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  The ocean rumbled with an oncoming tidal wave, but the wave didn't seem to grow. Instead, I heard the hissing of water turning to steam. Our schooner vibrated violently as the spell neared us, and then, we were falling.

  Falling?

  The ship was falling as if there had never been water below us at all. The abrupt drop turned our stomachs, and I heard Jakan vomiting over the deck. The air surrounding us was suddenly filled with a thick fog and an abundance of dancing energy from the shield absorbing the spell.

  Sss...

  The hiss of more water turning into steam rippled past our ship to the west. Then, the roaring of water met my ears, as if a river was forming. Our schooner finally fell back into the ocean, though now the vessel was racing back to the shore, at the mercy of rushing waters.

  The light...it was gone. I opened my eyes, trying to readjust and figure out what had just happened. The alteration shield I'd given the ship was still there, though it was faded and flickering with trauma. I turned over to start to stand, finding that the skin of my arms was blistering red. My right palm leaked clear liquid from severe burns, and an intense pain shook through me as I stood up, having to use my hands to pull myself from the deck. When I could finally see around us, I was flabbergasted by what I found.

  Whoever the god was, he'd created a spell so hot and blinding that forcing it toward us had evaporated the ocean, turning the water to mist and leaving only chunks of salt, scorched fish, and ocean plant-life in its wake. Now, ocean waters from the west slowly pooled back toward the shores of Eteri, though I could no longer see the land. The world was now one of a thick, hot fog. I couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of me in any direction.

  “Kai?” Azazel's pained voice pleaded for me from through the fog, before he coughed. My heart nearly lurched out of my chest at the desperation exuding from him.

  “Azazel,” I called back, reaching through the fog with bleeding and leaking hands.

  “I can't see, Kai,” the archer blurted, his voice breaking with sadness.

  Don't panic. Don't panic. “I'm coming,” I promised him, my eyes searching the deck as I stumbled over it, on my way to his voice.

  “Kai,” Azazel pleaded again before a thick sob rolled forth.

  Finally, I found him. The archer laid on his side, his eyes open but blank. Tears rolled over his burnt skin, and he winced with pain as the salt in them entered recent wounds. I collapsed beside my friend, pulling him over to his back.

  “Close your eyes, Azazel.”

  “I thought...I thought they were closed.” A new sob racked through his body. “What'll I do without my eyes?”

  My stomach clenched in pain. “Don't...don't think about that.” I swallowed hard, pulling his hand away from his face when he reached up to examine it. “Stop moving. Trust me, Azazel. Trust me. I've taken care of you before.”

  Azazel swallowed hard, putting both arms down against his sides. I heard the others on the ship start to get up and ask questions and curse at our circumstances, but I tried to pay no attention to that. I had little clue as to what was going on with the god and why he didn't attack us again, but I didn't care right now. I put my hand over Azazel's eyes and whispered a life spell to find his injuries. Sometimes flash blindness could render a person blind for a number of hours, and I hoped that was what Azazel had. If the life energy in my palms detected physical injuries, however, he could be blinded for good.

  So when the warmth of the energy pulled my attention to both his eyes, my torso shook with sobs. I did not let the emotion escape my lips because I didn't want to scare him.

  “Kai...” Cerin finally found me through the fog. He swallowed hard as he saw my reaction over Azazel. Two silver eyes met mine in question.

  “He needs surgery,” I murmured, my voice thick and breaking with emotion.

  “...what?” Azazel's voice heightened in panic.

  I swallowed so hard that my esophagus felt like it was tearing. “Cerin,” I pleaded, desperately. “He needs surgery, and I don't have my surgery kit.” I'd never had a chance to replace the kit that was ruined in the shipwreck two years ago. It wasn't something I'd been able to find in the stores of the underground, and I hadn't thought to look in Mistral.

  One simple mistake. I had overlooked one simple thing, and it could cost Azazel his eyes. I grasped onto the bottled necklace at my chest desperately, and yelled to Maggie, “Take us back to shore, Maggie! Now!”

  Nine

  We were back on solid land, and the god was nowhere to be found. I was terrified, enraged, and confused. Anto and Cerin helped Azazel off the ship and across the beach. Maggie told us that there was a surgeon here and where to find him, so they were headed there. I didn't care how much it cost, I was going to do everything I could to fix Azazel's sight. My chest felt like it was torn open by the pain I felt for him. He could not have waited this long for freedom just to be unable to experience it.

  Tal was overwhelmed in thick fog. The ocean waters had slowly reached the shore again, though so much water was now in the air that the shoreline had receded, leaving ships in the harbor sitting only on sand and salt. I rushed through the town, passing by confused and terrified civilians and sailors, my eyes biased for red hair.

  I finally found it. Altan was walking toward me in the midst of the village, his red eyes troubled before they became alarmed at my anger. I rammed into his chest with both fists, screaming into his face before I knew I'd opened my mouth.

  “What have you done to us?” I wailed, so rough and angered that the bottom half of his face glistened with my spit.

  “I tested you,” Altan replied, his eyebrows dipping together. “And you have passed the test, Kai.”

  “I don't care about any fucking test! My friend is blind!” In my unthinking rage, I threw a fist toward Altan's face. Though he flinched, he also grabbed my hand with his superior strength, stopping it short of hitting him.

  “Hell.” Altan's face creased with concern. “Who?”

  “Azazel. The Alderi archer.” I breathed heavily with rage, my fist still held in his hand. “Our alliance is fucking done, Altan. I'm fucking done! I don't care about your gods damn war with the dwarves! I want out!”

  “You know that's impossible, Kai.” Altan swallowed as he read the emotion on my face. “Try to calm down—”

  “We were nearly killed! My friend is blind! He was enslaved for almost two hundred years, and now that he gets to see the world it is taken from him!” I was aware my voice was rattling against the stone walls of nearby buildings and alerting passersby to our troubles, but I didn't care.

  “Kai, you tell me what your friend needs and I will provide,” Altan murmured. “Listen to me. Please. I was following orders—”

  “Fuck orders!”

  Altan exhaled heavily through flared nostrils.

  “Following orders has hurt an innocent man!” I screamed.

  Altan's eyes moistened. “Okay, Kai, I get it. I get it. Where is Azazel?”

  “He's being taken to the surgeon. He needs surgery, and I don't have my kit.”

  Altan looked off toward the surgeon's office. “Will surgery cure him?”

  “I don't know.” My anger devolved into sobs again, and I nearly collapsed in the Sentinel's grasp. “He has...scarring on the retinas. Sometimes surgery improves eyesight. Sometimes it doesn't.”

  “Well, we will try it. I will get the best surgeon we have here, Kai, and I will cover the costs myself. You're right, he didn't deserve this. You don't deserve this.”

  I stared up at the taller man, not understanding. “How can you say that after everything you just put us through?”

  “This was not my decision.” Altan sighed heavily. “It was the queen's.”

  “It doesn't matter if it was your decision or not, you let it happen,” I seethed.

  “I didn't know what Bhaskar was capable of.”

  Bhaskar. I whipped my head around for the god. “Where is he?”

  “He is in hidi
ng, Kai. We couldn't trust you not to kill him.”

  “Oooh,” I trailed off before an evil sarcastic laugh burst from my lips. “I'm going to kill him.”

  “That's why he's in hiding. He did this because the queen asked him to. This was not his decision, either.”

  I glared at Altan, confusion swirling in my eyes. “Queen Tilda said she did not work with the gods. And...and...” I stuttered to a stop, before adding, “There is no god named Bhaskar. What the hell is going on?”

  Altan swallowed hard, before glancing around at the people who watched us. “I can't talk about this now, Kai. This is secret—”

  “No. I'm done with secrets.” I stared over at some of the people who gathered around us. “Your queen is working with the gods,” I rambled, my voice shaking with anger. “She could have killed you all today with her actions.” I nearly turned back to Altan, before thinking twice and yelling toward the crowds, “And she's a fucking bitch!”

  Altan's grip on my arm tightened. “Are you done?” He asked coolly.

  “Not unless you give me answers to my questions. Now.”

  Altan's jaw tensed. “Bhaskar is what he goes by now. You would know him as Ciro.”

  Ciro. The god of the sun. Jakan grew up in his temple in Nahara.

  “The gods want me dead,” I finally said, my voice tight and hostile.

  Altan shook his head slowly. “This one doesn't.”

  “How in the hell did you get a god as a Sentinel?” I asked, my voice trembling with overwhelming anxiety and confusion.

  “Because we had a spot open after our oldest Sentinel abandoned us,” Altan replied, low to prevent eavesdropping despite how many of the people still listened. “A Sentinel who did not agree to stay with Eteri because he wanted you dead, and we would not agree to kill you.”

  My mind connected puzzle pieces. “Vertun,” I hissed.

  Altan nodded slowly. “He left us two years ago because he heard rumors of you acquiring power in Nahara, and Queen Tilda did not agree with his desire to kill you.”

  “Why did she want me over Vertun?” I asked.

  “You desire war and power,” Altan replied. “You are the first person in many years to take a stand against Chairel while having the skills necessary to have a chance. Vertun was a defensive Sentinel, Kai. He loves this land because he views it as his, but he is one of the oldest gods still living. He refuses to join the queen in her quest for Hammerton and otherwise because unlike you, he tries to follow the laws of your kind.”

  “Don't call the gods my kind,” I spat.

  Altan lifted up both hands in defense, finally letting go of my arm. “Okay, fine.” He sighed. “Regardless, Kai, when Vertun left, he became hostile toward us. Queen Tilda was so willing to make a deal with you because she needs your powers to combat his and the gaps he left in our defenses.”

  My eyes searched in his. “He left to go where?”

  Altan shook his head, glancing at the people nearby. “I can't tell you more yet. I'm sorry, but I've already said too much, and I don't know all the details yet, myself. Please believe me when I say that I'm sorry all of this has happened the way it has. I don't always agree with the orders I am given, but it is my duty to carry them out.”

  I gritted my teeth. “We will agree to disagree.”

  Altan exhaled in a rush. “Fine. We need to attend to your friend, Kai.”

  I said nothing further. I spun, heading to the surgeon's with Altan on my heels. I was enraged by all of this, even after Altan had expressed sympathies for me. This was wrong. Queen Tilda had lied to me of her connections with the gods. How could I be sure she wasn't lying about something else? How was an alliance supposed to be strong if neither party could trust the other?

  My mind was a mess when I finally rushed into the surgeon's office. It was more of a small hospital of sorts, with a desk and waiting area in the front and a hallway leading back to various rooms. The waiting room was empty, but so was the desk. I decided to wait there, though Altan tapped his fist on the stone wall leading to the hallways, impatient.

  “Hello?” He called.

  One of the steel doors opened down the hall a moment later, and Nyx peeked her head out. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Altan, though her attitude mellowed when she realized I was with him. “He's in here,” she said, leaving the door open.

  Altan and I hurried to the room together, finding Azazel in the midst of being examined by a Vhiri man who reminded me of Jakan, given his shorter stature and youthful look.

  “Kai?” Azazel murmured, sensing me despite his blindness.

  “I'm here.”

  Azazel nodded when the healer pulled away for a moment. “I can feel your anger.”

  “Why is he here?” Jakan asked, jerking a thumb to Altan.

  “I'm here to make sure Azazel gets what he needs,” Altan replied evenly.

  Nyx laughed humorlessly. “Yeah, okay. Whatever you say, asshole.”

  “I'm serious.” Altan watched the healer. “Whatever this man needs, bill the queen.”

  I raised an eyebrow. Altan said he would take care of it, but then again, if he were being honest with us, it was only the queen who was responsible for this.

  “What does he need?” Altan questioned when the healer did not respond.

  “Surgery,” the man replied. “Both eyes. He cannot see anything right now due to flash blindness. He will have some eyesight when the initial trauma wears away, but his retinas are scarring at an accelerated rate. This is abnormal.” The surgeon observed Azazel carefully, troubled. “Normally, the eyes attempt to heal by scarring over time, but his are scarred as if he's had trouble seeing for weeks. Removing the scar tissue is the only hope we have of restoring his sight to normal.”

  “You are dealing with the powers of the gods,” I muttered.

  The healer looked to me, then to Altan. “The gods? Were they the cause of the explosion to the north?”

  Altan tensed. “Kai, you have to stop this nonsense of telling everyone who will listen about—”

  “I'm done with the sneaky bullshit.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “As far as I'm concerned, Queen Tilda isn't any better than Sirius. I won't play those types of games, Altan, and I am done trusting you and your directions.”

  Altan's posture slumped a bit. I could tell my combativeness was wearing him down. He decided not to respond to me, and instead asked the healer, “You are a surgeon as well?”

  “I am,” the man replied.

  “How long will it take you to heal him?” Altan questioned next.

  “I can start surgery soon. That will take a few hours. But he will need rest.”

  “How long will he need to rest?” Altan asked impatiently.

  “Oh, weeks,” the healer replied. “These are serious injuries. He'll need to rest for weeks and continue to check in with me.”

  “We don't have weeks,” Altan replied, glancing over at me. “You'll have to leave him here.”

  “I don't have to do shit,” I retorted. “This is the queen's doing. If Azazel needs to stay here and heal for the entire five years I agreed to, this is where I'll be.”

  “The Seran Renegades are to return to Mistral once testing of the shields is complete,” Altan replied, his words mirroring those of the queen's.

  “Exactly, and Azazel is one of the Renegades. We cannot return to Mistral because the Renegades have been injured. Tattoo that on your precious queen's forehead, for all I care. I'm staying here.”

  “They have healers in Mistral,” the surgeon replied helpfully. “I can refer you to someone there.”

  “I am a healer and surgeon myself,” I told him. “But I know how delicate eyes are, and I've never had a chance to work on them before. If you'd allow me to stay by your side during his surgery, you can teach me how to look after him.”

  The surgeon looked at me with renewed interest. “Where were you educated?”

  “The Seran University of Magic Healer's Division.”

  Th
e Vhiri man nodded, impressed. “Then you should already know the gist of it.” He looked to Altan. “He will still need rest, but if this woman here can learn what he needs in the coming weeks, I can have him ready to depart for Mistral within the fortnight.”

  I glanced over to Altan. “That's the best deal you're going to get here.”

  The Sentinel ground his teeth together, before exhaling heavily. “Fine. Then put him into surgery tonight.”

  *

  Though I was present throughout Azazel's surgery, I was grateful to have someone else there to work on him. The anger that had taken over my very soul would not have made for steady hands. The surgeon was kind and helpful and answered all of my questions. He even admitted to me that it was possible Azazel's eyesight would never be as good as it once was. I had known that however; eyes were the most delicate organs of them all. Our diligence in keeping his eyes rested and cared for would have a lot to do with how well they healed, so that would be my primary concern in the coming weeks.

  Azazel was to stay in the hospital overnight, so I left him with the surgeon with promises of coming to pick him up the next day. As I walked through the waiting room, I found Cerin half-asleep in one of the chairs, waiting for me. He sat up straighter as I walked out, blinking his fatigued eyes open.

  “How is he?”

  “Surgery is done. It went well. Azazel's resting. We will come back tomorrow.” I lifted a brand new surgery kit up for Cerin to see. “The surgeon sold me this, and put the cost on the queen's bill.”

  “Good,” Cerin replied dryly, coming to a stand as I waited for him.

  “Where are the others?”

  “The inn, forcing answers from Altan.” Cerin grabbed the door from me as I held it for him. “We're lucky we weren't all killed.” He held his arms out before him. His Icilic skin was still burnt and blistered, even though he'd healed the worst of it. My skin would be sensitive and burnt for days as well. Even after I had treated the worst burns on my right hand from grabbing the metal charger, my skin was permanently damaged. The swirling designs on my fingertips were now smoothed out and scarred.