Page 90 of Beneath the Veil of Tides
“That’s not true,” I snapped back.
“Oh, it is. I’ll take shears to straighten your hair later when it’s clean, but those hands? Yikes. I don’t think Noctis is going to want to—”
Raven cawed loudly in warning, and Calvin quit talking.
“At least I don’t smell like Noctis,” I quipped jokingly, hoping he would chuckle, and he did. It was forced, but his face lit up at my ease of movement.
I sat up, scooting myself out of the comfort of his arms, the lush grass a nice bed in the open field. A slight ache jolted through me, but it was a reprieve to the agony I was in prior. I hid my fingers within the grass. Out of sight, out of mind. But the nails did not heal back over the beds, and although the pain only twinged slightly, the sensation was enough to make me feel ill.
Herds of villagers still trudged over the peninsula, carrying as many belongings as possible. Their entire lives were being disheveled.
“Thank you all,” I murmured to the crew. It wasn’t much, but it was all I could offer my friends.
I reached to my side and removed the last trident piece from the satchel. They watched in silence, staring at the final bladed end of the powerful weapon. Like their life, pain, and work was coming to fruition, but collecting the pieces would be the easiest of the journey to ensuring safety in the Bounds.
The trek back to the ship that evening was quiet, as if we all pondered on the upcoming war and advancing troops. I worked with them to finish getting the island inhabitants off Brigg Isle, limping around and guiding the humans to new makeshift tents.
Waves crashed into the wooden siding of the ship, rocking it in the port. We all sat around the main deck, exhausted from the day’s work, Laziel jumping back on board from the ocean. Dried meat, cheeses, and tea sat in the center, along with the four separate trident pieces. Chomping on the scarce food, we sailed away east toward Yundantan Island, the supposed location of the sleeping titan.
“We could play cards again,” Calvin tried.
“No,” we all replied in unison, Noctis’s answer louder than the rest.
Night began to make its appearance, blanketing the Bound in darkness that brought comfort to me. Raven snuggled against my legs, his golden fur shedding across my black trousers.
When Noctis threw his last slice of dried meat into his mouth, he scooted over to the trident pieces. He took in a deep breath and gripped the long handle piece and first blade of the trident within his hands. His eyes scrunched as he stared at the relic, focusing to direct his power. His hands glowed a luminous blue, forging together the two pieces before us all.
I felt the rush of magic through my own veins and bones, the electrifying surge through my body that sent my nerves on edge.
He did the same with the other two shards until the trident was one piece. A beacon of blue shined through the vast, empty ocean atop the ship, the trident humming softly before it exploded in radiance. Light erupted across us all, and I was instantly tackled and covered by Noctis, his hand cupping my head and lower back to protect me from crashing into the deck.
The trident was whole again. One relic to stop it all. Our only saving grace.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Rippling sails cut through the gloom of silence. I sat with my legs dangling from the foremast overlooking the approaching marketing harbor. We needed to stop for supplies after donating a majority to the displaced inhabitants of Brigg Isle four days prior, running extremely low on consumables.
“You did well in the depths,” Laziel said as he climbed up to sit beside me. He glanced around, only to find the god fixed on him with an uncomfortably direct stare, as if the tension hung between them both.
“You as well,” I responded softly. I’d spent the days trying to purge the memories from my mind, but they still seemed to attack in the worst times. Funny how the memories you beg to stay fade like morning mist, while the ones you’d trade anything to forget cling like lurking demons.
I worked so hard to keep my distance from Laziel, yet somehow, his attention still lingered, making the past day’s events hard to ignore. If no one gave it words, maybe it would loosen its grip on me. Maybe it would stay buried where it belonged, quiet and still, as long as we didn’t dig it up with words.
Laziel scanned the ocean, his eyes trained ahead in thought.
“I'm leaving soon,” he continued, “but I wanted to say thank you.” He turned to climb himself back down, the conversation short and to the point.
There was something in the way he thanked me, so sincere it almost felt misplaced. If anything, I was the one in his debt. Laziel earned his spot as an honorary member of the crew—his jumping before Raoku to protect me, his seafolk cure to save Zahara, the assistance in the prison heist for the final trident piece.
And still, Noctis glared upwards, his hands trimming the mainsail sheet to steer us toward the ports.
“Leave? Why so soon?”
The mer joined us to see the Royal Vanguard dismounted, and we were so close to making it a reality.
“I’m going to find my brother,” Laziel murmured. “Before all of this goes to shit. I’m not much of a fighter.”
“He will get over his insecurities about you,” I gestured to the brooding god below, but the mer did not look away from the waves.
