Stormlands ( Book 2 of the Torrent Skies Saga)

Chapter Fourteen: Meanings, PT 2

Katerin kept her face in a smile as her stomach twisted with worry. I should be there fighting with them. Not out here chasing a myth, she thought, as she handed out various foods to the crew.

Fykes gave her a smile in passing and she hoped he did not see the fear she hid. He might miss a fly right in front of his nose, but he had an eerie knack for reading her.

More than two months into their journey, and still the seas were calm. The only things they had seen, besides the endless water, had been a pair of merchant ships, and those sea drakes. Uneventful by every account. She made it through each day with little star-shaped bottles, a bit of meditation and magic. Slowly she had become far more resilient to the rocking of the water.

You should just tell them, Brazens thoughts filled her mind. You worry too much, and they will not be... angry—He plucked the word from her own thoughts—with you.

You don't know that, she told him, glancing to the side of the ship where he held a long fishing rod with a practiced ease. It turned out he was quite an excellent fisherman, and they had not wanted for food yet. Their stores were holding up excellently.

Her knowledge ate at her. It had been six days since she learned of the fighting on Itrea.

Just tell them. Brazen said. You can't just ignore it. You need a plan.

I don't have a plan!

Maybe they do, Brazen responded, unshaken by her outburst.

They'll just want to return...

And you don't want to? Do you even know?

I can't just give up on this. But I should be there shouldn't I?—Her trailing and looping fears were cut short.

Decide. Quit waiting for someone else to. Graiden isn't going to ask you to come back. Lugaria isn't going to ask for your help. Fykes will not leave you to this alone. Just decide.

Katerin walked up beside him on the deck and sat down, nibbling on the tasteless thing that passed for bread out here.

He showed her pictures of her manor, of the Itrean sunrise, of the inn, and the docks, and Ky'lei'mei hidden in the branches. With these images were feelings, her feelings. Of happiness, elation, comfort and a sense of belonging.

Then he showed her images from her dreams. Of blood and fear and feelings of hopeless terror. An echo of the soft, lilting voice that brought bumps to her arms.

Choose, he said. I am beside you. So are they.

What good is a lady who will not fight for her ho... for her home?

If your home is protected, then you are free to seek the answers you need. It is not you alone. He showed her Graiden fighting in the tournament. Graiden at his desk. He protects home. He is capable. Tactical. Brazen pulled a fish from the water below, and caught it deftly in his hands. Pulling the hook free he dropped it into a basket to his other side. He looked across the deck of the ship, his gaze lingering on Fykes, Arjiah, Jon. Tell them and decide, he said, before returning his attention to the fish.

Katerin worked throughout the day, until the sun fell beneath the horizon. She grabbed her cloak, watched her friends at a table on the deck, Brazen's words ringing out in her head. She watched Fykes, and watched Jon laughing so hard he leaned onto Fykes shoulder. She watched Arjiah make a retort that only made him laugh harder as he tried to right himself. As she approached they quieted their laughter to greet her. Jon looked from his knee to her then back to his knee again, question hanging jokingly in the air.