I lay entwined with Vael’s body on our small bed while the ship tossed against the waves. The sway of the boat was hypnotic and I had dozed off several times. I absently stroked my husband’s hair with my left hand and gazed out of the portal of our tiny room.

“Vael,” I whispered softly.

“Mhm… yes?” he mumbled against my breast.

“Do you really want to have children with me?”

He snuggled into my collar bone and his breath tickled my skin. “I know you don’t want to have children. I only said we were making heirs to dissuade Lord Faxon. I will never force you to bear my children.”

I felt my face heat and my heart skip as I heard his words. I kissed him on the forehead. “I’m lucky to have you,” I said.

“I’m the lucky one.”

A week later we were awoken near dawn by a soft knock on our door. Vael stiffened beside me before pulling a dagger out from under our mattress. I felt a chill go down my spine when I saw the blade. I wondered for a moment why he never told me that it was there.

He approached the door as silent as a phantom and stood to the side of it. “Who is it?” he called out.

“It is I, Lord Faxon, the crew says we’ve arrived and you should see something.”

“Just a moment.” Vael crossed the room back to the bed and swiftly donned his Grace. I followed suite and soon we were both headed up the steps to the main deck. Lord Faxon walked shoulder to shoulder with Vael. We could see the captain and the first mate standing on the port side of the ship with three lanterns lit around them. “Is there something wrong?”

“Yes. We were greeted by a troop of Waterfolk bearing your colors. They have threatened to sink us. Only when you were mentioned did they hold off their attack,” Lord Faxon said.

“I see,” Vael said and quickened his pace. I watched my husband lean over the edge of the boat and gaze down upon the heads bobbing above the surface of the sea. “Hail,” Vael called down to them. “I am Lord Cadfael.

“Lord Cadfael is in Meridia! As we told that other Waterfolk imposter you cannot sail here. These are North Hold’s waters!” a Waterfolk soldier exclaimed. He appeared to be the squad leader, his position marked by a stone brooch on his shoulder.

“Seems I have no other choice,” Vael mumbled then vaulted the rail and dived into the water. The Waterfolk quickly surrounded him when he resurfaced. “As I said before, I am Lord Cadfael, your lord. Put down your weapons, these Landwalkers are our guests.”

I saw their weapons shift threateningly and climbed on top of the rail. “Do you defy a direct order from your lord?” I yelled. They looked up at me in surprise as my hair began to float above my head. Light as bright as starlight shone from my strands as I glared at the men and women below me. They looked stricken with fear as they gazed at me.

“Lady Sol… Lord Cadfael forgive us! Our squads have been more cautious as of late after a surprise attack orchestrated by the Landwalkers,” the squad leader said.

“Come on board and tell us of it,” Vael said stiffly.

“Yes, my Lord.”

Five more Waterfolk joined us on the Merry Dog and the captain ordered his steward to bring us drinks. I sipped the mulled wine gingerly while Vael’s soldiers eyed me carefully.

“I assume that you are from Fish Run,” Lord Cadfael said in a stern voice that drew their attention away from me.

“Yes, Lord, I am Leo and in charge of this squad. We were directed by Lieutenant Fiafia to be wary of any unknown Waterfolk after the attack on Emberlee. It’s said that they came disguised as Waterfolk and slaughtered all of them…”

I took a hard swallow of my wine as I listened to Leo about the attack on Emberlee and along the Forbidden Line. It seemed in our absence the Landwalkers had grown bold and began to invade Waterfolk islands. Dozens of soldiers had been killed and many more peasants. Archers were killing as many of our messenger birds as they could and that was why it had taken so long for news of the attacks to reach Meridia.

I wondered how the people felt. Did they think that Vael and I had abandoned them to enjoy feasting and dancing with the Illustrious?

“Eminence, I will need to inform the prince of this,” Lord Faxon said to me. The soldiers looked at me in surprise.

“Lady Sol has been granted the title of Eminence by the prince,” Vael said. They immediately prostrated themselves.

“Once again we apologize for our behavior, Eminence,” Leo said.

“I accept your apology,” I said softly. “Lord Faxon go ahead and write our prince. Leo, is there anything else you need to tell us?”

“No Eminence,” Leo said bowing low.

“We are done. You are dismissed.” The five bowed to us, then one by one leaped over the rails of the ship and down into the dark waters. Vael spoke with the navigator and the vessel came alive with shouting as the sailors ran their lines and adjusted sails to turn us to port.

The horizon was pink when an island came into view like a dark smudge against the sky. Vael requested that we visit a small village hidden behind its forest. The anchor was cast several hundred feet from the shallow bay waters and a row boat was prepared for Captain Fidel’s men. Vael and I, along with our guards, jumped into the water and swam to the beach ahead of them. While we waited for the boat I felt goosebumps rise on my arms and rubbed them anxiously.

“Why is it so quiet?” I whispered as I looked around. No torches were lit and there were no signs that anyone had seen us land.

“I don’t know… this feels off…” Vael said. His face was a mask of coldness as he looked around. “Alvern, go ahead of us and look for the path to the village.

“Yes, my lord.” He sprinted away. By the time he returned the Landwalkers had reached the shore. “Lord, Eminence, there is a path further down from here. It looks like a large group passed through hours ago.

“I wonder if it was one of the patrols?” I said aloud. Vael looked grim with his clenched jaw.

“I think you should go back to the ship,” he said.

I immediately bristled in anger. “No!” I said with a finality that let him know that I would not let him argue about it. He sighed and rubbed his temples.

“Alvern, lead the way.”

“Yes, my lord…” Alvern’s head bobbed in a bow before he turned on his heel and led us to the path.

Even to my untrained eyes I could see the damage done to the vegetation around the overgrown stone path. The grasses that grew between the cracked stones were bruised and leaking green fluid that left a sharp tang in the air. Underneath the tang, I could detect a whiff of copper.

As we walked deeper into the heart of the island the metallic smell overpowered us. We used the sleeves of our robes to filter the fouled air. My nose ached from the intensity of the smell, but I forced myself to push forward. Vael’s hand found mine and I gripped it tightly. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion as we saw a clearing ahead of us.

Alvern reached the clearing before us and froze. His arm dropped from his face.

“What is it?” I asked as I drew abreast of him. He remained silent, staring off into the distance. I turned my head to look at the clearing. From what I could tell it was a small farming village set up by Waterfolk. The buildings were constructed from wood, mud and stone. I could see smoke rising from some of the roofs.

I then looked at the ground. There were bodies on the ground between the buildings. At first I couldn’t understand what I was seeing. It wasn’t until someone told me, “Don’t look Sol,” that I looked at the nearest body closer.

The head was crushed, but the body looked too small. Why was the body so small? I looked at the other bodies and they were too small as well. If these were warriors their bodies would be much larger and muscular. These weren’t. Even for farmers, the muscles weren’t well developed. Why were they too small?

I began to tremble and collapsed on my knees screaming, “They’re too small! Why are they small?”

Vael immediately knelt in front of me and shielded my eyes. I buried my face in his chest as hot tears burned tracks down my face.

“Check to see if there are any survivors!” Vael ordered in a gruff voice.

“Y-yes, Lord,” Alvern stuttered. He stumbled forward a step before regaining his composure. Gripping his spear tightly he ran deeper into the village followed by two more guards.

“Mercy,” Captain Fidel muttered as he entered the clearing with his men. “Help them out!” he roared.

Vael turned my back to the village and forced me to walk back to the shore with our two remaining guards. He kissed the top of my forehead and whispered that he loved me into my ear. Bile rose in my throat and I pushed him away and stumbled to the edge of the path just as the contents of my stomach were evicted onto the undergrowth. My reaction must have triggered Vael because soon he was vomiting beside me.

What could have killed them? Who could have killed them? Why did terrible things happen to the innocent?

What use was a god’s blessing if I couldn’t save anyone?

Our stomachs empty, we made our way back to the beach. We sat comforting each other before the others rejoined us. Alvern was carrying a small body in his arms that was wrapped in a blanket. “Eminence, Lord Cadfael, we found one survivor,” he said and kneeled in front of us. He pulled back the blanket to reveal a white-haired child who appeared to be no older than eight. She trembled in the guard’s arms.

When she saw my hair, she struggled from Alvern’s embrace and leaped into my arms. I stared with wide eyes at the people around me. Why was she the only survivor? Why did she have white hair?

I hugged her tightly as I would do with Aur. “L-little one, what happened?” I said.

“Bad people came from the sea! They took my Mama and Papa; they took all the adults,” the girl whispered into my robe. “They didn’t want us…”

“Us?” Vael said.

“Kids…”

“Who could have done this?” Captain Fidel said. His fists were clenched at his sides and his eyes were darkened in anger. “No man hurts children!”

“What’s your name?” I asked the girl.

“Neara…”

“Neara, why is your hair white?”

“There was a voice that told me to hide in the forest. I begged my family to come with me, but they didn’t’! No one would listen to me! So I ran away!” The girl covered her face with her hands and began sobbing.

I bit my lip. I was being insensitive by asking this girl all these questions. She had just lost her family and friends.

I stood up with her in my arms. “We need to bury the bodies,” I said.

“I’ll get my men to help,” Captain Fidel said. He sent one of his crew back to the ship to gather them.

I rocked Neara in my arms as she continued to cry. Was this girl a champion? Why had the Gentle God marked this child? I gritted my teeth. It seemed we knew less than we thought.

“We need to find out who is taking our people,” Vael said quietly. “As the lord of North Hold it’s my duty to protect me people. What they did here is insane!”

More of the Merry Dog’s crew joined us on the shore among them was Lord Faxon. His eyes were bright with curiosity as he approached us. “Eminence, who is that child?”

“This is Neara, she’s the only survivor,” I said.

“Her hair is like yours, may I see her eyes?”

“Eyes?” What importance did her eyes hold? Neara was silent as I turned my body so that Lord Faxon could see them.

“I see,” he said once he looked at them.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No,” he said laughing. “Her eyes are quite ordinary, like yours or mine.”

I frowned. Was is possible that he knew something about our transformation? I decided to save that question for when we were in a more secluded setting. The Landwalkers didn’t need to know everything about us.

Vael placed his hand on my shoulder. “Take the girl back to the ship. I’m sure she’s exhausted and hungry.”

I gave him a nod and a wan smile. “Yes.”

I swam to the ship with Neara and Lin. Catfish was sitting on a chair that he had brought out onto the deck. He stood when he saw us climb over the rail and rushed forward to take Neara from my arms. “Little one, are you cold?” he asked the girl. She shook her head. “Barro said there was only one survivor,” Catfish said to me.

“What they did… she was fortunate to survive,” I said. “We need to get her something to eat.”

We waited in the galley for the others to return. Their faces were solemn and their bodies covered in blood and dirt. I gritted my teeth as more bile rose to my throat choking me. Was this what it meant to be a warrior? To face ravaged villages and bury the innocent?

Neara was curled in my lap when Vael sat down next to us. “How are you feeling?” I asked him.

“I feel powerless,” he said. “These are our people and I couldn’t help them. If it’s the work of that demon, I want you kill him!” Vael said bitterly. I rested my head against his shoulder. I felt powerless as well.

“You’re very strong, Vael,” I said softly. “You may not think it, but you are. I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said. He reached for my hand and held it. “I hope Aur is safe…”

“Me too.”

"For now, we will head directly to Geyser. Captain Fidel is willing to take us the entire way there. Hopefully Bran will have more information on these attacks." He rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "We'll also figure out some arrangements for the girl."

"Can she stay with us?" I asked suddenly. I couldn't bear the thought of her being left to an orphanage after all the horror she had witnessed. She was also like me, blessed by the Gentle God. The children and adults may tease or shun her and nobles may try to take advantage of her.

Vael seemed to be contemplating his answer. He considered us both carefully before nodding. "I don't see a problem with her staying with us, for now."

"For now?"

"She said the adults were carried away. There is the small chance that they are still alive, and if they are, she will want to go with them."

"Yes..." I said softly. "Let's hope they're alive."

After the ship pulled anchor, I left Neara in Vael's care and went to speak with Lord Faxon. His dooe was open and I coud see he was writing diligently in a small journal. I knocked on the door and he put down his quill.

"Eminence, what brings you to me?" he asked.

"I wanted to ask you about Neara's eyes; why are they important?"

He sighed before answering me. "You've heard about the new Illustrious of Nadir, correct?"

"Very little actually."

"His name is Lasaro. He's like you in that he has white hair, but what sets him apart is that his eyes are gray."

"Gray eyes and white hair?"

"He grew to immense size to fight off a group of Landwalkers that attacked him. I'm surprised no one has told you of him."

I shook my head as I processed the information. The Illustrious of Nadir had been blessed like Neara and myself, but his eyes were gray. Was it possible that our gender had something to do with the distinction? Or had he been blessed by a different god?

"Can you tell me more about him?"

Lord Faxon leaned back in his chair.

" Well, the prince granted him the title of Eminence as well as the position of Illustrious. The prince had long disliked the previous one and saw the appearance of such a powerful man as a means to remove him. The old Illustrious lost his position and threatened the prince's life soon after. He was then executed by Lasaro."

I felt a chill go down my spine. If I was to live in the capital I would have to be careful not to offend our prince.

"You said the new Illustrious is also an Eminence?"

"Yes."

"Is the prince giving out this title to all Waterfolk with a god's blessing?"

"Do you think that he will give such a title to the girl?" Lord Faxon asked.

I thought about it. The prince wanted me as an ally, but Neara was too young to have any political influence. He had also stated that if I hadn't married Vael that he would have arranged for me to marry somone in his family. The girl was too young for marriage, but that did not mean that he couldn't raise her to become a bargaining tool.

Hopefully the girl's parents were still alive.

"I don't know," I finally replied.

Lord Faxon gave a short nod. "My uncle has been working hard to protect the Watefolk, but some feel that his policies of peace and trade with the Landwalkers will weaken us. If you succeed in killing this demon, the prince will enact a treaty agreement with Illuria, but at the cost of a civil war."

"A civil war?"

"There are factions opposing the prince. They've been in power for years and tried to sway the previous prince from naming Titus as his successor. They even went so far as to try to assassinate them both, but failed twice."

I coverd my mouth with my hands. Were things really that serious in the capital?

Lord Faxon began writing once more. "A civil war seems inevitable so the prince is traveling between provinces to identify his allies and remove...problems... Illustrious Emilio was one problem among many. I will do everything in my power to keep my uncle on the throne; will you?"

If the prince stayed on the throne, peace could be gained between Landwalkers and Waterfolk, but if he died or was removed from power, the conflict would continue. To support him I would have to leave North Hold. I didn't want to simply be a mindless peon and I could see that the prince didn't want me as such. Why else would he have me practice judgement on the people of Meridia? A thoughtful ally was more valuable than a mindless ally.

Could I bear being away from Vael for months? If a civil war did break out would either of us survive?

I pushed my doubts out of mind. I had to focus on my current goal and that was to slay Lemuete.

"I will do my best to support the prince. I too want to see a world where Landwalkers and Waterfolk are no longer at war."

He smiled at me. "I would love to see my uncle's vision realized. I think you three may be the key to that future."

By afternoon we reached Geyser. We had been challenged by several patrols while we crossed the North Hold waters and each time Vael convinced out people to let us pass. I saw his mansion roof rising out of the sea like a bastion of defience after the flood. I was surprised that Vael had allowed the Merry Dog to get so close to our home.

My heart raced as I looked at it. The green of the moss and trees clinging to the rocks and bricks seemed radiant in the sunlight after the horror I had witnessed earlier. Neara stood beside me at the rail, her left hand resting on my right as we looked toward the mansion and the sunken cliffs that surrounded sanctuary to the west of us.

"This is Geyser," I said. "This will be your home for now."

"Eminence, will I be safe?"

"The Gentle God will protect you. They have shown their blessing through your hair."

Neara touched her hair and then looked up at mine. "It's pretty. Is it really a blessing?"

"Yes, i believe it is."

"I wish that they had blessed my village..."

I patted her head as the deck became busy with the crew preparing the ship to drop anchor. I looked out over the sea and saw several heads break the surface. I recognized them as the warriors of the village. I waved to them as they sped toward us.

"Lady Sol!" Captain Ireta shouted at us. "Why are you on a Landwalker vessel? Have you been taken prisoner?"

"No, Ireta, they are our guests. Lord Cadfael is here with me as well as Lord Faxon." I saw the captain's eyes drop to Neara. "This girl is with us, her village was attacked." The captain cursed under her breath. I wondered how many more had been attacked during our travels.

Vael held a meeting in his moss garden with Bran, Captain Ireta, Lord Faxon, myself and Captain Lucius. The servants had prepared us tea and fruit while Bran told us of the attacks that had begun after we left North Hold.

Several villages and farms had been attacked and those not killed taken. Without the adults to care for the farms the crops the seasonal crops weren't being harvested, fish harvest had gone down and the poor were beginning to suffer.

"I want the these islands heavily fortified and these evacuated," Vael said pointing out the places on a map. "How many losses have been reported?"

"275 are either dead or missing from these raids and an additional 47 were killed in a skirmishes alone along the Forbidden line, mosty concentrated near Wallow," Captain Ireta said.

"Have they tried to attack us here?"

"No, Sir, we've been sinking their boats before they get close enough. None of them have a vessel large enough to overwhelm us at our current strength."

"Thank the gods," Captain Lucius said.

"Indeed," Vael replied. "Let's prepare a group to go to the Forbidden Line and try to capture a Landwalker. Maybe they can tell us about the raids and who is perpatrating them."

"I want to go as well," I said.

"No, I want to keep you safe until the last possible minute," Vael said.

I frowned, but held my tongue. I could see the distress in his eyes as he read over the reports that had failed to reach us. While we had been partying, our people had been dying. Close to three hundred dead and I couldn't do a thing to save them.

Why hadn't the Gentle God warned me? Why did it take so long for me to find out? Wasn't I a champion? Wasn't that why I had new blessings besides my Grace?

Was I wrong about my purpose? The priest had said that the gods chose two champions, but with Neara and Illustrious Lasaro we counted three.

"Bran, gather my advisors in the meeting room so that we can talk about our defenses. Captain Lucius you may rest in our guest rooms if you would like."

"Thank you Lord Cadfael," Captain Lucius said.

"I'll escort him," I said. Vael nodded toward me.

We left the moss room and began walking to the upper guest wing of the house with Alvern and Lin trailing behind us. "This is amazing, I never thought that I would be traveling with mermaids or seeing your culture intimately," the captain said as we walked. I smiled.

"Before a few months ago I would never have thought I would make friends among the Landwalkers," I replied. I sighed as I remembered Ryaa. "I wish you were here under better circumstances."

He laughed. "I'm only here because you saved my life and the life of my crew. We owe you a great debt. A little detour is worth it to repay you."

"You don't need to repay me," I said touching his arm. "The gods wanted you to be safe."

"My crew and I will leave tomorrow after your husband gives us a token of passage."

"Do you think you'll visit?" I asked. He seemed to think it over. Would he visit us or would his people forbid it?

"I would be more than happy to visit a friend. Hopefully your little war will resolve itself soon."

"Yes."

I could feel a darkness on the edge of my senses. I had ignored it until now, but the feeling had grown quickly. I recognized this miasma from my time in Naomi. Lemuete was nearby, but Vael and I had learned his true name, an old god long forgotten and corrupted by the world.

Were gods immortal?