Princess Elodi's Arc

Chapter 16 of 55

Morning brought no sun. The sky went gray, then dark. Wind pushed the waves higher and flung sand into Elodi's eyes. She stood on the bare shore and turned in a full circle. No trees. No rocks tall enough to hide behind. Just open sand and the sea churning white. A storm was coming, and they had nowhere to wait it out. "We can't cross today," Damon said. He squinted at the black clouds. "And we can't stay here. The tide will take this beach." He grabbed the pack and slung it over his shoulder. "Come. Stay close." They walked the shoreline as the first rain struck. Elodi held the otter against her chest to keep it warm. Then Damon stopped. He pointed at a dark slit in a low cliff face. "There. A cave." He climbed up and ducked inside, then called back. "It's narrow, but it's dry. Hand me the pack." Elodi passed it up and climbed after him. Inside, the wind fell to a whisper. Damon worked fast. He wedged a driftwood plank across the entrance to block the rain. He spread the blanket on the dry stone floor. He struck a match and lit the small stub of candle. The flame steadied. They were sheltered. The storm could not reach them now. The rain roared outside. Elodi sat by the cave's edge and watched the water hammer the sea. The otter shook itself dry and curled by the candle. For a while neither of them spoke. The silence grew heavy. "Tell me about your home," she said. "The castle across the water." Damon leaned back against the stone. "My father is King Daeron. He has a black beard, going gray now. He is stern, but fair. He taught me that a ruler who cages his people rules nothing." He smiled a little. "That is why the gates stay open." "And your mother?" "Queen Diana." His voice softened. "She has pale blue eyes and a kind heart. When I was small, she sat with the sick in the servants' hall herself. She never let anyone go hungry." He looked at Elodi. "You would like her. She would like you." Elodi drew her knees up. She thought of her own mother, who loved her but locked the world away. "My mother was kind too," she said quietly. "Fear made her hard." "Then you understand," Damon said. "Kindness and fear can live in the same person." The storm slowed near dusk. The rain thinned to a drizzle. Damon pulled the plank aside and looked out. "It's passing. By morning the sea will calm." He turned back to her. "We cross at first light." Elodi nodded. The candle burned low between them. She had waited out her first storm with no walls to trap her, only stone she had chosen. Tomorrow the sea would open, and Damon's castle waited on the far side. She was one crossing away from a place that would let her stay free.