Kane grabbed the rider's shoulder hard. "What do you mean, the sea tried to swallow them."
"That's what the old man said," the rider answered, still catching his breath. "He wouldn't say more than that. Said it wasn't safe to talk about it out loud, even now."
Talyn had ridden back with the rider, and he swung down off his horse fast, dust on his boots. "Ottilie's still there with Meret. They think the old man knows more, but he's scared."
"Scared of what," Kane said.
"He wouldn't say that either," Talyn said. "Just kept looking at the water like it might hear him."
Kane looked toward the dark sea past the cliffs, waves crashing hard against rock far below. "We need to go back. Now."
They rode through the rest of the night, exhaustion pulling at every part of Kane's body, but the wei
