Luka's boat was the nicest Sebastian had ever seen. Then again, he hadn't seen or been in many boats before. His people weren't the seafaring type. They preferred to move in the darkness. Preferably on land as well.

They were all seated below deck. The sound of water sloshing against the outside hull filled his ears. For the past two days, the noise had been the soundtrack of their lives. The vast expanse of the sea was a painting—a painting they were stuck in.

Sebastian spent most of his time inside. Seeing the choppy waves and nothingness for miles made his stomach churn. Whenever the boat rocked, he thought he was going to throw up his meal for the day. He would've rather to shadow-jump ten times in a row rather than sail on a ship. He didn't know how pirates did it.

At least it was a nice ship.

"How far away are we?" he asked through gritted teeth. He rubbed his temples, trying to force the seasickness from his body.

"It's hard to tell," Luka answered. He was stretched out in his seat, his hands folded behind his head and his eyes closed. "The fog over the water is making it hard to see. There must be a storm coming."

Ajax nearly choked on nothing. "Did you just say storm?"

Sebastian retched at the notion.

"Woah, woah, woah," Luka warned. "Throw up in my ship and I'll throw you overboard."

Nodding, he swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. He leaned his head against the wall and clamped his eyelids shut. The boat continued to shift and move with the water around it. It certainly felt like they were in a storm.

"You don't sound worried about this," he told Luka.

The man shrugged his shoulders. "Storms are common around this part of the sea. They protect our island from any...unwanted visitors. I've sailed these waters for many years. We'll be alright."

Remy, who had a map in his hands, arched an eyebrow at the man. Sebastian took a peek at the long piece of parchment. A white blip was cutting across the paper. It was making its way to the large landmass towards the center. The boy pointed at a spot on the island labeled "the gate".

"Why aren't we coming in from there?" he asked.

Luka rubbed the back of his neck, smiling sheepishly. "Well, you see, I'm not exactly...allowed in the city."

Imogen glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

Ajax pulled up a seat, his brows furrowed. "Yeah. What are you talking about?"

Sebastian leaned forward in his chair. The man's words took his mind off his seasickness for a moment. "How are you not allowed in your own city."

Luka stood up and wrung his hands together. "You see, you need a license to sell items outside of the city. I don't have one of those. The Eldai and the Aegeon soldiers have been after me for a while. So, when I'm conducting my business with associates in Thania, I enter the city using...alternative methods."

"But you sell wine?" Remy shook his head. "What's so bad about that?"

"Not just wine, kid," Luka said with a cheeky grin.

Sebastian frowned. Great, he thought. They were being escorted into House Aegeon's capital city with the help of a known criminal. That wouldn't go over well with Sirus if he found out.

"It'll be fine, though," the blond man added. "We'll slip through the invisible barrier with no problem. Will dock at this secluded beach and I'll take you all into the city. After that, we'll never have to speak again. Like you said, you can forget we ever met."

This plan was starting to feel a little iffy now. House Aegeon's protection of their city was extensive. There was no way Luka would be able to sneak them inside without knowing. But, at the same time, he spoke as if he'd done it a hundred times.

Perhaps they would be fine.

A flash of light stabbed through the darkness collecting outside. Everyone, except for Luka, rushed to the single window on the other end of the inner deck. The sky was the color of burning charcoal. Rain droplets the size of heavy artillery bullets thudded into the ship like gunfire.

Every few seconds, a streak of lightning would tear through the clouds, a bright sword crafted by the gods. Thunder rolled beyond them, the deafening sound echoing across the raging waves. The water rose and fell, an erratic heartbeat of destruction and death.

Sebastian gulped. He felt the sweat forming in his palms and above his brow.

"I take it this is a normal occurrence," Olivier said while casting Luka a speculative glance.

"Oh, yes, totally normal. We get storms like this all the time." Another bout of thunder and lightning ripped through the sky. It shook the boat, rattling the walls and chairs inside. He nodded and put on a brave face. Sebastian immediately saw through it; the man was scared out of his mind.

Luka left the room, presumably to try and steer them out of the tempest.

Sebastian peered at Imogen. She was still standing at the window even after everyone moved away. The bright light from behind the heavy veil shone across her tawny skin every few moments. Her expression was eerily calm. Out of everyone, she seemed the least fazed by the whole phenomenon.

"You're not scared?"

She shook her head. "Luka said we'll be fine."

"You trust that guy's word?" He scoffed. "He's a criminal."

"I am too technically," she replied. "You should see my police record."

"That's different," he replied with a roll of his eyes. "He's wanted by magical police. You get locked up for silly misdemeanors."

She pursed her lips at him and narrowed her brown eyes. "Watch it, Pretty Boy." He grinned in response. As she directed her attention back to the window, a confused look emerged across her features.

"What?"

"There's a wa— "

She never got to finish, as a massive wave had collided into the ship with the force of a thousand blasting spells. The last thing Sebastian heard before he faded out of consciousness was screams and rushing water.

Sebastian awoke with a mouth full of sand. Pushing himself up onto his elbows, he spat it out and tried to make his head stop spinning. His vision swam like the fish in the water behind him. The colors around him blended together as if they were some washed watercolor painting.

Rolling himself onto his back, he stared up at the brilliant sky. White birds darted across the blue expanse, cawing and singing at each other. He blinked a few times as his vision began to focus.

The soothing sound of water lapping onto the sand put him at ease. At his back was the calm sea and in front of him was a beautiful, dense forest thick with vegetation.

He tried picking himself up off the ground, but his body immediately protested. His muscles burned and pain flared throughout his head with even the slightest of movements. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, he tried coaxing his body into sitting up. After accomplishing that ridiculously difficult feat, he surveyed his new surroundings.

Somehow, someway, he'd been spat out of Luka's ship. He didn't see any sign of the vessel. It was almost like it never existed at all. He squinted at the ocean, which seemed to stretch for hundreds of miles.

Wincing, he craned his neck to look behind him. White cliffs and huge mountains were poised deep in the forest, their towering presence looming over the lush greenery. On one of the precipices, the letter 'A' had been carved into the rock with the precision of a master sculptor.

He was dazed by its sheer beauty.

"Sebastian?!"

It was Imogen. His eyes widened. He opened his mouth to yell back but his throat was too dry and full of sand for any words to come out. He feebly threw one of his arms up in hopes that she, or anyone else, would see it.

She must not have been far away, as she had arrived at his side in a matter of seconds. A cut matted with dried blood marred her forehead. Her dark brown hair stuck to her sand-caked face. She kneeled beside to him and fretted over his injuries—most of which he wasn't even aware he had. Not all the feeling had returned to his body.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm good," croaked.

Imogen tilted her head at him. "You don't sound alright."

"Where are the others?"

The girl pointed behind her. "They're on that side of the beach. We all washed up on this shore, thankfully. That storm was stronger than I thought."

Yeah, no kidding.

Sebastian ruffled the top of his head. A few tiny grains of rock trickled from his stiff, black hair.

"Come on," she told him as she rose to her feet. As she began walking away, she glanced at him over her shoulder. "Why are you still sitting?"

He glared at his legs for a moment before hanging his head. "I can't really move."

Laughing, she walked over to him and hoisted him to his feet. Yelping with surprise, she quickly put one of his long arms over her shoulder and helped walk him over to where she and the others were camped.

They trudged through the sand, the feeling slowly returning to Sebastian's legs. Soon, he was walking—or rather stumbling—on his own. The two of them passed through a brief passage of trees. Sweet-scented flowers adorned their thick branches. He breathed in the scent and let out a sigh.

He understood why those who belonged to House Aegeon rarely left their island. Out of all the hidden cities in the world, despite there only being a few, Thania was easily the best out of the bunch.

He and Imogen emerged from the thicket and onto another part of the beach. In front of them sat Ajax, Remy, Olivier, and Luka on some logs of dry wood. They looked just as exhausted as he did.

Remy's eyes lit up as he spotted him and Imogen. He shook Ajax's shoulder. "She found him."

Ajax glanced at them over his shoulder before standing up. He stood up and walked over to Sebastian and Imogen. "We almost thought you didn't make it."

"I wasn't going to let some waves kill me."

The ginger warrior grinned as they shook hands.

"So, where exactly are we?" Sebastian asked Luka.

The blond stood up and stretched his arms. He glanced down at his blue robes and scowled upon realizing they had ripped. "As if things could get any worse."

Imogen narrowed her eyes at him. "Luka."

"Yes, my dear?"

"Where the hell are we?"

"Well, we're definitely not in hell. That's your friend's home realm," he said while gesturing at Sebastian. He cupped a hand above his brow and gaze at the glittering sea. The water was so blue and clear that they could see right through it.

Sebastian and Imogen exchanged apprehensive looks.

"Can you just answer the question?" Olivier asked tiredly.

With his shoulders slumped, Luka sighed and dropped his hand. "Okay. There's good and bad news."

Sebastian kissed his teeth. Here we go.

Remy asked for the bad news first. Their criminal tour guide informed them Thania was located on the other side of the island. The beach they washed up on was on the south side while the city was in the north. In order to get to there, they'd have to trek for miles through the forests.

"How many miles is that?"

"A lot," Luka answered.

The boy threw his head back and groaned.

Exhaling, Sebastian ran a hand over his face. He plopped down into the sand, resting his forehead on his knees and closing his eyes.

"What's the good news then?" Ajax asked.

"It should only take us a day to get there, give or take," Luka revealed.

Imogen looked like she was going to explode. "A day?!"

"Would you like to scream it one more time for us?" Luka rolled his eyes. "I don't think the fish on the other side of the realm heard you."

She ignored him and turned to Olivier. "Do we even have a day? I mean, the Shades are surely coming after us now."

The man nodded, a grave expression etched into his worn features.

Ajax sat down next to him. "We need to get going soon then. We won't get there any faster sitting around complaining. The sooner we get to Sirus, the better."

"Agreed," Sebastian said.

Olivier shook his head. "While I agree, I'm not sure we're all ready for that yet. It would be best to wait a few hours before starting."

"We may not have a few hours," he pointed out. "We've got to move now." He rose from the ground. His knees buckled as a tidal wave of nausea slammed into him.

The man might've had a point. A small smile played on his lips. "See?"

Remy chuckled. He ran a hand through his messy, mahogany curls. "A rest could do us all some good, eh? Maybe something to eat too? I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving." He conjured another chocolate bar into existence. "These aren't really cutting it for me."

As much as Sebastian wanted to leave right at that moment, he couldn't argue with their logic or his aching body. "Fine. We'll stay here for a few more hours and then we get to walking."

The rest of the group agreed on his conditions.

Luka clapped his hands together, beaming from ear to ear. "Great! Now that we've got that settled, I'm off to catch us some food. Have any of you ever had blackfin?" No one answered him. "Shadow eel?"

Again, no one replied. The smile on his face faltered a bit.

"So uncultured." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He faced the older man sitting on the log next to him. "I noticed your vayrir is a javelin. I could use your help catching some fish."

"I'm afraid I'm not much of a fisherman."

"Don't worry. I'll teach you."

After rolling up their pants to their thighs, they waded into the water, summoned their weapons, and began their hunt for the group's next meal.

Ajax and Remy walked over to the edge of the sand and picked up the small, smooth rocks that held patterns similar to constellations on their stormy surfaces. They skipped them across the clear water, competing to see who could get the most bounces. To no one's surprise, Ajax beat the sixteen-year-old boy each time.

Sebastian and Imogen remained sitting on the beach. She removed her leather jacket and tied it around her waist. She now wore a damp tank top that exposed her ink-covered arms. Multiples designs decorated her skin.

She almost had more tattoos than he did, and he had a lot.

"Nice tats."

"Thanks," she replied. "You too." She gestured at the blinking raven on his bicep. "Did that crow just blink?"

Sebastian scowled. "It's a raven. And yes, it did." His frown deepened. Makaela had asked him the same thing when she first saw it.

Makaela.

Even the sound of her name in his head left a bad taste in his mouth. The image of her silver gryphon mask and dark robes marred the good memories he had of her. He dug his hands into the sand beneath him, the white grains slipping through his fingers.

He wanted to hate her. He wished he could. It would've made fighting her a lot easier. He had plenty of reasons to hate her. She had abandoned her friends and family, joined his deranged father, and tried to capture them. Even though he had only seen her for a few minutes, he could tell she wasn't the same person she was a few weeks ago.

She changed.

"You alright, Sebastian?" Imogen gently touched his shoulder.

He tensed under her touch before relaxing. "I'm fine. I was just...thinking about someone."

Imogen huffed and folded her arms across her chest. ''Makaela, right?''

He tilted his head at her, his lips slightly parted as he tried to figure out her sudden attitude shift. Why did she care if he was thinking about her? That didn't make sense. Why would she be jealous? He was pretty sure she didn't even like him.

They both sat in awkward silence and listened to the two boys skipping rocks across the sea-green water.

"I think you should forget about her," Imogen finally said, her voice emotionless.

"What—"

"She left us, okay? She's not coming back."

He glared at his shoes. "You don't know that."

"They tried to kill us today, Sebastian!"

Remy and Ajax, who were talking in front of the water, turned to look at them before assuming their conversation.

Sebastian said nothing. She was right, but he wished she wasn't.

"You're only going to disappoint yourself," Imogen told him. Her voice was softer now. She took his head into her own and squeeze it gently. "Trust me."

He snatched his hand from her grasp and rose from the sandy ground. She looked up at him, her full lips drawn together in a tight line.

"Look," he said, "I don't need your advice. Stop acting like you know what's going on in my head because you don't." He stuck a finger in her face, causing her to flinch backward. "Leave me alone. I won't tell you again." The color had rushed to his pale skin. He could've sworn steam was rising from his head.

"Sebastian—"

Ignoring her calls, he stomped away from her and disappeared into the forest.