10
Firian
The morning sky had turned from black to dark blue. Firian scanned the beach for Kiria. She’d promised to be here. Chilly air rose from the sloshing waves beneath the Talori. Above the beach on the crest of a hill, Mon Párinath looked down, lights beginning to wink to life through its windows.
The deck pitched unevenly as he secured the final provisions for the trip. The voyage would not be long, they’d assured him—just a matter of a few days—but they couldn’t be sure how long they would need to be on the island. He was already glad that their time on the sea would be short. He’d never spent time on the ocean, and he disliked the thought of being at its mercy.
Pulling a knot hard, he looked again toward the beach.
Kiria walked down the steps from the palace gardens, the trai
