Maarav only chuckled. The pair often seemed to be at each other’s throats, but spent more time together than apart. Finn suspected Ealasaid enjoyed Maarav’s company more than she let on, though she also seemed constantly irked by the man.
“I’d say it was burned at least a full day ago, judging by the lack of visible flames,” Iseult commented. “The remnants of the city will likely smolder for a while longer.”
Ealasaid let out a shaky exhale, muted by the sound of lapping ocean waves, more rough now that they were closer to shore. “The whole city?” she asked. “Are you saying the entire city was burned?”
Iseult nodded, then gestured toward the sight. “Look at the smoke. That’s not the smoke of a single building, or even several.”
Unease blossomed in Finn’s gut. Migris was only the first stop of many on their journey, but they would still need to resupply. Weeks out to sea had depleted their provisions, and they only had two horses, belonging to Iseult and Maarav. Not to mention that whoever had burned the city might still be in the area.
“Should we still dock?” Finn questioned, searching the sea again for Anna’s ship to find it was making steady progress toward the shore. It seemed they planned to dock despite the smoke.
“Aye,” Iseult replied. “The nearest ports to Migris are Sormyr, far south, and,” he hesitated, “another far north.” He glanced at Maarav.
Finn supposed he was alluding to the hidden city Iseult had secretly told her about. All on the ship had departed from there, save Finn, who’d been on a ship with Kai and Anna at the time. She couldn’t help but be a little jealous. A city completely concealed within a rocky wall, forming a secret cove, sounded like quite a sight, and it irked her that she wasn’t supposed to know about it.
Maarav and Iseult turned away to aid the men with the sails, prepared to guide the ship toward the docks, leaving Finn and Ealasaid alone.
“Do you think it was the Faie that burned the city, or was it the Reivers?” Ealasaid questioned distantly, still leaning against the ship’s railing. She turned her gaze to Finn. “Or perhaps even An Fiach?”
Finn took a shaky breath and pushed her waist-length hair behind her ear, unsure which option was worse, though it wasn’t necessarily any of the three. The Cavari, her tribe, could have been to blame, or perhaps even the Ceárdaman, the Travelers, relinquishing their role as watchers to twist the strings of fate.
“Let’s just hope whoever it was did not decide to linger,” she replied. “And let’s hope there are supplies left to find, lest we starve before anyone has the chance to kill us.”
Ealasaid’s face scrunched up like she might be sick. Finn could not blame her, she was tempted to lose her breakfast herself.
“Bladdered, cursed dragon,” Kai growled, giving a final tug to the blanket.
Naoki perched on the bed, digging her talons into the straw of the mattress. She clasped the other end of the blanket in her beak, refusing to let go, while fluffing up her sparse white feathers to make herself appear larger than she was. He tugged again, making her wings flap chaotically as she tried to maintain her balance, sending loose papers fluttering around the room from the bedside table.
Kai let go of the blanket with a huff. “We can’t just go walking about with a dragon out in the open,” he explained tiredly. “If you’d just wear the blanket, perhaps we could pretend you’re something . . . else.”
Dropping her end of the blanket, Naoki craned her long neck to the side, blinking spherical lilac eyes at him. She’d been a handful since they’d parted ways with Finn, Naoki’s mother, as far as the little dragon was concerned. He’d been forced to keep her in Finn’s vacated cabin, lest Naoki attempt to fly away in search of her.
He sighed, then took a seat on the bed beside the dragon. Finn would never forgive him if he managed to lose her friend, not to mention Anna would be furious with losing her collateral.
Naoki made a chittering sound in her throat, then retrieved the blanket and dropped one end in Kai’s lap.
He snorted. “It’s all just a game to you, isn’t it?”
She chittered again.
“Are ye almost done with that dragon!” Sativola called down the stairs leading to the cabins. “We’re about to dock, and it looks like the city has been burned.”
Burned? Well that didn’t sound good. Pushing the blanket aside, he stood, then hurried out of the cabin, shutting the door before Naoki could bound after him. He cringed as her weight hit the closed door, then proceeded to jog down the hallway. He reached the stairs and raced up them two at a time to find Sativola waiting on deck, his massive form partially blocking out the sun.
As soon as Kai was at his side, Sativola pointed a sausage-like finger at the nearby city of Migris. Sure enough, it was giving off large amounts of smoke, and no men could be seen around the gates.
“No signs of life?” Kai questioned, not spotting any, but wanting to verify that whoever had burned the city was not around.
Sativola shook his head, tossing his golden curls to and fro. “None that we’ve seen yet. Looks like the fire has died down, leaving only the smoldering remains.”
Kai snorted. Smoldering remains. An apt description for his life at the present, or so he felt. He had no idea where he stood with Finn, and now she was back with Iseult on their little quest. Not to mention Anna’s troubles with seeing into the gray, the in between places. Her nightmares had only grown worse, sometimes crossing into waking so that she jumped at shadows at the oddest times. Now they somehow had to make it all the way back to Garenoch, and a meadow somewhere beyond that, where Finn used to stand as a tree. It would have all been hard to believe if he hadn’t seen too many odd things with his own eyes, including the Faie of the Blood Forest.
“Well at least we won’t need to hide the dragon when we dock,” Sativola sighed, drawing Kai out of his thoughts.
Kai nodded. There was that, at least. Perhaps he could just keep Naoki in her cabin, and leave it to Finn to draw her out without a fight.
Thinking of Finn, he scanned the sea for the ship she was on, finding it not far off from his own. He squinted his eyes, attempting to make out the figures on the deck, but they were too far away to see clearly.
Sativola jumped as the door to Anna’s nearby cabin burst open, slamming against the exterior wall with a loud bang. Anna exited the cabin and approached, looking dangerous in her tightly fitted black attire: breeches, tunic, and corseted vest. Twin daggers, her constant companions of late, swayed at each of her hips. Her straight, black hair, pulled into a tight braid, accentuated her sharp, hawklike features and dark eyes.
“It seems someone has laid siege to Migris,” Kai explained as she reached them.
She nodded, her eyes taking on a distant look. “It was the Faie, or something like them.”
Kai frowned, waiting for further information.
Instead of answering, Anna glared at Sativola until he raised his hands in surrender and walked away. Turning back to Kai, she explained, “I saw it in a dream last night. I don’t know who led them, or why, but many powerful creatures gathered together to conquer the city.” She frowned. “They wanted to send a message,” she added distantly.
Kai suppressed a shiver. He’d stood witness as the Faie attacked the Ceàrdaman, slaughtering them to break the barrier trapping them within the Blood Forest. He couldn’t imagine what the people of Migris must have felt when the Faie descended upon them. Even if some managed to flee, they would not likely last long in the wilds. The roads were already crowded with refugees searching for a safe place to dwell. At least, that was how it had been when they’d departed on their search for the Archtree, over two weeks prior.
“Are the Faie still within the city?” he questioned, hoping Anna had gained more useful information from her dream.