potent Reader, augmented by her time with the sacred crystal. Yet, it was more than that. It was the way she looked at him, the compassion that shone in her eyes, and the fact he had always felt welcome with her. As much as his father had been absent over the years, his aunt had always been there for him. Sometimes it was nothing more than for him to confide in, and other times it was to caution him.

  “I’m going to be fine,” he said.

  She touched his arm, and Haern looked up, meeting her eyes. “Fine. All of us are fine, Haern.”

  “For now.”

  “You worry about the Forgers returning?”

  “They’ve already attacked.”

  “And none since Rsiran disappeared.”

  “He didn’t disappear, he was—”

  “Abducted. I am quite aware. And he is my brother. I care quite deeply about him, but I wonder why the attacks ceased once they abducted him.”

  “They were after him all along,” Haern said.

  “They must have been, but what is it that your father had access to that made them want him?”

  Haern shook his head. He wasn’t entirely sure. The protections placed around the city had been designed and built by his father, but despite the absence of the one person who was most capable of ensuring that the lorcith and heartstone barriers around the city were secured, there hadn’t been any further attacks.

  “I fear for him.”

  “As do I. Yet your father is strong. Stronger than me. Stronger than most.”

  “I know he is. He’s been through this before, but…”

  “You feel this is different.”

  “This is different. I was there when he was taken, Alyse. They stabbed him with a lorcith rod, and he was dying.”

  Alyse took his hands, guiding him to an empty table and helping him to sit. She sat across from him, still holding on to his hands and keeping his gaze locked on hers. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s possible that your father is already gone.”

  “I… I know. It’s why I’ve been preparing.”

  “From what I understand, you haven’t been preparing. You’ve been training. That’s not the mark of someone who’s accepted the fact that his father might be gone. It’s the mark of someone who intends to risk himself to go after him.”

  “I’ve already done it once and succeeded.”

  “That was different.”

  “I know,” Haern said, looking back down. He couldn’t even meet his aunt’s gaze.

  A tray was set on the table, and Haern glanced up to see Brusus standing next to Alyse, worry etched on his face that matched Alyse’s. “What is this?”

  “It’s nothing but an aunt and her nephew having a conversation. Did you need to intervene?”

  “I brought him food like you told me to.”

  “And now I need you to go and check on the rest of our patrons.”

  Brusus locked eyes with Alyse for a moment before smiling and turning away. He began to work through the crowd, stopping at table after table, whispering a few words or clapping a patron’s shoulder before moving on.

  “What happens if he’s really gone?” Haern asked.

  “We must be prepared.”

  “Which is what I’ve been doing.”

  “You been training yourself. We need to train others. It’s what your father once had done.”

  “He hasn’t tried to train others in a long time,” he said.

  “No, since he began to wander out of the city on his own, he abandoned his commitment to training others. Most who have been here believe that was a mistake.”

  “He kept the Forgers away from the city for years.”

  Alyse patted his hands, and he looked up, meeting her eyes. “It’s okay for you to admit your frustration with what he did. He felt he needed to go it alone, that his ability was enough to overcome the Forgers.”

  Haern took a deep breath before nodding. She was right, and he knew it. He had felt the same frustration over the years as well, hating the fact that his father had gone off frequently, feeling as if he needed to be the one solely responsible for countering the Forgers. Instead, all he had managed to do was anger them, draw more attention to himself, and prevent others within the city from having the necessary experience to counter the Forgers. Perhaps his father had weakened the city by trying to go it alone.

  “You’ve made your point, Aunt Alyse.”

  She squeezed his hand and stood. “I hope so. Now eat. There are others within the city you can continue to work with. I know Galen has been training you, and from what I understand of his history, he might be the best to help you become as capable as you can be. But there are others who will want to fight. There are others who will need to fight.”

  She left him, and Haern began to pick at his food, enjoying the savory meats. Brusus might have brought the tray to him, but the quality of the cooking told him that his aunt had been responsible for it. His stomach began to calm as he ate, and his mind began to clear. Perhaps he had been too consumed with trying to get to his father.

  Brusus took a seat across from him, sliding into the chair as he looked down at Haern for a moment. “How is it?”

  “It’s wonderful. Thank you.”

  “Thank your aunt. She’s the one who made it.”

  “I know,” he said in between bites. “You never told me what made my father as effective as he was.”

  “Ah. Well. The key to what made him so successful was something that I didn’t have until later.” Haern looked across the tavern, locking eyes once more with Alyse.

  “Aunt Alyse?”

  Haern looked back at him, meeting his eyes. “No, they weren’t close until much later. I’m talking about your mother.”

  “My mother?”

  “She was always his anchor. She kept him grounded when others could not. Far too many overlook the fact that it was Jessa who kept him from losing himself when he could have done so easily.”

  “You’re saying I need to find someone like my mother?”

  “If there’s a special someone?” Haern shook his head, turning his attention back to his food and Brusus laughed. “I’m saying you need to realize that you can’t go it alone. No one can. We all need someone to keep us anchored. For as powerful as he was—”

  “Is.”

  “Is,” Brusus said, nodding. “He still needed something to anchor him. As do you. As do we all. It doesn’t have to be a love interest. But you need to find your anchor, or you’ll go floating off and perhaps lose yourself in the process.” Brusus stood, glancing around the tavern once more before turning his gaze back upon Haern. “Enjoy your meal, boy. I’ll stop back after you’re finished.”

  Haern watched his uncle disappear back into the kitchen, chewing slowly. How was he going to find his anchor? What would keep him from losing himself?

  If he couldn’t find that, did it even matter?

  7

  Daniel

  The ship bobbed in the water, and Daniel glanced over to Rayen. Her dark hair caught the breeze, fluttering, and she pulled it behind her head, gripping it with one hand, the other resting on the wheel as she navigated the ship.

  Daniel approached, glancing at her for a moment before looking over to the water again. “We’re getting close.”

  Rayen nodded, not taking her gaze off the bow. Every so often, she glanced from side to side, and she tipped her head, as if listening.

  “We haven’t seen any ships come through here. I think they’re gone.”

  “There haven’t been any ships, but there is something odd about this water,” she said.

  “Odd?”

  A particularly large swell caught the ship, sending Daniel staggering. He braced himself, trying to roll with the waves as Carth had taught him before righting himself and stumbling toward Rayen.

  “There’s something in the water that we continue to brush up against. I’ve been careful not to crash into it too often, but I worry that the longer we are out here, the more likely we will slam into something that will crush our hull.”

  Daniel nodded. They didn’t want that, especially not if there wasn’t going to be any way for him to Slide them to safety if it were necessary.

  “Rocks?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t sailed these waters before.”

  “We could have waited for Carth.”

  Rayen glanced over to him. “I don’t know how long she’ll be gone. From what you tell me, this is important, and we needed to investigate.”

  Daniel took a deep breath. When he’d gone back into the city, he had searched for Carth, but she had been away. That wasn’t uncommon. She was probably with Lucy. Each of them had their own purpose, like pieces on the Tsatsun board, and he wanted to fulfill his role.

  “This is important.” If Carth and Lucy were to end up on the island, they could be stuck the same way that Daniel very nearly had been. Then again, Lucy was far more capable at Sliding than he was; it was possible she wouldn’t find the same issue with Sliding away.

  “Rayen. Port side.”

  Daniel glanced up to the woman in the crow’s nest. He didn’t know Isabel very well, but with her short curly hair, dark skin and deep brown eyes, she was different than most of the women he had grown up around.

  Daniel followed the direction that Isabel pointed, looking off to the left side of the ship, and saw a large island stretching out in the far distance. He frowned, focusing on where he had Slid.

  Rayen glanced at him. “Is that it?”

  “I think so.”

  “It doesn’t look like there’s anyone there,” she said.

  “No.”

  “So much for us needing everyone we brought with us.”

  Daniel smiled. He was relieved they didn’t need the dozen Binders, though he was thankful that Rayen had trusted him enough when he had told her what he’d encountered. If they were going to have to fight Ai’thol, they would need more than just a couple people.

  “It’s probably for the best. This way we can investigate.”

  “If these stones are sunk far off shore, it might not matter. It will be nearly impossible to find anything on the seabed.”

  “We have to look, though.”

  Rayen turned her attention back in front of her. “We have to look.”

  “They didn’t sail into shore. They took smaller vessels.”

  “That’s my plan, too, but I want to get to a place where I feel more comfortable leaving the ship. Besides, if something happens, how many of us do you think you can Slide away?”

  “One or two, but that’s only if we manage to break through whatever barrier they have that prevents me from Sliding.”

  “Even more reason to be careful.”

  Rayen turned her attention back in front of her, and Daniel let her work, staying near the center of the ship, trying to keep his balance. Every so often, a wave would crash along the ship, sending a spray misting up, drenching him. His cloak shed water quickly, but he was still far wetter than he wanted to be. When sailing, it felt as if he were drenched all the time. He didn’t understand how Rayen and the others seemed completely unimpressed by it, but he did understand why so many sailors and smugglers he’d come across over the years preferred to be shirtless. It was easier to dry that way.

  After a while, Rayen whistled, and Tori hurried over from where she had been working lines near the mast. Rayen handed her the wheel, whispering something to her before turning to Daniel. “Let’s grab the dinghy and take a few of us.”

  He made his way to the back of the ship, climbing into the dinghy, and Rayen, Isabel and Beatrice joined him. Beatrice had bright red hair, a freckled face, and strangely silver eyes. She carried two swords at either side, both slender blades, and there was something dangerous about the way she moved. Daniel had spent very little time talking to her, but not because she intimidated him. Many of the women who worked with Rayen were capable fighters.

  Once they hit the water, the spray continued to splash up over the edge of the boat. Daniel gripped the railing, and rather than using an oar, Rayen pushed off with her shadows, sending them streaking through the water, moving far more quickly than they could were they under sail or oar.

  He tapped her on the arm as they approached. “We don’t want to get too close. I don’t know where the boundary might be.”

  “How far out where you when you were able to Slide away?”

  Daniel shook his head. “I don’t know. I was trying to stay out of view of the Ai’thol.”

  “If nothing else, we can reach the shore and you can start working your way out, searching for anything that might give you an idea of where the barrier is.”

  “What we really need to do is find one of those stones. We’re going to need to study it.”

  “Possibly,” Rayen said.

  “Can you use your shadows?”

  “It doesn’t work like that.”

  “Why not? If you can probe the seabed, maybe you can find any irregularity.”

  “You do realize how incredibly massive the ocean is?”

  Daniel nodded, sweeping his gaze around him. “We’re not talking about the ocean itself. We’re talking about just one part of it. And once we figure out where that barrier is, we can search around that line, trying to find where they would have placed the stones. And I know they have one in front of this beach, so we could use that to help us identify where it might be.”

  Rayen shook her head. “You’re diving for it.”

  Daniel glanced over to Isabel and she shrugged. “I’m with Rayen,” she said.

  “Thanks. What about…?”

  He trailed off before asking Beatrice. Turning his attention back in front of him, he focused on his ability to Slide. What they needed was to know where that threshold might be, and he pulled himself, moving barely more than an inch or two, enough that he felt confident that he still could Slide.

  As he Slid, he kept the shore in view, watching for a moment where he wouldn’t be able to Slide again.

  Rayen continued to push them forward, propelling them across the water much more slowly than before. Daniel stood, taking a step forward and back, Sliding with each one. At first, he wobbled, nearly falling into the ocean, much to Isabel’s amusement, but the more he did it, the easier it became, and he sort of rocked in place, moving forward and back as he tested his ability to Slide.

  And then he couldn’t.

  “Here.”

  Rayen glanced over her shoulder, and the boat came to a drifting stop before reversing direction. Daniel attempted to Slide, but again he couldn’t.

 

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