The Cycles~
Nigel Willoughby
The Alsa Rose
Nigel braced against the deck rail. Tireless waves rolled toward the horizon. His eyes told him the horizon had no end, but his intellect knew better. All things had an end. He had forestalled an abrupt end of a different sort, for now.
“Where will you go now, my friend?” Blackheart joined him at the rail.
“Back to Jorendon to offer Anne my loyalty and service.”
After Walter quietly handed his crown over to Anne, Nigel escorted him to exile in Bresca. The Orthodoxy’s locusts poised to swarm across Innis never reached its shores. Amadeo Constans let the opportunity pass untaken.
“Your loyalty is fickle,” said Blackheart. “Tell me, do you truly believe in anything?”
“I believe in the Joining. I’ve come to believe in the Awakening. Belief in
