The Eternal Blade Saga Book 2, Chapter 25: From Predator to Prey

Seren’s sudden move to pull away from our embrace caught me by surprise. She turned from me, wiping away the tears streaking her face. The growing hope I had for our newfound relationship sunk a little, but not completely. Patience, I said to myself. The Krytan Spiderwort doesn’t grow to maturity in a day. It needs sun, water, and time to grow strong and eventually bloom. I left her alone and allowed her to take the time she needed to compose herself. As I waited patiently, I couldn’t help but wonder if this would be part of my new role as a sister. A myriad of thoughts and ideas on the subject raced through my mind, each presenting exciting possibilities as well as terrifying aspects of family life previously unknown to me.

However, the wonder was quickly overshadowed by a sudden fear that we might somehow have been misinformed. I frowned. What if the paper trail Salara found was wrong or we had simply misinterpreted it? Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath and let it out. There was a way to know for sure. We just had to get back home.

“I…I’m going to need some time,” Seren said, breaking the silence. “It’s a lot to take in.” She braced herself against the rails, wringing her hands on the rounded metal and watching the snowy peaks of the north slowly fade into the distance.

I nodded, briefly noting the futility of the action since her back was to me so I followed up by saying, “I understand.”

“Hope I’m not interruptin’ anything,” a voice called out from the doorway. I turned to find Danae’s engineer, Markus Ferrin, striding out onto the bow. He smiled politely and the creases in the corners of his amber eyes deepened.

Two crystalline eyes set in a celadon barked face peered out from behind Markus’s broad-shouldered frame. Long, dark burgundy leaves crowned the sylvari’s head and fluttered in the breeze, secured in a ponytail with a leather strip. She tapped Markus’ arm with a slender celadon finger and he looked down at her, only to be met with a scowl. Salara gestured sharply towards Seren, the motioned accented by the sound of rustling bark and leaves as she raised her arm. She snapped her fingers, igniting a small orange flame on her index finger.

“Gods, woman,” Markus uttered as he straightened himself and turned his attention back towards Seren and I. “I just wanted to apologize for the other day when we picked you up.” He turned back to Salara, his tone growing pointed. “In my defense though, it was my job to get her on the ship. Which I did. Non-violently I should add. That’s not typical of most of our clientele.”

“What? Are you expecting a medal for your actions?” Salara scoffed as she pressed her index finger and thumb together, smothering the flame. “She’s not a ruffian.”

“Actually, I should be the one apologizing,” I said, inserting myself into the conversation. I looked aside at Seren. “They were only doing what I asked them to do.”

The young guardian frowned deeply, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at me and considered my role in this situation. The intensity burning in her deep, hazel eyes told me I was in trouble. Fair enough. Perhaps I should have gone to get her myself. It would be quite a trick if I could manage being in two places at once. Too bad I couldn’t. I sighed. Two steps forward, one step back.

“But he didn’t have to be so pushy,” Salara insisted. She stepped around Markus and planted herself between us and him, holding her Priory robes close to her celadon-barked body and guarding herself against the rushing wind. “A simple invitation to leave would have sufficed.”

“But would you have gone with them?” I asked. I had to work hard to conceal the grin growing on my lips. Salara’s new-found protection over Seren was as amusing as it was confusing. Normally quiet and passive, this sudden change in behavior was strange to say the least. She had been close with Rhys when he was alive, so perhaps his interest in my family line had now become hers. Maybe that’s how she kept him with her after he had been taken from us.

The sylvari thought for a moment and then scowled. “No,” she begrudgingly answered, her tone deepening.

I turned to Seren, looking her in the eye. “I am sorry. I wanted to find you and I knew Danae and her crew are the best I know at tracking people down. I’m so sorry I couldn’t come myself.”

Seren didn’t say anything, but instead nodded. There was no sign of anger or malice in her visage, but there was also no sign of understanding or acceptance. Her expression had simply gone blank. Despite her moment of vulnerability earlier, her walls were now built back up. I knew it was a lot to ask of Seren to simply be okay with everything happening, so I was satisfied with anything that wasn’t anger or complete resistance.

Baby steps. I wasn’t going to win her over in one day.

Marcus took a step forward and Salara immediately moved into his path to block him. He stood a full head over her, but that didn’t stop the sylvari. She planted her hands firmly on her hips and stood her ground. Marcus frowned and tried to move around her, but Salara swiftly stepped in front of him. Frowning, the engineer sighed and gave up trying to get around her.

Instead, he looked over Salara’s average stature towards Seren, his brow knit in concern. “I really am sorry for having to remove you from the tavern so quickly.”

She shot a sharp look at him. “You grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me out of there before I could finish my ale.”

“We were kinda in a hurry,” he replied. “The cap’n likes to keep a tight schedule and she really cracks the whip if we don’t stay on top of it.”

Seren made a face.

“Oh, you think I’m joking,” he replied, his amber eyes wide.

I chuckled under my breath knowing full well that he wasn’t joking. Once Danae had discovered her role within the Order, she took to it wholeheartedly. She became the mistress of rules and timetables and both her ship and crew were kept in tip-top shape. However, she would occasionally make a little time for a visit with me if we were in the vicinity of each other. She was the only one from the Order I risked staying in contact with. It was nice to have the interaction, plus it gave me connection to some of the Order’s business and I was able to provide a little information on shady goings on that I had stumbled upon.

In the silence that had settled in, I leaned against the ship’s rail. I had begun to grow more comfortable with the movements of the ship so I didn’t feel the need to cling to it anymore. Ahead of us, the hills bordering the eastern districts of Lion’s Arch had finally come into view, bathed in warm tones from the late afternoon sun. I breathed a sigh of relief. We would be home soon and assuming Tuborg received Dee’s message, everyone would finally be together. I bit the inside of my lip, feeling butterflies flutter violently in my stomach.

But then suddenly the hills were no longer getting closer. I blinked my eyes a few times, thinking that maybe my eyes were tired and playing tricks on me. We were definitely not gaining on them anymore. The butterflies in my stomach suddenly dropped and I broke out in a cold sweat. Something wasn’t right. The Raven’s Reach began to turn and head south, away from Lion’s Arch. Clenching my jaw, I abruptly left Seren’s side, pushing past Salara and Markus and entered the bridge.

“Danae!” I called out, looking for the ship’s captain.

There was no one else on the bridge except for Harrisson who sat in his oversized pilot’s chair which fit his hulking frame perfectly. He turned his head to look at me over his shoulder, resting one furred arm on the arm of his chair, while still gripping the ship’s oversized wheel with his other paw.

“Cap’n is busy,” he replied, his guttural tone ending in a low growl. He then turned back to his controls. “Doesn’t want to be bothered.”

I pursed my lips and approached him. “Then perhaps you can explain why we’re heading away from the hills. We were supposed to be heading to Lion’s Arch.”

“Cap’n gave me new orders.” The charr turned again to look at me over his shoulder, this time baring his teeth slightly. “Any problems can be taken up with her.”

I uttered an annoyed grumble under my breath as I stormed through the doorway and onto the walkway above the belly of the ship. Remembering the way to Danae’s quarters, I headed that way, thrusting the metal door open so hard it bounced off the wall with a loud clang. My eyes darted around the room, but it was empty.

“Danae!” I yelled again as I turned and started heading for the galley. It was the last place I had seen her, but I stopped in my tracks when I heard a familiar mix of voices coming from a room down below in the belly of the ship. It was Clarkus and Alena. Even though they were faint, I could hear the urgency in their voices. I sought out a set of stairs nearby and quickly made my way down to see what the matter was.

“Nienna, wait!”

I looked up to find both Danae and Quint rushing out of the galley and onto the walkway above. The way they both looked at me—something was wrong. They regarded me with such a calm intensity and concern, like they were trying to wrangle a wild animal. My instincts screamed at me, fueling my fear that something was awry. Behind me, Clarkus and Alena continued pounding on the door, now threatening violence if they weren’t let out. I wanted to run to them and let them out, but in doing so, I would be turning my back on Danae and Quint. Considering the heavy cloud of uncertainty in the room, I didn’t think it would be a good idea.

“I admit, I’m not feeling real great about what’s going on here,” I announced, eyeing them both suspiciously. I hated looking at them that way. They were my friends and I should have been able to trust them. What had changed? “What’s going on here? Why have we turned from Lion’s Arch?”

“Let’s just all stay calm. Let’s go sit down in the galley and we can explain,” Quint suggested as he moved past Danae, his arms outstretched in a show of good faith, but his eyes never looked away from me.

“I prefer you explain right here,” I demanded.

As Quint started down the stairs, I immediately went on the defensive and backed up. They obviously had an agenda and I wanted to keep as much distance as possible between me and them. On the walkway above, Danae started for another set of stairs on the far side, watching me like a hawk. She was attempting to flank me. It was then I knew what it felt like to be a cornered animal circled by predators. But why?

My heart raced. “Stay back,” I told Quint and he stopped immediately, his hands still raised out where I could see them.

Somewhere above, voices rose up, and I swore I heard Seren and Salara arguing with someone else, maybe Marcus. Behind me, the banging continued as Clarkus and Alena cried for help. I broke out in a cold sweat and flashed Danae an accusatory look. “Did you lock Clarkus and Alena in that room?”

Quint shot Danae an uneasy glance. My heart was racing and the air felt thick and heavy. Shadows crept into the edges of my vision and a chill crept up my spine. My hands started to shake and I balled them, trying to make them stop but they only trembled more. I looked over at Quint and his visage softened. There was a hollow sound of something rushing through the air, followed by a sharp pain in my shoulder, and I looked down to find a small dart sticking deep into the muscle.

I pulled it out and tossed it onto the metal floor, grunting at the sharp pain and then suddenly realizing the ship had started to rock back and forth. I looked up at Danae as she holstered something on her belt and realized the rocking wasn’t affecting her. I blinked a few times, suddenly feeling very tired.

“W-why?” I asked, not really sure if the words actually crossed my lips before I stumbled and fell over, entering into a deep sleep.