Sentria: The Age of Adventure (Book 2)

Chapter Twenty-One: The Garden Coast

DansPrince Lucas paced the floor of our chamber in anger. He kept shaking his head and muttering to himself as if he were trying to work out a problem that couldn't be fixed. I was still as I looked out of the window in disbelief. We had come so far, we had sacrificed so much, and the queens were so flippant with their refusal to help us. I felt defeated, but I swallowed it down.

He finally stopped pacing and turned to me. "How could you?" he asked.

"How could l?" I replied.

"You should have fought harder. You should have convinced them."

"There was no convincing them, Lucas. They had made up their minds as soon as they received our dove."

"You are the High Prince. Your word is law."

"They are the bank. They know that they wield a power that not even my family can contend with." I grabbed his arm and led him to the bed for us to sit down. Fighting with one another wasn't going to solve anything. "I've studied war tactics and they are hedging their bets. Loria believes that the north stands a chance at winning. They are united and they have dark wizards in their ranks. If they become the victors of this war, Loria will do business with them as if they were us."

"They wouldn't dare," Lucas uttered lowly.

"Their first priority is coin. They don't care where it comes from, be it the north or the south."

"What are we going to do now?" he asked.

I moved my jaw from left to right. I didn't like what I was about to say. This whole time I had been coming up with solutions and I had been failing miserably at it. "I don't know."

We left Loria after that. We didn't want to spend another night in that place. They betrayed the southern realm and for that they would have to answer to Danos. 

We walked out of the golden gates and headed back up the road in silence. We were aimless and in pain. It felt like I had lost a great battle, but the war was yet to come. Up ahead, Eldwyn came out from behind a tree with a hopeful smile and a skip in his step.

"You're back!" Eldwyn said excitedly. "How did it go?"

"Not well, Eldwyn," I said, watching his smile fade. "They will not be helping us."

"Oh." Eldwyn got quiet as he looked at the ground. When he looked back up he asked, "What are we to do now?"

Eldwyn and Lucas looked at me expecting me to lead them like I had been doing, but I was out of ideas and words of inspiration that would see us through this darkness. I looked up to the sky and closed my eyes, letting the midday sun shine on my face. I took a few breaths and opened my eyes to look at the two of them. "We're going to the Garden Coast." I said, and continued to walk down the road.

I could tell that Eldwyn and Lucas were stunned because they didn't follow immediately after me.

"What?" asked Prince Lucas, catching up with me on my left side.

"That sounds lvely," said Eldwyn at my left. "What is it?"

"It's a place by the Berman Sea," I said. "It's a place by docks. My mother spoke of it often. It's said that the waters sparkle like crysals."

"...Why are we going to the Garden Coast?" Lucas asked, looking at me as if I had lost my mind. 

"It has a beautiful view," I said.

Prince Lucas stopped in front of me and crossed his arms, forcing me to stop. "You didn't answer my question. Loria has just refused to aid us and now you want to look at waves. There all manner of criminals there and stealers. "I've always wanted to go...but now is not the time to go sightseeing. What is your plan, Darren?"