Siren Song (The Fated #1)

30 | Noblesse Oblige

In the end, all his predictions came true.

The heavy bar took them a good three, four minutes to work off the gate. After which, no amount of pushing or pulling allowed them to open the doors. The reason, as explained by the guards that showed up to demand an explanation of what they were doing, was a matching bar on the outside meant to enable the city to be more easily locked down when needed. The gate wouldn't be opened for an hour at the very least.

"You can try the other one that'away," the guard said with a thumbed gesture towards a different part of town. "But by the time you get there, and through, and back this direction, you'll 'ave wasted the hour you'd be waiting to get through 'ere."

Unfortunately, no amount of bribery or pleading had an effect on the guard's stance. In the end, the group retreated. They took the hour to gather their things from the inn and the ship, before bartering for travel supplies at various shops. Melitta surprised Kain with a request for a few coins, before telling him to wait outside a blacksmith. Within ten minutes after entering, she'd returned with a simple sword in hand.

"You can't be the only one with a weapon," she explained. "I doubt bows will do much good if we're ambushed, and that's all we had beyond your sword."

He nodded his agreement, and their small group returned to the gate with twenty minutes to spare. Dalphie filled most of it with chatter that Kain couldn't quite bring himself to care about.

"I can still feel him," Melitta reassured Kain, no doubt having noticed his frustration. "He hasn't disappeared again. Whatever was blocking me while they were here is gone."

When they were finally let through, Melitta hummed under her breath, and pointed. And, they were off.

Despite his mood, Kain couldn't help but marvel over the countryside. He wasn't sure if he'd ever walked so far inland. What memories he had of Eol were of the varying ports the Airlea had done business in. Which meant no visits to towering cornfields, dusty roads, and worn ranches.

He barely noticed the way his legs ached, or how his head throbbed in time with his heart. Instead, his attention was drawn by the wildflowers, the crops, and the various wildlife they could faintly spot through the farmland and roadside brush.

He wasn't sure how long they'd been walking before Melitta caught his wrist and tugged him to a stop. Perhaps an hour or two, if the stabbing pain in the soles of his feet was any indication. Rhode and Dalphie paused as well, the first taking the moment to pull out a waterskin and offer it to her friend.

"If you wanted," Melitta said. "I could teach you some of them. Just to pass time as we walk."

"Them?" he echoed.

Her lips twitched in amusement, and she gave a little nod at the roadside. His gaze flicked away from her, landing on where the field-grass gave away to small patches of flowers. The closest being a clutch of coral pink blossoms. Melitta pulled him closer, then crouched next to the flowers. The majority of him said he should turn down her offer, and start walking again. The gap between Callias, Iliana, and them was too far for his liking.

But...

The expectant, hopeful edge to her expression chipped away at his reluctance. It wasn't as if they could walk indefinitely. Even sirens, merfolk, and moon-blessed sailors needed to pause every once in a while to breathe.

She tugged on his wrist, again, and he stooped down next to her. Her face lit up, and, with her free hand, she caught her fingers under the flower. Her digits split beneath the duel leaves that formed the base, something that drew Kain's attention past the bright pink of the petals. The leaves were fused where they met, only the shape causing him to view them as two, rather than one. The flowers were long, and tube-like, something he hadn't seen before. Each stem held a cluster of them. And the flower itself was thin, and stretched two, three inches, before tiny petals flared out, showing the mostly blue inside. The only break in the color was the brushing of yellow pollen.