Her thoughts kept drifting back to Thom. She felt guilty for how she’d left him, how he would have no idea where she was or how she was doing. He would worry endlessly about her. And as the days stretched, sometimes Kestrel wished she had gone back to him, at least to make sure he knew she would be alright. Then she remembered how irate he was seeing her in the princes’ company and knew it had been better this way. He would’ve only tried to stop her.
When this was all said and done, Kestrel would return to Mutiny Bay, she decided. She would let him know she was alive and well. Maybe she could even tell him about her brave adventures, how she’d sailed a sand-glider and helped princes take down a monster. Maybe then he might see her as an equal, someone finally worthy of hearing the truth he’d been harboring for so long.
“Halt!” someone shouted from the front ship. “Time to disembark!”
Micah steered them to a stop before closing the sails. “I guess we’re on foot from here, little bird.”
After that, it wasn’t long before the terrain started to shift. The soft sands turned to dirt, then to sharp, green blades of grass that she had never seen before. They reached a coastline, but this one was different from her own. Hers was nothing more than dangerous rocks that plummeted to an even more dangerous tide. This one was calm, surrounded by fields of small, yellow flowers, and with an actual beach to walk along!
Leighton dismissed most of their knights as he, Micah, and Kestrel would continue onward. Kestrel would’ve been surprised that Efrem wasn’t joining them, but the more she observed of him, the more she realized he was much more connected with the soldiers than the other two, almost like he was one of them. Kestrel tried leaving the fox behind as well, but the creature didn’t seem to want to leave her side, and honestly, she was okay with that. Wherever they were headed, whatever monsters they were about to face, Kestrel felt comfort in knowing the fox would be by her side again, ready to defend her if needed.
“It’s safer if we travel as a smaller group from here forward,” he answered her questioning frown. “Too many people means too much noise, and this plan only works if the monster doesn’t hear us coming.”
The princes’ faces had grown solemn, and Kestrel knew she should be worried too. But no matter how hard she tried to be, she couldn’t quell the overwhelming excitement burgeoning inside her.
She was going to help them slay a monster.
She was going to be like all the heroes in her books.
As nightfall stretched above them, she finally saw the foreboding fortress ahead. Everyone fell silent as they approached, except the fox who growled its distaste. Kestrel hushed it with a glare, and hoped that their cover hadn’t already been blown. But none of the princes seemed worried about that. They stood together, rigid with fear, as the three of them and the fox gazed up at the black stone walls.
The Fortress of Thirst was an ominous, crumbling place that reeked of death and sorrow, even from where Kestrel stood a good distance back. The ocean beyond it was menacing too, a storm brewing on the horizon that seemed destined for this very spot.
No one had uttered a word since the fortress had come into view. The sense of evil was palpable here, much like it had been at the Maw.
Kestrel knew nothing about this place or the beast that dwelled beyond its collapsing walls, and she was starting to wonder if she had bit off more than she could chew.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Micah asked.
She assumed he was talking to her, and eager to assuage his doubts—as much as her own—she turned to respond, only to find him staring at his older brother.
Leighton’s fists were clenched at his sides, his knuckles paler than the moon overhead.
There was a wrinkle in his brow that Kestrel hadn’t seen before, and she realized just how worried he must be, for all ofthem. This was his brother he was sending inside. A life that mattered to him.
But there was something else. Something darker warring beyond his expression, but Kestrel couldn’t quite decipher it.
“Storm and steel,” he said at last, with the conviction of a future king.
“Storm and steel.” Micah nodded, his auburn hair looking more disheveled than usual.
As they made their way closer to the Fortress of Thirst, Micah retreated inward. Gone was the relentless flirt with mischief in his eyes. This Micah was quiet, almost mournful, much more than Kestrel imagined he would be in this moment. This was what they’d been traveling for. For Leighton to prove himself worthy of his kingdom’s crown. A way for the kingdom to heal and move on from the tragedy that the Corrupt Queen had wrought upon them.
Seeing all of them so scared, it fractured some of the resolve that had felt so firm in Kestrel’s heart before.
Don’t do this—came Thom’s unwanted voice in her head, paranoid and judging—Better safe than stupid, remember?
Kestrel shushed him out loud by accident, earning confused looks from everyone but Leighton. His gaze remained fixed ahead. Unwavering.
It was just fear talking, she reminded herself. Nothing was going to go wrong. Kestrel would climb to the window, create a distraction, and Leighton would have the opportunity he needed to slay the beast. Everything would go as planned. They would all see. Including Imaginary Thom.
Besides, I thought it was better safe than dead, she said in her head.
Same thing, came his unhelpful reply.
“This way.” Leighton motioned for Kestrel to follow, andshe did without hesitation. If her friends and Thom lacked faith, then she would exude it in stride.
The fox leapt after her. And hearing the snapping of twigs under its foot, Leighton whipped around to shush it.
