A Rule of Queens. Morgan Rice

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      Thor looked out in wonder and frustration, realizing that each passing moment was taking them further from Gwendolyn, further from their people.

      “And where does it end?” O’Connor asked.

      Matus shrugged.

      “I know only the Upper Isles,” he said. “I have never been this far north. I know nothing of what lies beyond.”

      “It does end,” Reece spoke up, darkly, and all eyes turned to him.

      Reece looked back, grave.

      “I was tutored on the tides years ago, at a young age. In the ancient book of Kings, we had an array of maps, covering every portion of the world. The Northern Tides lead to the eastern edge of the world.”

      “The eastern edge?” Elden said, concern in his voice. “We’d be on the other end of the world from our people.”

      Reece shrugged.

      “The books were ancient, and I was young. All I really remember was that the tides were a portal to the Land of Spirits.”

      Thor looked at Reece, wondering.

      “Old wives’ tales and fairytales,” O’Connor said. “There is no portal to the Land of Spirits. It was sealed off centuries ago, before our fathers walked the earth.”

      Reece shrugged, and they all fell silent as they turned and stared out at the seas. Thor examined the fast-moving waters, and he wondered: Where on earth were they being lead?

      Thor sat alone, at the edge of the boat, staring into the waters as he had been for hours, the cold spray hitting him in the face. Numb to the world, he barely felt it. Thor wanted to be in action, to be hoisting sails, rowing – anything – but there was nothing for any them to do now. The Northern tides were taking them where they would, and all they could do was sit idly by and watch the currents, their boat rolling in the long waves, and wonder where they would end up. They were in the hands of the fates now.

      As Thor sat there, studying the horizon, wondering where the sea would end, he felt himself drifting into nothingness, numb from the cold and the wind, lost in the monotony of the deep silence that hung over all of them. The seabirds that had at first circled them had disappeared long ago, and as the silence deepened, as the sky fell darker and darker, Thor felt as if they were sailing into nothingness, into the very ends of the earth.

      It was hours later, as the last light of day was falling, that Thor sat upright, spotting something on the horizon. At first he was certain it was an illusion; but as the currents became stronger, the shape became more distinct. It was real.

      Thor sat up straight, for the first time in hours, then rose to his feet. He stood there, boat swaying, hands on his hips, looking out.

      “Is it real?” came a voice.

      Thor looked over to see Reece stepping forward beside him. Elden, Indra, and the rest soon joined them, all staring out in wonder.

      “An island?” O’Connor wondered aloud.

      “Looks like a cave,” Matus said.

      As they approached, Thor began to see the outline of it, and he saw that it was indeed a cave. It was a massive cave, an outcropping of rock that rose up from the sea, emerging here, in the midst of a cruel and endless ocean, rising hundreds of feet high, the opening shaped in a big arch. It looked like a giant mouth, ready to swallow all the world.

      And the currents were taking their boat right toward it.

      Thor stared at in wonder, and he knew it could only be one thing: the entrance to the Land of the Spirits.

      Chapter Eight

      Darius walked slowly down the dirt path, Loti by his side, the air filled with the tension of their silence. Neither had said a word since their encounter with the taskmaster and his men, and Darius’s mind swarmed with a million thoughts as he walked beside her, accompanying her back to their village. Darius wanted to drape an arm around her, to tell her how grateful he was that she was alive, that she had saved him as he had saved her, how determined he was to never let her leave his side again. He wanted to see her eyes filled with joy and relief, he wanted to hear her say how much it meant to her that he had risked his life for her – or at the very least, that she was happy to see him.

      Yet as they walked in the deep, awkward silence, Loti said nothing, would not even look at him. She had not said a word to him since he had caused the avalanche, had not even met his eyes. Darius’s heart pounded, wondering what she was thinking. She had witnessed him summoning his power, had witnessed the avalanche. In its wake, she had given him a horrified look, and had not looked at him again since.

      Perhaps, Darius thought, in her view, he had broken the sacred taboo of her people in drawing on magic, the one thing her people looked down upon more than anything. Perhaps she was afraid of him; or even worse, perhaps she no longer loved him. Perhaps she thought of him as some sort of freak.

      Darius felt his heart breaking as they walked slowly back to the village, and wondered what it was all for. He had just risked his life to save a girl who no longer loved him. He would pay anything to read her thoughts, anything. But she would not even speak. Was she in shock?

      Darius wanted to say something to her, anything to break the silence. But he did not know where to begin. He had thought he’d known her, but now he was not so sure. A part of him felt indignant, too proud to speak, given her reaction, and yet another part of him was somewhat ashamed. He knew what his people thought of the use of magic. Was his use of magic such a terrible thing? Even if he’d saved her life? Would she tell the others? If the villagers found out, he knew, they would surely exile him.

      They walked and walked, and Darius finally could stand it no longer; he had to say something.

      “I’m sure your family will be happy to see you back safely,” Darius said.

      Loti, to his disappointment, did not take the opportunity to look his way; instead, she just remained expressionless as they continued to walk in silence. Finally, after a long while, she shook her head.

      “Perhaps,” she said. “But I should think they will be more worried than anything. Our entire village will be.”

      “What do you mean?” Darius asked.

      “You’ve killed a taskmaster. We’ve killed a taskmaster. The entire Empire will be out looking for us. They’ll destroy our village. Our people. We have done a terrible, selfish thing.”

      “Terrible thing? I saved your life!” Darius said, exasperated.

      She shrugged.

      “My life is not worth the lives of all of our people.”

      Darius fumed, not knowing what to say as they walked. Loti, he was beginning to realize, was a difficult girl, hard to understand. She had been too indoctrinated with the rigid thought of her parents, of their people.

      “So you hate me then,” he said. “You hate me for saving you.”

      She refused to look at him, continued to walk.

      “I saved you, too,” she retorted proudly. “Don’t СКАЧАТЬ