The Veiled Descendants by Sophia Menesini

Author:Sophia Menesini
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2020-06-28T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27: I See You

Shea

They arrive just before nightfall. They’d reached the border fairly quickly, only having to stop once to cut down some of the foliage so that the horses could get through, but from there it had pretty much been a straight shot to Starfish Cross.

The old elven roads of Starfish Cross are paved with the same materials used to make the buildings in Port Town. The roads are filled with shimmering gems, and when you look ahead, the sun dancing off the precious stones blocks your sight from the path, obscuring your vision of what is to come.

​They have to slow down the horses to avoid tripping over the jagged diamonds and other valuable stones.

​But they march on, the deserts of Orena surrounding them on either side of the road for hours until they finally reach the edge of Orena’s jungle at the heart of the island. The vines and tropical trees are too thick to lead the horses in, so from there they’re forced to go by foot as the sun begins fading.

​Phoebus and Caen tie up the horses.

Poseidon grabs two of the packs to carry with their supplies.

Shea takes a branch from one of the jungle pathways and quickly gets to work transforming it into a torch.

​There are stories, of course, of what lies within the Orena jungle but never anything truly confirmed. The only people who have returned from the temple in recorded history are insane or, not long after, dead.

​They enter the jungle with Shea leading the group.

​They walk for about an hour when Phoebus claims they’re getting close. He started in the back but worked his way up, leaving Poseidon and Caen to talk among themselves.

Phoebus walks side by side with Shea, his sword drawn at the ready.

​“Where is your sword, Shea?”

​The condescension in his voice makes Shea’s toes curl inside her boots. She keeps her eyes peeled on their surroundings.

​The trees are huge, spanning at least fifty feet into the sky, and the plant life is so lush it’s hard to see past anything but the path again. There’s rustling around them but nothing has jumped out yet.

Phoebus keeps them on the path and gestures to continue moving forward. The light is waning until all that’s left is the torch and diamond night sky. The moon looks huge in the openings of the treetops, as if Shea could reach out and touch it. It gives off just enough light to be of help.

​“Your cousin blesses us tonight with the bright moon,” Poseidon tells them all, and Shea realizes he’s talking about Artemis.

​Phoebus rolls his eyes.

​“I don’t need a sword,” Shea finally answers Phoebus’s earlier question, keeping her eyes on the path ahead.

​Phoebus snorts. “You might be good, but everyone needs a weapon.”

​“I have a weapon,” Shea responds evenly.

​She uncorks the waterskin on her hip and summons a bit of water, slicing through a branch in their way on the path ahead before summoning it back to her flask.

​“A real weapon. Suppose

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