Chapter Thirty-Five: On the Northern Bay

 

Galveston had obviously won whatever argument she’d been having with Galeon: her soldiers pushed the Wizards apart and attempted to take Kyosti away.

Kayla wouldn’t let him go. “You’ll take him now? I need him to banish this monster!”

Chapter Thirty-Four: Pain and Betrayal

Kyosti must have been in the House of Wizards for hours at that point, but the snowstorm was still raging on as Kayla led him out into the main courtyard. Wind shrieked in his ears, and he stumbled. Kayla pulled him upright again. He could hear, faintly, people yelling, horses protesting, swords and spears clanging.

Chapter Thirty-Three: The House of Wizards

 

When they had decided Kyosti wouldn’t tell them anything even under torture, they tossed him back in his cell at the bottom of the House of Wizards. Kyosti lay still, trying not to aggravate his injuries, as he listened to Kayla curse and rage at him all the way out of the dungeon.

Chapter Thirty-Two: After Passing Four Snow Markers

 

By the time Sanji returned, Kyosti, Anglorae, and John had taken refuge inside a kind farmer’s wagon. They listened to his griping about the sleet ruining his crop until Anglorae, who was peering through the slits in the wagon, called out Sanji’s name. She shook Kyosti’s arm. “She’s back!”

“Who’s with her?” Kyosti asked, his heart squeezing.

“No one,” Anglorae answered, sounding less certain. “She’s alone.”

Chapter Thirty-One: Return to Chithoobra

 

A storm was rolling in over the Ben Sea when they finally made it to the first bride to Chithoobra. Kyosti’s stomach churned as they came down the narrow track from the north to the broad road coming from the farmlands in the west. The road was crowded with people, horses, and wagons, all looking nervously at the looming clouds. Kyosti’s skin prickled with the growing iciness in the air, the smell of freezing rain and snow. It would be a cold storm.

Chapter Thirty - Interlude - To Be A God

 

Lechen often reflected on what it took to be a god.

Not because she wanted to be one, but because Tusu Nasala had so many.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Among the Waves

 

In the end, they passed through the mountains to the other side and stood over the Ben Sea. In the distance, far away, they spied a dark shape that might be Chithoobra.