Page 1 of A Sea So Cruel
Part 1
The Sea
Stealing from the moon.
Absorbing the sun.
Molding rock.
Taming lava.
Lives forgotten beneath the surface. But also life born within.
She is immovable. So much so that the rest of the world forms around her.
She can be gracious, quelling her currents and granting reprieve.
But she can be barbaric.
Some of her creatures possessing a bloodlust so insatiable, so unforgiving.
A sea so cruel. So, so cruel…
Chapter 1
The vision was always the same. Veins of lightning pulsing across the onyx sky, a flame-haired woman kissing the crown of his head, men shouting, the roaring of lapping waves. Over the years, he’d had the same daydream countless times, never understanding if it were real or a fantasy.
Thump. Kaid’s eyes refocused on his best friend, dragging him away from the mirage once again.
“Focus. We’re here.” Halsten wore a smug smile as he tucked the news scroll back onto the bench beside him.
Kaid narrowed his eyes toward his friend. “You can’t abuse me. I’m royalty.”
Halsten sat back and crossed his arms, flicking stray strands of his dark hair over his shoulder. “Not yet. I have a whole month left until you’re officially a prince.”
Kaid rolled his eyes, looking out the carriage window as they approached a massive gray castle. The grounds were covered in flowers of every shape, size, and color, and they reminded Kaid of his manor back in Haalberg—his home.
The somewhat bumpy ride changed to an easy roll as the roadway transitioned from unkempt dirt to smooth stones. Large horse sculptures flanked the large iron gates as they officially entered the capital grounds. He found it peculiar that the horses had strange, fishlike tails, but figured it was just a trick of the weary eye. Who would depict horses with fins? He didn’t know much about Orntali aside from it being the capital of Salendron, home to a small seaside village and the large castle ahead.
Kaid’s heart beat rapidly and he placed a palm on his chest, pushing down the nerves. In his twenty-two years of life, he had never left his father’s side. Well, aside from when he was socializing with his best friend-made-chief courtier, Halsten.
He and Halsten met when they were younger after Halsten had moved to Haalberg from an Eastern kingdom. They had gotten into a fist fight over a girl, but once they realized that they were a fair match, the boys instantly became inseparable, forgetting about the girl entirely. Kaid appointed Halsten as his chief courtier once they were old enough, since he was the only person willing to set him straight.
“Check it out!” Halsten pressed his face to the window of the carriage, leaving a smudge. “I think we’re going to like it here, Kaid. They worship women as much as we do.”
Kaid leaned forward, noticing the statues of women that covered the castle walls. But they weren’t human women. No, they had fishlike tails in place of legs, just as the horse statueshad, and their torsos were wrapped in what looked like seaweed and jewels. The peaks of each of the many towers held a sculpture of a strange three-pronged fork.
The castle was oddly shaped, as though it started as a quaint structure but kept having new additions built, taking on an abstract shape that gave the fortress a life of its own. The strangest part was the tower built at the end of a rock bridge jutting out into the sea. Kaid watched as the waves broke against the tower’s walls, and he shivered.
The carriage came to a halt and Kaid silently looked to Halsten, nodding before Halsten slipped out. Kaid followed him, the briny air violently punching into his nostrils and spreading throughout his lungs.
A small man with curly golden hair and pale, freckled skin came rushing forward. “Good evening, Lord Kaidian. I hope your travels from Haalberg went smoothly. My name is Niklas, and I’ve been appointed by King Botmar to assist you with anything you may need.”
The skinny man bowed, and his glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose. He pushed them back up and gave a toothy smile, his eyes hardly ever making direct contact with Kaid’s for more than a second.
Kaid’s face twisted into mild disgust. “Gods, do I hate the name Kaidian. I go by Kaid. Can you show me to my rooms so I can freshen up before the party?”
Niklas blanched. “Sorry. So sorry, my lord. It won’t happen again. No one mentioned—”
