The Raven Flame [The Crown Saga III] (First Draft)

Unforgiving Seas

I hated the sea. It was not as magical as people made it out to be.

Piper and Caiden stood unaffected by the shifting waters as if they'd been born to navigate the unpredictable waves. Yet, a tiny spark of bitterness made my chest flutter in frustration every time I heard them laugh.

Art appeared less comfortable with the vigorous element. His knuckles were close to white as his fist tightened around the railing, but his face remained undisturbed by the winds stirring the endless ocean. He'd probably been hardened by the many years living in the Wandering Mountains.

Alia and Eos, on the other hand, had been hanging lifelessly from the railing for the past hour. Their faces were drained of color, their lips trembling as they emptied their stomachs into the unforgivable ocean for the fifth time.

I'd been clinging to the middle mast, keeping my gaze straight toward the horizon to fight the nauseousness threatening to turn my stomach inside out. I did not want to end up like the two light manipulators in front of me.

"How much longer, Art?" I asked, forcing the few nuts and fruits we'd eaten for breakfast back down my burning throat.

Art cleared his throat and let go of the railing to face me. "I'm afraid— I'm afraid the trip across the ocean will last for the better part of the day. We'll probably not see another shade of land before the sun has passed the horizon," he said, making my knees tremble violently.

If I let go of this mast, I was sure my legs wouldn't be able to carry me more than a single step forward.

It hadn't even been more than an hour since we'd left the abandoned shore, and most of us would soon be ready to throw ourselves overboard to swim back to land. How were we supposed to survive eight more hours being tortured like this?

"Remind me again why you couldn't have bribed the guy to drive us to the Ember Region instead of giving us this boat," I said, grunting as another relentless wave hit the boat, challenging my balance.

Art sighed deeply. "Traveling by sea is both faster and safer," he said, wiping away a salty drop of sea mist from his cheek. "This trip would have taken at least five days if we had traveled by land, which is not time we can afford to waste when we have better options. Besides, we're wanted throughout all five realms, Willow. People know our faces, and the risk of being caught is far smaller out here, where the only eyes watching us are the birds."

I clenched my teeth as frustration pinched my crawling skin. His arguments sounded as reasonable as the first time he'd explained them to me.

The faster we reached the Inferno Castle, the faster we could find the Golden Cave and figure out what was happening to me.

"Uncle."

I jumped when Caiden's head appeared right beside me as he ducked under the sail to join us on this side of endless pain.

"What is it, Caiden?" Art asked, straightening his back as if he wanted to appear composed.

"A storm is approaching, and I don't think it'll be a mild one."

A storm?

I looked up, searching the clear skies for any sign of an approaching storm. However, there were only smears of faint white besmirching the sky, dyed the same color as my blood once had been. Even the wind was reasonably warm.

"What makes you think a storm is approaching?" Art asked, his brow wrinkling.

"The ocean — the way it shifts in various directions with no clear pattern. The fish following the boats are stirring as well."

Another wave punched the boat, and I gasped as I clenched the mast tighter.

Caiden looked beside him, his eyes catching mine.