“The voice of the sea is seductive, never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude.” — Kate Chopin, The Awakening

  ???

  Yulia’s furious, Rem thought with a wince even as the three boys followed the seething Yulia meekly like ducklings.

  Around them, the Nightray operatives were methodically taking stock of the situation. A few of them had quills and notepads in hand, noting down what essentials and supplies that Darrenshade needed most urgently. Whereas a few Nightray medics were already making their way toward the village’s infirmary.

  Meanwhile, Yulia led Rem, Nathan, and Leighton toward the outskirts of Darrenshade—near the wide, rushing river, and the abandoned crop fields that once fed the village. Those crop fields now lay abandoned, the earth cracked and dry in places, and the sole scarecrow in sight looks almost sad and lonely, standing crooked and forlorn in the middle of the empty field, its straw-stuffed head sagging on one side, as though bowing in defeat.

  Even Nathan, normally one with a quick, sarcastic remark, had enough sense and self-preservation instincts to keep his mouth shut, only following Yulia meekly as she led the three towards what was once Darrenshade’s grain storage building.

  “In,” Yulia spoke for the first time since she’d first spotted them in the village square, shoving the rickety door open. It groaned and squealed on rusted hinges, with a high-pitched sound that grated on their sensitive ears.

  ‘The hinges probably haven’t been oiled in years,’ Rem realised, spotting the rusted hinges of the door. There is more rust visible than steel. Rem winced. ‘They probably couldn’t even afford the oil for their doors.’

  Another sin to lay at his feet.

  The three boys filed into the grain storage building meekly, with Rem looking around.

  Wooden shelves lined the walls, clearly meant to hold sacks of grain. But now, those shelves lay bare and abandoned, with thick layers of dust lining it.

  It said more than anything else could how dire the situation had been for Darrenshade, and how long it has been since they had actual grain in the storage. Sunlight was streaming in through the sole window, which was also dirty with grime and dust, with dust motes visible in the air.

  The silence in the room was louder than words could be, speaking of just how long it had been since the building had served its purpose.

  Yulia closed the rickety door behind her with a nudge of her boot, ignoring the loud creaks and squeaks it made in protest, before she rounded on them, fury visible in her features that it made even Nathan take a step backwards.

  “Look, I know you’re angry. But if you have to, be mad at me, and not at Nathan and Leighton. They’re just accompanying me,” Rem said hastily before Yulia could even say a word. “It was my idea to come here.”

  “Oh, I’m going to deal with you later, Rem, and we’ll talk about why you didn’t bring your Crownsguard with you,” Yulia snapped, and Rem winced. On hindsight, it probably isn’t the best idea, yes. “But first of all…”

  She inhaled and exhaled for several moments, her eyes closed, visibly trying to restrain herself. Finally, Yulia opened her eyes again, rounding on Nathan and Leighton, who both flinched. “This fool of a prince decided to go on this errant little adventure of his to a war-torn village without his Crownsguard, and not a single guard in sight,” she seethed through tightly clenched teeth, her voice low and dangerous, “And you both just simply…nodded and went along with it?”

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  She clearly wasn’t amused.

  Leighton looked sheepish, scratching at his cheek idly. “Well, we couldn’t change his mind or talk him out of it. Trust me, we both tried. So we figured that we’d better go with him, and make sure that Rem doesn’t get himself killed.” He tried defending himself, though even he winced under Yulia’s death glare.

  Nathan shuffled his feet, but said nothing.

  “Yulia, please…” Rem pleaded weakly, fighting hard not to flinch when Yulia turned her death glare onto him. It had been years since Yulia had looked at him with something more than disappointment and disdain. And even though Yulia is rightfully furious with him right now, part of Rem was still relieved that Yulia cared enough to be angry with him. Somehow, that was almost a comfort. “Don’t blame Nathan or Leighton. It’s my idea. My decision. And don’t make me leave yet, please.”

  He knew Yulia well enough to know that she would demand that Rem return to the Academy immediately, possibly marching him back herself if she had to.

  “I wanted…” Rem swallowed. “I need to see the truth for myself. I need to see just what my people are going through. Even how they are suffering. I need to understand it for myself.”

  Yulia looked as if she wanted to hit him or throttle him, with the way her hands clenched and unclenched into fists by her sides. Then finally, she exhaled, sighing heavily. When she spoke again, her voice was softer than before, though still tinged with anger.

  “You should have listened years ago,” she muttered, her voice tired. Her gaze fell on Nathan. “You too. It’s true that it’s Lord Hunt and Cassian who have kept the truth from you, but that is no excuse. If you’d just taken a walk through your own territory, or picked up a paper or two occasionally, you would have known.” Nathan flinched. “And even without it, if you’d just listened to the commoners in Halberd Reach, you would have known the truth long ago. I honestly don’t understand how you can live in Halberd Reach—a place outside the Imperial City, mind you, and still be so ignorant about the state of Alathia.”

  Nathan flinched, and next to him, Rem winced, too. The Crown Prince knew that the barb was also aimed at him.

  “I have no excuse,” Nathan muttered, staring at his boots.

  Yulia dragged a hand through her hair, sighing again. “Fine. You both want the truth? You’ll get it.” She turned on her heel. “I still have some things to do in this village. And thankfully, since you aren’t dressed like the prince, the villagers wouldn’t recognise you.” She hesitated, looking back at them over her shoulder. “Not that most of them can even see properly anymore. Malnutrition does that.” She opened the rickety door, stepping outside. “Keep your hoods up. Stay close and follow me.” She gave Rem a warning look. “And for the love of the Goddess, don’t speak unless I say so.”

  Rem obediently followed Yulia meekly, with Leighton and Nathan falling behind him quietly, with all three of them having drawn their hoods over their heads.

  Yulia silently led them back toward the village square. The cleanup of the bandits’ bodies was still ongoing, and Rem tried not to flinch at the sight of Nightray assassins dragging the bodies of the bandits outside the village, presumably for burning, though Leighton and Nathan didn’t so much as react.

  Some Nightray assassins were tending to the wounds of the villagers. A few were even working to fortify the village’s defences. A pair of medics passed with their arms full of bandages and medicine.

  A few children were peeping out from the shadowed doorways of their homes, their eyes sunken and dull.

  “Things must really be desperate if Lord Kael asked you for help,” Nathan said meekly at last, breaking the uneasy and tense silence. “House Kael didn’t have an alliance with House Nightray, right?”

  Yulia sighed, half-turning on her heel to look at him. “No,” she admitted with a shake of her head. “But alliances mean little when people are starving.” She paused near the village well, watching two Nightray medics distribute clean water. “We all agreed on that during the last Ten Great Houses council. You know that. You were there,” she added. Nathan nodded grimly, but Rem and Leighton eyed him curiously and with mild surprise. “Borders and bloodlines don’t matter anymore. Not when it’s our people who are suffering.”

  She sighed heavily, her expression tight.

  “Lord Kael’s territories span nearly the entire northern border, so he had it the worst out of all the Ten Great Houses. He’s been holding the line for years while Parliament funnelled gold into the capital, and conveniently forgot about the rest, and that we even existed.” Rem flinched. “His garrisons are exhausted and running on fumes at this point. His granaries are dry, and his people are all starving, suffering, and on the brink of death. They were even too weak to bury their own dead.” All three boys flinched. “And after what happened last week, every single Great House that could sent what assistance we can afford.”

  Yulia looked from face to face, ticking points off on her fingers. “House Rovaryn sent medics and carpenters for the refugees currently taking shelter in Drakethorn Keep. House Valemire sent whatever supplies they could spare. House Myrren sent some of their soldiers to lessen the burden on House Kael’s soldiers. The other Houses couldn’t spare much help. Not when they’re barely surviving as it is. I was at Drakethorn Keep since yesterday, along with Rowan, Gale, and Elias, and even Kaela and Felix.” Rem flinched again at the sound of Kaela’s name. “So when Lord Kael received news that Darrenshade is under threat from bandits, I took several of my soldiers and came as soon as we could.” She grimaced. “To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if we could make it in time.”

  Silence fell amongst the group again, even as Rem looked around the village square. The guilt he’d felt since the day when Nathan and Leighton have laid out the truth for him returned with full force. Now seeing with his own eyes what his silence had wrought, and that his own people are paying for his mistakes, Rem felt like the worst person in the world.

  He had let this happen.

  “Someday, there will come a day when you need to stand on your own, and you can’t continue hiding behind either me or Yulia. Inaction, Rem, hurts people more than anything else could.”

  Luca’s voice echoed in Rem’s mind—a memory of a time long in the past resurfacing, and Rem felt his heart clench. He’s always been that way since he was a small child, wasn’t he? Always indecisive and meek, and not wanting to rock the boat. Always unwilling to challenge people or call them out, even when he knew that something was wrong. Even as a child, he had always chosen passivity over confrontation, even when people were hurt.

  Yulia was always angry with him about that, even before Luca was sent away.

  And Luca and Yulia were both right about that, weren’t they? That Rem can’t continue being a bystander.

  And now, people are dying because of his inactions.