“Look at it,” Claudia murmured, gazing in the direction of the water.
“Why is it remaining there?” I breathed. “Everyone’s at the palace, right? Why hasn’t it continued to attack?”
“I just don’t know,” Yuri said. “The entity has all the power. The shadow would have annihilated us during the battle had it not been for Tejus and Hazel. But it must realize that Tejus and Hazel would be too weak to try the barrier again so soon—at least Jenus would realize that.” Yuri shook his head in confusion and frustration.
I asked them both for details on the barrier. I’d never heard of such a thing happening before, and when they described it to me I was even more confused. The white light could definitely be attributed to the immortal waters and their weapons, but that much power? It seemed impossible that they could do such a thing.
Looking back in the direction we’d just traveled from, the sight of burnt-out farmhouses and land that poured into the earth depressed me. Even if we were to survive this, what hope did Nevertide have? How would it ever come back from this? We had a small fraction of the villagers from the five kingdoms at Memenion’s palace. The others I presumed had scattered, perhaps hiding out in abandoned castles or seeking shelter in the remaining villages that were still standing. We hadn’t come across any of the people from Seraq’s kingdom—not ministers, guards or villagers. I wondered if they were still alive, or if they too had suffered at the hands of their queen.
It would take a lot of time and a lot of work to get the land back on its feet. I glanced over at Ruby. I hoped that she would eventually realize that Nevertide needed her as much as it needed me. When Tejus had made his speech before the battle about the loving queen they would receive, my heart had swelled with pride. I couldn’t imagine anyone better suited to the job—if she was willing to take it.
“We need to get back to the palace,” I muttered. “I don’t think the shadow’s going to remain above the portal forever. We’ll be under attack again before we know it.”
Claudia nodded. “I agree. And we’re just as powerless as we were before—especially if Hazel and Tejus don’t understand what they created. If they can’t do it again, we’re in trouble.”
We gathered around Mona once again, and the cove vanished from view.
Hazel
“This isn’t going well,” I sighed, dropping my arms down. The muscles in my biceps ached, and my head was pounding from the exertion. We’d only been trying for about an hour, but my mental energy was quickly depleting, even though I was syphoning off Tejus, at his request, while we worked.
“I know,” he muttered. “I just don’t understand it. What happened in the first place? How were we able to do something like that? Not knowing is making this all the more frustrating.”
“Let’s take a break.” I gestured for him to sit down next to me. We were practicing in one of the more remote parts of Memenion’s garden. The flowers and bushes were overgrown and overrun with weeds. I was perched on the edge of an old marble fountain. Its waters had long dried up, leaving green stains running down the image of a bird in mid-call, his beak where the spout was supposed to be.
Tejus wearily took a seat. I could see perspiration beading at his temples and along his shoulder blades and back. He was wearing a GASP tank provided by my great-grandfather Aiden—the material far more advanced than anything they had in this land, especially when it came to training and battle.
He reached out a hand and clasped mine tightly, his thumb moving in circular motions over my skin.
“We’ll find a way, don’t worry,” he murmured. He moved my hand up to kiss it softly, his eyes fixed on some point in the distance ahead, distracted by something else.
“Do you think it was desperation?” I asked, trying to recall what had happened during the battle—anything that might help us better understand what led up to the creation of the wall. “As in life-or-death pressure—you know how people get adrenaline rushes and lift vehicles off babies, things like that?” I asked.
“Not specifically, no… I don’t actually know exactly what you mean by vehicles, but I understand the gist. It could be that.”
He looked doubtful, and to be honest, so was I. Adrenaline could have explained some of what happened—perhaps the intensity of the barrier, reaching all the way back to the castle—but it wouldn’t explain all of it. Not the white light and how it was the only thing that the entity didn’t seem to be able to overcome.