Bastian's Song [Complete--Editing]

Epilogue

Zareb paced in his room. He knew he should be asleep by now, but he couldn't rest. His mind whirled with a hundred little thoughts that bound him with their incessant nagging. Six months, his mind supplied.

Six months had passed since Triton Bastian had disappeared without a trace.

Militum and Lachlan had shown up at the territory of the Selachs shortly after the incident, bloody and bruised, but alive. Between them, they had spent days searching the ocean for Bastian.

Or for Bastian's vitae gem.

The Selachs had drawn them back to reality. Without Bastian there to settle their concerns, Zareb had to turn to the only other Triton-child in the entire ocean: Arsenius. Getting Rodion to agree to travel to Nereus had been difficult, but Varya had been stern with him and Zareb had assured him that Bastian's word was still strong.

Militum had not come with them. He had chosen to stay behind, and Zareb couldn't blame him. There was nothing left for him in Nereus. Militum had waved them off, with Melodia's vitae gem tied around his waist and despair in his eyes.

When they had arrived home, a small group of fierce Selach warriors and two wayward Naiads, they had found Arsenius bed-bound. His entire right arm had been lost, and he seemed almost incoherent with the loss. Zareb had been the one to break the news to him.

He sighed, and stopped swimming. Zareb put his face in his hands and focused on deep breathing. Despite the fact that a shaky treaty had actually been formed with the Selachs, there was the matter of who was now the Triton of Nereus.

Bastian's gem couldn't be found. Arsenius' right arm was missing. If Selene had blessed Arsenius to lead the Naiads, her mark would be on the arm he no longer had. All of the events of those days were so unprecedented that no one knew what came next. Crown the broken Arsenius, or wait for a miracle that might never come?

All Zareb had now was Lachlan, and hope. A hope he couldn't speak out loud, for fear he would be proven wrong. What he wanted, more than anything else in the world, was to go out and join Militum in his search for Bastian.

Without him in Nereus, the Naiads would never trust the Selachs enough to maintain their peace. All of Bastian's work would be for nothing.

Zareb rubbed his eyes and looked back up. He had sworn his loyalty to Bastian. What would Bast want me to do?

He knew the answer already. And he hated it.

Zareb swam to his bed and settled down. He had made a promise, and he would keep it. Even if it tore him apart. With one last prayer to the goddess Selene, he drifted into uneasy sleep.

Tomorrow, he had work to do to keep Nereus strong.  

For Bastian.