The King's Queen | ✔

Chapter 57

On that fateful night in the Spade Kingdom, our steadfast and loyal friend Garrett drifted into an eternal slumber. Our new companion, Twain, also exited the stage.

***

I leaned forward against the deck railing and allowed my gaze to roam the vast expanse of turquoise. Spirited gusts of salt-laced winds accompanied a never-ending ocean that stretched out in all directions.

The water hummed with life, a beguiling song gently interwoven in the symphony of each crescendoing wave. Silvery fish danced to the rhythm, twisting and turning such that their scales glistened like diamonds in the sunlight.

The invitation to the celebrations below didn't seem to extend to us, and I continued to watch the fishes' choreography with a heavy heart.

Our journey from the Spade Kingdom to Lydia had lasted for three and a half days. Today, we would disembark on the continent of Lydia and rejoin with Kevin and CaVaughn. The looming shadow of death had relentlessly pursued us, and the ship was flooded with bitter memories of the friends we had lost along the way.

Ashton's grandparents had pulled a lot of strings to get us aboard this ship. Twain's enormous sacrifice had bought us invaluable time, and we'd managed to elude Rosaline's group and escape to the harbor in the nick of time.

Duncan had faithfully honored the promise he'd made to his brother, and used his ability to cloak us in darkness the entire way.

Garrett and Twain's absences were perpetually present in our hearts and minds. If only Garrett could be here with us and Duncan could be reunited with his brother.

My fingers gripped the rails so hard my nails threatened to splinter under the force. I'd just come out to the deck for some fresh air after checking on Duncan.

After we'd arrived at the harbor and boarded the ship, Duncan immediately deactivated his unique ability. Since then, he hadn't stopped shaking, and he'd started getting headaches. Nothing he ate was staying down, and he also seemed to be more sensitive to bright light. His room had become a refuge that he refused to leave. The medications I gave him weren't having much effect, either.

His symptoms were most likely from the trauma of losing his twin brother. At first, I had been disappointed that he'd hidden such a big secret from us, but after thinking about it, I could understand why.

The conflict between the Origens and Origins had nothing to do with him. He and his brother had been traveling through the forest to avoid getting impacted by the war. They didn't have any obligation to help us, yet they did.

I'd make sure that Duncan received the help he needed in Lydia. Ashton would mobilize a search party to look for Twain. Doing that would lead to an indirect confrontation with Malekh, but it couldn't be helped. Twain was just that important to us.

Duncan didn't like the idea of coming with us, but he would stay with us only to ensure that Ashton followed through on his promise to deploy the search party.

Cyrena had also become depressed after losing Garrett and Twain, two of the three Origens she'd grown close to.

Her anger toward Duncan was still hot, and she refused to see him, even after I tried persuading her to make up with him. Apart from his brother, she had been the closest person to him, and I thought that having her around might help to ease his symptoms. But the pain of the betrayal was still too raw for her to meet with him.

Jun also wasn't doing so well, although he was much better at disguising it. Despite never being particularly close to Garrett, Jun had considered him to be a member of the team, and Jun valued his colleagues' lives far more than his own.