Once upon a time, in a land known as Nuvinia, there were two statements that all inhabitants knew to be fact. First, the two kingdoms of Nuvinia, Dral and Proghund, despised one another and would spend eternity at odds. Two, one should practice extr...
When Aiyana reached Vivian, she took her sister's hands in her own, swinging them gently between the two of them. Big green eyes watched Vivian until she had no choice but to meet her sister's gaze. "I love you. My sister, I love you, and I seem to be more concerned about your future than you are. You will be exiled if you don't do this!" Vivian opened her mouth to protest, but Aiyana shushed her with one finger. An affectionate smile came over her lips. "Now is as good a time as any. I'm sure we could find a man around here somewhere—there are always ships sailing these waters. Dralian men are easy, and—"
Vivian's stomach churned. To hear her sister, who she loved most in the world, speak about someone's life as if it were a game—
She squeezed her sister's hands affectionately and then dropped them from her grip. "Aiyana, no. I can't."
Aiyana's smile turned into a frustrated scowl before Vivian could even blink. "You mean you won't!" she exclaimed. Her beautiful features morphed into an expression of utter frustration and anger. She had a short temper—a trait both she and Vivian acquired from their mother. Aiyana swam closer, eyes narrowed. "You'll die on your own. You realize that, don't you?"
"Of course I do," Vivian snapped.
"Then?" Aiyana asked. The water seemed to drop ten degrees. "You never even sing."
Vivian swallowed painfully, her throat dry and scratchy. "Yes, I do."
Aiyana folded her arms across her chest, across the ripped violet tunic draped over her shoulders that she returned from land with several years back. "Sing, then. The hunting song."
Vivian opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Not even a squeak.
Aiyana threw her arms up in the air. "You don't even remember how to!"
Vivian flicked her tail once and moved away from her sister a bit. "I couldn't forget it even if I wanted to. You all sing it constantly, like what it does to men is something to be celebrated—"
Aiyana, with her eyes blazing, covered Vivian's mouth with her hand. "You can't say that."
Vivian pushed her sister's hand off of her face and moved farther away from her. "I can. And I will. What we do to humans is despicable—"
"The elders will—"
"I don't care about the elders," Vivian interrupted, although it wasn't true. Vivian cared very much about the elders, as they were the ones who could exile her from the pod at a moment's notice.
Aiyana pursed her lips. "You've never met a human," she said. Anger darkened her lovely green eyes. "They are vile creatures—they care only for themselves. Hurting others to get what they want—" Aiyana shook her head, eyes full of sorrow. "It doesn't bother them."
"Neither does it bother us," Vivian replied, but she was softer this time. She knew her sister had been hurt during her time on land, although Aiyana never shared the details. "We're no better than they are."
But Aiyana shook her head again. "Come ashore with me. You'll understand."
Vivian's stomach churned again. Go onto land? She'd done it before, of course—she lived on an island—but she'd never been to Dral or to Proghund, where there were humans everywhere.
"I–I don't know," she managed. Vivian had only seen the human lands from far away, from the safety of the Ogin Sea. Curiosity pulled her closer to the shore, but fear pushed her back out into the water again.
She opened her mouth to refuse, even took a breath, but then she paused. Surely she would be safe with her sister by her side, and it would be a quick visit—
Vivian took a steadying breath. "Okay. Let's go."
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I've decided that after every part I'm going to thank a reader/readers who have been consistently commenting/voting on previous parts and really being engaged with the story! Since this is the first part I'm just going to shout out the person who made the AMAZING cover: elphadora !!! I can't stop staring at the cover. I seriously love it, and I hope y'all do too! So thank you very much to Amy for making it for me, I appreciate it :)
How do you guys like Vivian so far? I'm attempting a third person limited POV for this book. It feels so weird after LOTWW...I keep accidentally switching into first person!!
