These Gilded Seas

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Living Shrapnel

I push up off my knees and cautiously look around the clearing. The twin guards are gone as well. Destroyed bodies litter the ground, and water pools everywhere. The clouds have already thinned out, leaving space for shards of sunlight to glitter on the soaked grass.

My connection to the Divine is gone.

Severed.

I study the guards around me. Did I kill these people? Was it the final blast of heat that brought them to the end of their lives, or was it Zula? Can he really be held responsible? I mean, he was just acting out of intense grief and... misplaced blame.

But was it really misplaced?

Did King Soren have my mother killed? Was Mama really a gift for Queen Else?

Does any of it even matter?

Mama is dead; Queen Else is too. King Soren may be.

But Eero is alive. I have to keep it that way.

There's no time to dwell on who's responsible for the myriad of death around me. The more the storm clears, the higher the temperature will climb, and vultures and flies will settle in. Someone has to know they're down here so that they can bury them.

Most importantly, though, someone needs to warn Eero. Zula's not dead; there's no way I killed him. His magic's too strong. Knowing him, he's at the palace right now, biding his time until the prince comes back.

It's obvious now that Zula planned everything. I have been a pawn in his game of revenge since the day I showed up at his hollow. He knew I would fail, and he used my own idiocy to take the throne from me.

He's also responsible for the growing resentment the king feels for the merfolk. King Soren has been used like a puppet for well over a decade in Zula's elaborate plan.

How fan so these roots go?

Eero has to know. We have to do something before both of our species suffer.

It's bigger than we thought, bigger than anyone thought.

I push all the way up onto my feet and wince in pain. Blood spreads across the front of my dress from two different spots. I just had to go and let myself get stabbed. I can't heal myself, and I'm pretty sure there's no coming back from a wound this thorough.

You just need to get to the palace. Quick.

Warn Eero and then let Fate do its job.

Gritting my teeth and huffing, I take a few steps away from the puddle of blood I was standing in. Every movement sends a jolt of pain up my spine, and within a minute, I'm full-on sobbing.

Just make it to the palace. That's all.

Shimmying through the mud, I make my way over to William's body. His neck twists unnaturally to one side; his eyes are still open, widened in fear. Gently, I push his eyelids closed and run a shaking hand across his cheek.

"May the Divine rest your soul," I whisper, trying not to fall over him as another pain shoots through me. After all he did, I still liked William. I saw us becoming friends, if given the opportunity. But now... Some mother will be mourning his death.

I grab a low-hanging branch and hoist myself back upright. The tree whines in protest.

Wait. That wasn't the tree.

My head whips around so fast that I nearly topple over.

"Finn?!"

If it wasn't for the unmistakable mop of sun-bleached blond hair and the jagged scar across his back where a shark once nipped him, I might not have recognized my best friend. He's filthy, coated in what looks like algae and mud combined. He's also completely naked.