Dark Tides (Kingdom of Bones #2)

Original Edition: ◇ Chapter 21 ◇ Storm ◇

LORELEI

West Incendia

Late Rainrise

The air smelled like rotting eggs.

Jaron said it was sulfur from the volcano, but Lorelei didn't know if she believed him or anything he said anymore. He came down to talk to them many times during their voyage to this place, speaking to them through the bars of their cell onboard the Incendian brig. He truly was one of them. If he wasn't, he would have let her and Nara out.

Nara was exceptionally cold toward him. Never once looking him in the eye each time he visited. Lorelei wondered if something had happened between them that made this feel like more of a betrayal, but Nara wouldn't say much.

"There are two sides to every coin," she had said one night as they watched the candle flame flicker out in the lantern above their cell. "I thought maybe he'd realized that." When Lorelei had tried to press her further, Nara shut her down. But Lorelei knew her friend was speaking of Jaron.

Jaron stayed nearby them when they docked in West Incendia and during their trek through the ruined forest. Even now at their encampment at the base of the volcano, Jaron remained at their side. He was personally guarding them, making sure they didn't get away, but Lorelei had a feeling he was also protecting them, even if he wouldn't acknowledge it.

Lorelei sat on the barren ground next to Nara, both of them tied to a post. Jaron stood a few paces away, watching as Rove's men patrolled.

Torches circled the area, their flames dancing the wind. Rove spoke with a man in special robes ordained with symbols of flame. A priest? Nerves twisted in Lorelei's gut. A line of hooded figures stood behind him, their faces cast in shadow.

"What do you think is happening?" Lorelei whispered to Nara.

"I'm thinking they're preparing for some sort of ritual," Nara replied. "I would bet that volcano, the priest, and Magnus are all related."

"The volcano is sacred," Jaron said, his gaze remaining forward as he spoke to them. "It was raised from the ground by Magnus and Vulcan themselves."

"For what purpose?" Nara asked. "Isn't this the very volcano that made this land barren?"

"New life will bloom here in time."

"This land has been deserted since the Old War. You continue to lie to yourself."

"Do you question my faith, archer?"

"Enough," Lorelei said, having had enough of their squabbling. The unease in her veins was enough to make her feel seasick. "Tell us what's going to happen to us, Jaron. We deserve to know at least. Please."

"I do not know his plans for you," Jaron said with a sigh. "Only that you will remain safe."

"Are they..." Lorelei swallowed and glanced to the priest and the hooded people. "Are they going to free Magnus?"

Jaron turned and faced them. He crouched down, elbows on his knees as he clasped his hands together. Lorelei noticed he wore his gloves again, covering his scars. She hadn't realized he'd stopped wearing them around her and Nara on the ship. Was that confliction she saw in the depths of his eyes?

"That's always been the plan," he said. "Magnus never should have been locked away in the first place."

"He started a war because he was rejected," Nara said, gaze up at the sky as if she was uninterested in anything Jaron had to say.

Jaron shook his head. "Cerulian history is wrong."

"The only thing that you know how to do is lie."

Lorelei tried to remember her life back in Incendia and what she knew of the history she'd learned while living among the harbor-folk. Her mother's stories had always been filled with other parts of the world—krakens and ice dragons, bandits and pirates—never any bit of magic from Incendia, only how they devour like the flame they worship. The devotion to their gods, however, could be seen from miles away the light from their flame festivals shined so bright.