Determined to take control of their fates, Arjen and Arien escape Derolina Castle at the age of sixteen after their cruel mother dies. They adopt new names and find a home in the city of Aramore, while the Emperor of Yuriana searches for his missing...
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The wind buffeted Arien's hair as she dropped a clam into her bucket. Her bare feet squished in the wet sand when she moved along, feeling the cold bite of water whenever her foot dipped into a puddle. Her eyes scanned the beach and she caught sight of something wiggling in the sand for half a second before it disappeared. She readied her trowel and ran to where she saw it. Kneeling, she quickly used her trowel to dig into the sand and uncovered another clam. It joined its ill-fated brethren in her bucket. She assessed her current supply, finding her bucket nearly full.
"That should be enough," she said, but as she turned to leave, she saw movement in a nearby tidal pool. Upon closer investigation, she found a large crab. "Should I...?" They hadn't planned on eating crab, but wouldn't it be lovely to have some fresh crab meat for dinner? She set her bucket down and gathered her dress to her knees. She stepped into the pool and gently picked up the crab. It waved its claws around, clearly unhappy with being selected as tonight's delicacy. With a silent apology, Arien dropped it in with the clams.
A storm brewed in the distance over the sea. Black clouds gathered toward Aramore and the wind brought high waves upon the beach. Arien estimated they had maybe a half-hour before the rain hit. Cool gusts chased away the sultry air that had dominated the afternoon, and thunder growled like a beast hidden in the gloom overhead. A bolt of lightning touched the water.
She lifted her gaze to see Arjen and their friends down the beach, still busy collecting their clams. She hurried to reach them as she felt the wind pick up. Her hair flapped against her face and she wiped it away. She almost stumbled on a stone peeking out from the sand.
"Are you finished?" Arjen asked when she arrived. He snickered. "Your hair..."
She glared at him. "I know. I should've braided it before I left."
Mona set down her bucket and pulled a ribbon from her dress pocket. "Here, let me." She combed her fingers through the tangles in Arien's hair and then proceeded to braid the strands. Arien always did love it when Mona played with her hair. What was it about hairstyling that always felt so good on the scalp?
When she was finished, Arien draped the long braid over her shoulder and stole a glance at Luther. The wind had ruffled his hair, and she thought it looked cute that way. Did she really look funny earlier? Did Luther think she looked weird?
"We should probably get going," said Luther, warily eying the darkening sky. "That storm is no joke."
"I'd hate to be a ship out in that," said Arjen. "I used to think I wanted to sail on a ship, but the ocean is kind of scary."
"It is. My father was a sailor for a while before he met my mother and settled down. Said he'd never do it again. Worse than storms are when all the wind stops. He hated that. The stillness is eerie. And he says there are all sorts of sea monsters out there, some big enough to eat whole ships."
Arien had hoped someday she and Arjen would take a ship and visit another country. They'd been saving up for it. Hearing about sea monsters made her heart sink. "Are there sea monsters in the water near Aramore?"
