Page 91

This close to Stonebriar, the skies turned to a thick oppressive grey that the sun could not shine through. A comforting notion.

It had opened a pit in my stomach every time I had watched Lyra tilt her head up towards the warmth and welcome its touch on her skin.

The water slicing beneath us was glassy as we sailed through a thick mist, the icy wind turning to sleet.

Yet just like most things, I was immune to the cold.

I heard the door to the cabins open a moment before Solas climbed the stairs to the stern.

His auburn hair was tied in a knot on the top of his head, matching stubble dusting his jaw, a long-sleeved tunic tucked into his cargo pants.

He held two cups in his hands from the mess below, the steam coiling into the frosty air.

“You look like you did not sleep,” Solas said, breath misting in front of him as he held out a cup. “Here, liquid sanity.”

I took the cup from him and mumbled my thanks. Without Solas, I was almost certain I would have died already.

He made sure I ate the shitty provisions stored below deck and made me coffee dosed with Lyra’s blood to hold off the darkness.

Solas was an amazing cook, but there was only so much he could do with century old grains.

The warm liquid spread over my tongue, the underlying taste of her flooding my mouth almost pulling a groan from my chest.

“Are we far?” Solas asked before taking a sip of his own coffee.

“No,” I replied without looking at him, keeping my eyes on the gloomy horizon. Any moment now, the outline of Stonebriar would reveal itself. And for some reason, I could not shake the feeling that something was wrong as I downed the drink in one gulp.

“You need to sleep,” Solas started and I gritted my teeth. “We collect the sand, but before we find the serpent, you need to sleep.”

My hand gripped the mug so tightly that it shattered in my grip. Without blinking, I returned it back to the wheel, knuckles flexing as I steered towards the kingdom that broke Lyra.

“Once Lyra is aboard this ship, I will sleep for eternity,” I uttered solemnly. “The curse can have me. The sea can claim me. But I will not fucking rest before I hold her one last time.”

In my peripheral vision, Solas sighed in a plume of white in front of his face. He pulled a wrapped packet of dried meat out of his pocket and dropping it on top of a nearby barrel.

“At least fucking eat something then,” he muttered and walked back down the stairs. He walked the perimeter of the ship, reinforcing his shield against the monsters slithering below us in the depths.

Stonebriar’s silhouette ghosted the horizon.

My brows pulled together as I squinted through the fog, trying to make out the shores that were once my homeland.

We sailed closer on eerie waters, but the closer we grew to the Mortal Kingdon, the more the destruction was apparent.

“Solas,” I called, and he looked up from his work. “Get Aldric up here.”

Solas glanced towards the horizon and froze briefly before stalking below deck. A moment later, he emerged with a weary-eyed Aldric in toe.

He wore a coat fit for royalty, his sandy hair was combed neatly, and somehow, he had found a way to shave his face on board.

“Your kingdom is broken, little prince,” I said as he climbed the stairs, jacket flailing behind him in the frigid wind.

In my outstretched hand rested the looking glass I had once needed when mortality still clung to my bones.

He took it slowly, suspicion tightening his young face as he slowly lifted it to his eye.

The colour drained from his already pale face and a shattered gasp escaped his lips. “It’s in ruins.”

“Yes,” I said slowly, choosing my words carefully. “The end is coming, the curse of each realm blurring together. I would not be surprised if by now Lumireth is covered in a blanket of snow.”