The Siren and the Deep Blue Sea - Kerrelyn Sparks Page 0,5

are vast areas of wilderness in Norveshka,” Luciana continued. “But Silas is having his dragons survey every inch. And Aleksi is scanning the remote areas in Woodwyn.”

Maeve sighed. Her sisters were no longer talking of babies. Had they been waiting for her to leave so they could discuss business matters?

She leaned against the cabin wall, thinking. If she had to hide somewhere, where would she go? The mainland kings would know if an army was hiding in their countries. Was there somewhere else? When Brigitta’s husband had been a pirate, he’d hidden on a secret isle he’d named after himself. Could there be other islands in the Great Western Ocean?

A faint memory stirred in her mind. Over a year ago, while searching for something new to read in the library at Ebton Palace, she’d come across an extremely old book written in a form of the Eberoni language that was so archaic, it had taken her over an hour to decipher it. But once she’d started to understand it, she’d become fascinated with the story it told.

According to the old book, an ancient continent had existed in the Great Western Ocean, and the culture there had flourished long before the primitive people of Eberon had learned to even count the years. It had been the year 699 when she’d found this book, so she figured that this ancient land had to date back over seven hundred years.

The continent, Aerland, had been a place of magic with sorcerers so powerful that the rest of Aerthlan had quaked in fear of them. The ancient race had worshipped the twin moon goddesses, and that had made the sun god, the Light, seethe with anger and jealousy. In a fit of rage, the Light had struck several volcanoes on the continent, causing them to erupt all at once in a massive explosion. Earthquakes had added to the devastation and after a few days, most of the ancient continent had collapsed far below the sea, and most of the people had perished.

There had been a map in the book, and after studying it, Maeve had suspected that the Isles of Moon and Mist were all that was left of the ancient continent of Aerland.

Could there be other islands? As soon as she arrived back at Ebton Palace, she would search the library for this book. And then, tomorrow, she would travel to the Isle of Moon. The nuns at the convent transcribed books, so they had a huge library. She might find more information there. And she could ask the seals at the nearby beach if they knew of any other islands.

Her breath caught. She could also go to the Isle of Mist and ask the Seer if he knew where the Embraced army was hiding. He might even know where Brody was.

Finally. She took a deep, satisfying breath. Finally, she had a course of action to pursue. It was so much better than sitting around worrying.

She strode into the cabin.

Luciana spotted her. “Oh, the air must have done you good. You look much better.”

“I am better.” Maeve stopped by the table of food and began loading a plate. Now that she had a plan, her appetite had returned.

“Ye should try the cherry tarts,” Brigitta suggested. “We were just talking about how yummy they are.”

“I know what you were talking about.” Maeve gave them an annoyed look. “You should have told me about the Embraced army. And that Brody is gone because he’s looking for it.”

Luciana’s and Brigitta’s mouths fell open.

“Well . . .” Luciana winced. “We didn’t want you to worry—”

“I’ll worry more if I’m kept in the dark!” Maeve set her plate down with a thud. “Did it never occur to you that I hate being left out?”

Luciana and Brigitta exchanged looks, then turned to her with apologetic expressions on their faces.

“I know I’m not a queen, and I never will be,” Maeve continued. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you or your countries. I want to help.”

Luciana sighed. “I’m afraid there’s not much we can do.”

Brigitta nodded. “It’s frustrating for us, too.”

“I believe there is something I can do.” Maeve put a cherry tart on her plate. “I want to go back to the convent. Can you arrange passage for me to leave tomorrow morning?”

Luciana sat back with a shocked look. “Why? Are you not happy at Ebton Palace?”

Brigitta winced. “Are ye angry with us for not telling you everything?”

Maeve shook her head. “There’s something I want to check in