“Remli?” Natalia asked, raising in the mirror to try to look down on him as if she were looking through a window. Nadir was about to tell her it didn’t work like that when he decided to hold the mirror out so she could see them both.
“She’s on another ship,” Natalia said. “Your daughter lives but has suffered an injury.”
“What kind? Was she wearing her armor?” Remli asked, fear in his voice.
“Broken leg,” Natalia said. “I was able to set the bone before we were forced to leave Kingston.”
“You said there were orcs?” Nadir asked, realizing what she meant earlier.
“We weren’t expecting them,” Natalia said. “After we were forced from the castle, they swarmed the city through the east entrance. The Lumbapi and Rollo Islanders didn’t see them coming until they were at the front lines.”
“The Rollo Islanders?” Nadir asked.
“A number of them must have listened to Anders’ plea and sailed to the Ramhorn. There the Lumbapi and Rollo warriors launched an attack while we infiltrated the castle,” Natalia said.
“Did you find Ivan?” Nadir asked, knowing they needed his guidance now more than ever.
Nadir saw Natalia lower her eyes and chew at the inside of her lip before responding. “Sort of,” she replied.
“What does that mean?” Remli asked.
Nadir looked more closely into the mirror as she explained, “I found his presence, his mind or possibly his soul.” She reached out of the frame for a moment and returned with a wooden box that just covered her palm. “It’s in here,” she said pointing to the box. “I haven’t figured out how to make contact, but Ivan’s body was not inside the castle. I saw his clothes, but only his mind or soul was present. I searched every inch of the place once I realized Merglan wasn’t there.” Suddenly, she looked concerned, “What did you mean, Merglan has taken over the capital?”
Nadir explained the events of Merglan’s faked capture and his control over the evils in the prison. He informed her of Remli’s kingdom falling to the dragons and of Anders and Maija chasing the black rider.
“Maija was on the scarlet dragon?” she asked.
Nadir nodded, “She hadn’t bonded, but they rode together and fought the kurr and drove away the rider in black.”
Natalia nodded more to herself, and said, “It’s coming to pass.”
“What is?” Nadir asked.
“A son of a King and the daughter of the veiled huntress will come on the backs of dragons,’” she quoted the Prophecy. “Anders is Ivan’s son, the true King of the human nations, and Maija, she’s the daughter of the veiled huntress.”
Nadir furrowed his brow, “But wouldn’t you also be a daughter of the veiled huntress then?”
Natalia nodded, “We both are, but my opportunity passed with the death of my dragon. As I have come to learn from the passing of a dear friend, our mother is known in Southland as the ‘veiled huntress.’”
“Who died?” Nadir asked.
“Many, I’m afraid, but the death I speak of is that of a former King in Southland. Solomon the wise has died,” she said sadly.
Nadir stared into the mirror as her explanation of the events washed over him. He had known that the king before Kaufen had abdicated, but he didn’t know it was Solomon, the human who’d been so helpful to those in need during The War of the Magicians.
“Nadir,” he heard Natalia say to regain his attention. “What should we do? Cedarbridge was the one place where Merglan couldn’t touch us.”
“We need to retreat, to an island or somewhere where we can see him coming from a long way off,” Nadir said.
“The Rollo Islands are the most remote,” Natalia suggested.
Nadir nodded, “I agree. Now we just need to convince Red to house us for the betterment of humanity.”
“I believe Red has lost some of his control over his clans,” Natalia said. “Otherwise they would’ve stayed in Argon and not come to our aid.”
Nadir nodded, “Let’s hope our arrival doesn’t start another war.”
“What about my sister and Anders?” Natalia asked. “They need to know what’s happening.”
“We don’t have a way to contact them,” Nadir said. Natalia searched the corner of the mirror and Nadir could tell she was struggling to find an answer. “We must have faith in the Prophecy,” he said, breaking their silence. “If Anders and Maija are meant to destroy Merglan, we must trust in their ability to survive.”
“You mentioned the rider in black was headed for Brookside?” Natalia asked.
Nadir nodded, seeing where she was going, “And we’ll be passing by on our way to the Islands.”
“Stop and see if they’re there. If you don’t find them quickly, spread the word that Merglan is in the elf capital and hope that they don’t go searching for him. Perhaps they’ll think as we have and seek us out in the Islands,” Natalia said.
“I can leave a message with a reliable source if they’re not there. I trust there are more humans on our side now that this war has reached other nations,” Nadir said.
“As you said, we must trust in the Prophecy now. It’s all we have left,” Natalia said.
Nadir nodded, “Keep me updated on your status each morning. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll know something has happened and I’ll turn our ships to the Kewian Islands. They are within reach of Southland, but they’ll be better than landing on Southland itself.”
“Good luck,” Natalia said, and Nadir saw the light fade from the mirror, the reflection returning to that of a looking glass.
As Nadir pocketed the mirror and looked out to the evening sea, he felt a sense of purpose again. Keeping his gaze on the Marauder’s Sea at their bow, Nadir said, “We may be fallen kings, unseated from our thrones and leaving our kingdoms in ruin, but at least we are together in this struggle.”
“It would seem the fall of Kartania’s kings has driven us together now more than ever. In this I have faith that our peoples will survive,” Remli said, his thoughts resonating with Nadir’s as they sailed toward an uncertain future.
