Black Sea [English Edition]

CHAPTER 13

The following day, we prepared to sail. As Amlach arranged the food supplies and wooden pitchers he made for water, I checked once more that the raft was safe.

When we were ready, we pushed it into the sea. We climbed aboard and planted our oars on the seabed to remain in the shallow water, observing how the beams and lianas behaved when soaked.

"It'll keep us afloat, Elf. Don't worry." Amlach grinned. "We built it well."

I met his knowing gaze with my own. "Let's go home then."

We sat down at the side ends of the raft and began to row out of the lagoon. Once in the open sea, we had to fight a sudden current that threatened to push us back toward the island's rocks. After we managed to get past the current, we paused and pulled up the oars to rest for a moment. I took this opportunity to study the sun's position and determine which direction to go.

In the evening, after eating, Amlach lay down to sleep for a few hours to recover his strength for tomorrow's rowing.

The sky became so dark that it looked black, far from the nearly full moon. Continuing to row, I looked at the myriads of stars that watched us, as I had always done on the nights spent on the trunk and later on the beach when Amlach was deeply asleep.

Suddenly, sadness enveloped me like a cloak, tightening around my heart. With watery eyes, I began to sing the elven dirge dedicated to my grandmother and her sacrifice.

"Ah," Amlach exclaimed in a sigh, halfway between fascinated and mocking, when I briefly paused between one verse and the other. "She can even sing."

I glanced at him over my shoulder with a slightly smug face.

He lay on his back, a bent knee, fingers entwined behind his head, eyelids closed. "What does it speak about?"

The sadness returned, and I looked back at the stars, stopping to row. "It's about the poor Lady Calien, whose soul cannot shine up there, together with those of her loved ones."

That was what happened to us elves when we understood that the time of our Rest had come. Surrounded by our family's affection, we welcomed the Spirits within us. They led our souls with kindness in the night sky, giving us an eternity of splendor and peace to watch over our loved ones still alive.

But my grandmother could not protect us from above.

"I didn't know that her soul was trapped in the crystal," Amlach commented, and even though he spoke carelessly, I could sense a tension in his voice. "When I was a boy in school, they taught us that there was only her power."

A tear rolled from the outer corner of my eye. "Your teachers' knowledge is incorrect, unfortunately."

"Anyway," he said point-blank, in a cheerful tone to lighten the gloomy atmosphere. "I would like to sing something for you, as I know how much you like the sound of my voice—"

"I think you like it better," I grumbled.

"—but the songs sung in the taverns we soldiers visit are not appropriate for your innocent ears," he finished with a grin.

I cut him a nasty look that made him chuckle. I watched his chest rise and fall regularly when something came to mind.

"Your armor was different from that of other soldiers, including the general who stepped forward. It was more elaborate." I observed him as he had grown stone-faced, and then I declared, "You are the commander of the army of the men."

Amlach slowly breathed out from his nostrils and opened his eyes, staring at the sky. "Just a title like many."

"Why did you stay in the back with your king and send a general to talk to us?"

Now that I knew Amlach, I was certain the battle could have been avoided if we had negotiated with him. As a result, both armies could have withdrawn before the collapse of the Caran Lake dam. No human would have died.

And the two of us would not have been stranded in the Thalion Sea.

"First, our king was not with us that day," Amlach revealed. "He knew your father would not deign to take the field to fight us back and would send his children in his stead, so he stayed in his palace at Leukós. And second . . ." His mocking eyes shifted my way. "I don't like to chat with the enemy."

Indeed. Once we'd set foot in the Eastern Lands, our alliance would cease, and we would become enemies once again. And I was sure it would not be long before we were face-to-face again on the battlefield.

What would I do if it happened?

And he? Would he confront me?

I didn't want to think about it.

"What will you do when you get back to your home?" I asked in a casual tone.

His king would probably hold a grand banquet to celebrate his commander's safe return. I could already imagine Amlach entertaining the guests with our story, showing off all his charm and certainly modifying some parts to be a hero in their eyes.

Who knows what he would say about me to his comrades when he returned to the barracks? I was pretty sure he'd make up that he saved me.

"Mmh . . ." Amlach had a brooding expression on his face. "I very much think I'll just get drunk until I collapse in my bed, from which I won't get up for at least two weeks."

Oh, I felt him. When I returned to my quarters at Aegel's Palace, I would first soak in a warm bath. After that, I would lie in my large bed and finally get a real sleep, free from the buzzing of mosquitoes, the sound of waves, and the continuous noise of birds.

And free from the need to suppress the constant instinct of going to lie down next to Amlach.

He poked my leg with his foot. "Do you elves get drunk?" he taunted me with a smirk.

I hit his thigh with the end of the oar to put him in his place. "Sleep," I ordered with a ghost of a smile.

His low and sensual laugh was like a balm that eased my sadness. I started rowing again, knowing this would be one of the last times I'd hear it.