The Princess and the Blood of Eternity

Chapter 12: The Wave of God

Choppy waters rocked the boat back and forth as Lilith watched the rest of the group half run, half stumble aboard the ship. Relief flooded their faces the moment they crossed the threshold, trading the ground shake for the familiar roll of the ocean. Under normal circumstances, the crew might be upset to find their ship being repeatedly smashed against the dock, but right now, amid an earthquake—a bit of cosmetic damage seemed like a small price to pay in exchange for their lives.

When everyone was onboard, Ural freed his sword to cut the throw-lines disengaging them from the dock. Moving along the port side of the ship, he performed quick overhead chops with his sword, severing the ropes on the railing. The heavy blade took chunks out of the wood, almost like an axe.

Quinn scrambled up the foremast to unfurl the top sails. Nimble, practiced fingers made quick work of the knots and riggings. Help from the rest of the crew saw the main sail freed and hoisted. Booms adjusted and line fastened. Within minutes, the ship was moving away from the dock and into the safety of deeper water.

The destruction of the island continued in the background, evident by the roar of grinding rock. Lilith knew it was premature, and she didn't want to disparage the people affected, but she couldn't help but feel like they'd avoided the bulk of the crisis. And despite the murkiness of their motives, she even hoped the mayor and his friends had escaped the island's destruction.

"We won," she whispered as the ocean breeze whipped her hair into her face. Winning an escape. She knew full well how foolish it sounded, but the elation felt involuntary in the moment. Even while she reflected on the events of the island.

Keeping a firm grip on the railing and spacing her legs, she tried to lower her center of gravity to ensure the waves bashing the hull wouldn't knock her off balance. The cut on her wrist screamed with pain, while nervous jitters rattled the rest of her body.

So much for an island refuge, she thought, surveying the damaged chunk of land. She kept the sarcasm from showing as her stomach growled angrily. Still, it was a surprise to realize how unreliable the island of Two mounds had turned out to be.

An island territory that resided within her own kingdom, no less. A territory that had fallen apart beneath her own feet... Would her mother even believe the truth? Yes, mother. One of your islands exploded. No mother, I didn't start sniffing spice.

She could already picture the stare of flat disbelief she would receive in response. Confinement to her room and a ban on further travel could be the best result for spouting such wild fairytales.

The journey west had been a failure every step of the way. The trip's true purpose of visiting her uncle felt like a distant memory, one that belonged to someone else, a person uniquely innocent to reality, someone like herself before leaving Qerath, not that she'd improved much over the past few weeks. A miracle couldn't happen overnight. She just needed to be a tad less naïve.

Back on the beach, the crevices widened, and dirty seawater bubbled up in spots where the ground had collapsed. The visual made her imagine the earth was belching. Trees, jungle, shrubs, dirt, and general debris swirled together to look like the leavings of a flash flood. Meanwhile, the dust from the earlier explosion continued to blot parts of the sky. The terrain had become broken, completely flattened and unrecognizable from its original state.

Lilith grimaced at the display of destruction. The giant mounds from which the island drew its name had disappeared. Seeing was believing, but suddenly she was losing faith in the veracity of her own eyesight.

"How?" Memory of the destructive force that'd knocked her off her feet failed to provide a suitable answer, nor the initial mushroom cloud that'd followed the blast.