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

Tearing Faith

The mist was so thick that I could barely see the ripples my circling arms formed to keep my straining neck above the surface.

I blinked the salty drops from my lashes, twisting to scan my surroundings, but the mist was everywhere. Only the water sloshing against my cooling body disturbed the eerie silence.

"Caiden!" I shouted into the quiet air. My heart clenched when the only answer I got was the echo of my own voice.

How was this possible?

I couldn't have been under for more than two minutes. So why did this ghostly mist appear so white in this starless night? Where was the violent storm that raged only moments ago?

A chill biting harder than the frigid waters pinched my skin like an icy fire. Where was the Lagyssal?

"Art! Pip—"

A gentle wave rolled across my lips, drowning my calls and filling my lungs. I coughed, heaving for air through my clattering teeth.

I could feel my muscles cramping, my joints locking, and my limbs numbing. If I didn't find a way out of these waters, it wouldn't be the Lagyssal or another predator guiding me to join the realm of spirits.

The thought gave me another surge of strength to fight through the fatigue, and I parted my lips to shout again when a different voice cut through the mist.

"Hello?"

I stopped breathing. Even the air stilled.

"Is anyone there?"

Panic surged through me, hope itching my neck as I drew another breath. It was definitely not just my imagination.

"Hello!" I shouted, desperately kicking my legs to push me in the direction of the voice. "Hello! Please help!"

New ripples formed in the water, moving toward me instead of away from me. Help was on the way—not a moment too soon. Perhaps the spirits hadn't meant to claim my soul today.

"What are you doing out in this mist, Lass?"

The tip of a rowing boat penetrated the thickened mist. I didn't recognize the man who stood with a hand stretched toward me, but his accent was from the Marine Region.

He was built quite solidly, toned muscles peeking from the sleeves of his discolored t-shirt. A ruffled beard covered half his tanned face, making his golden eyes shine like two pieces of luminescent amber.

"This is no place for a lady to take a morning swim," the man said, grabbing my trembling hand to pull my drenched body onboard. "There are monsters in these waters, waiting for a good snack like ye to become lost in this darn mist. Me mate and I would've been lost long ago without me compass."

I looked past him to a gangly man with tangled hair and blots of discolored skin. He smiled with slanted lips, revealing a yellow-stained row of crooked teeth, a few missing.

Trembling, I lifted a frozen hand to wave a thankful greeting to the oarsman.

"We heard ye shouting and came looking. But we have a bigger ship behind us where we can warm ye back up."

My teeth clattered too much to answer him—let alone thank him for saving me.

I knew it was risky to trust a stranger, but this man seemed accustomed to the sea, and I would give up a lot for the chance to feel the heat from anything resembling a smoldering fire.

He didn't appear to recognize my face, which meant he'd probably been at sea longer than we'd been on the run—maybe even since before the Crown Trials.