Page 105 of In Violent Waves

“I was not finished,” King Oberon’s voice boomed through the empty hall. Wilder froze, but did not turn around. “If you believe Maelys leading her training will delay things, you will be required to step in.”

Wilder looked over his shoulder at his father, but still did not reply.

“We are running out of time, Wilder. The gods will intervene if magic is not balanced.”

He quirked his brow and turned.

“What are the stipulations of this bargain between you and this unnameable creature?”

King Oberon glared at him with all the authority of the High King.

“If you don’t see fit to include me in this in its entirety, I will not play a part in any facet.”

His father shook his head. “You have no idea of the powers at work here, son. If you think you could do a better job, I implore you to challenge me.”

It was a jab used time and time again.

Wilder didn’t want the throne, had never wanted it, and his father knew that. And was merely being cruel.

So, with that, Wilder strode from the throne room.

The frigid water and tentacles that appeared in her nightmares were muted somehow. Before, they were suffocating and all-consuming. Her distance from the sea must have weakened them.

Lyra blinked her eyes open. She was back in her room. But where Wilder had sat the last time she woke from unconsciousness, Maelys was now there.

“You’re awake! How do you feel?” she asked, scanning her for injury.

Lyra pressed a hand to the hollowness that threatened to consume her. Her stomach growled so loudly it shook her body.

Maelys smiled and reached for the plate on her bedside table, handing it to Lyra. Meats, cheeses, small crackers, and grapes.

“Daisy is in the kitchen getting you something heavier.”

Lyra nodded and dug in. It wasn’t enough food to sate her, so she licked the plate clean.

“Do you remember anything?” Maelys asked with a gentle nature.

Lyra shook her head and gripped the fabric on her bed as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Her power. It had called to her, screamed so loudly that she couldn’t ignore it any longer, and she had reached for it.

She dropped the plate onto her lap and looked at Maelys with a mix of anguish and horror.

“I am so sorry,” Lyra whispered.

Maelys shook her head and grabbed Lyra’s hand.

“Nothing happened to us. We were worried about you. You just collapsed.”

Lyra sighed and leaned back against the pillows. She didn’t understand why they were worried or why they seemed to care.

“You worried about me?”

Maelys reeled back. “Of course we were.”

“But—why?” A tiny part of Lyra hoped it was for her and not what she could do for them.

“Because we care about you, and you were hurt. What do you mean, why?”