Page 109 of Dawn of Hope

It’s telling that I don’t consider death the worst outcome for Fin’s disappearance. Being held against your will, lied to, and manipulated all for someone else’s gain is far worse.

Time passes slowly. I continue to stare at the window until it finally lightens enough to justify leaving camp. The storm isn’t ideal, and I wonder how many of the Voyagers would stay in and wait it out.

That isn’t an option for me. I need to find Fin.

I carefully lift myself from the cushion, trying my best not to wake Dane. He stirs slightly and rolls to his side once I am no longer there. I reach back and graze my dagger, making sure it is still in place before I quietly make my way over to the weapons I had stashed on my bed last night.

It’s too risky to grab everything. The noise will wake everyone in the room, so I settle on what is easy and quiet. I slide a serrated knife into my boot and drape the bow over my shoulder. I hold the ends of the arrows so they don’t rattle in the quiver, creep toward the door, and slip outside.

Dane and I had searched the area closest to camp last night, so I don’t want to waste time there again. Surely if Fin was that close to camp, he would have made his way back as soon as it was light.

I decide to start at the mountain. He had been searching there often, and even though I told him to stay away from it, that doesn’t mean he did. Plus, it seems to have so many dangers surrounding it, it would be best to make sure he didn’t get caught there first. I hustle through the paths that have become second nature, annoyed that I am already close to drenched from the constant drizzle.

When the trees open up revealing the base of the mountain, I look up at the ominous structure, the top hidden by the dense storm clouds hanging low over the island.

I doubt he took the hike we had before, especially after the explosion. I run toward the waterfall, zigzagging back and forth across the open area, calling out his name. As I near the lagoon, I focus on successfully finding him. There are no Voyagers out to help me this time, so all the fears I have about Fin being abducted can’t enter my mind.

Come on, Fin. Where are you?

I look down the paths on the other side of the bridge, trying to decidewhich direction I should go. The sheets of rain make it difficult to see very far, but I know I need to check the lagoon to make sure he didn’t fall prey to the sirens hiding below the surface. I focus on successfully finding him safe as I near the edge. I lean forward and peer past the rock to the water below.

I scan the surface, looking for any sign of floating items, or worse, a body. Everything is calm and empty except for the ripples from the rain. The storm made the water murky and difficult to see into, but my gut tells me he isn’t here, and I need to keep looking.

I turn around, heading back toward the base of the mountain, hoping to make the full circle as fast as I can. Running the paths and shouting Fin’s name with worry is leaving me breathless, more than any amount of training and physical endurance could have prepared me for. The clouds unleash heavy rain again as I follow the other path around the mountain. There is no sign of him anywhere, not even footprints in the mud paths I am slogging through.

Fuck.

I should have waited for the others. There is no way I can cover this island alone. There are too many places to look, too many hazards in this storm.

If there were more of us, we could have spread out, assigned areas for each of us to search. This is basic military strategy, and I let my emotions guide me instead of logic and my years of training in leadership and strategy.

Maybe my father is right. I am not ready for this. I am not ready to hold the lives of others in my hands. If my emotions can so easily overshadow my judgment and affect my actions and cause me to make rash decisions, maybe I am not ready to run our kingdom.

That doesn’t matter right now. Blackwood and my throne are far away, and worrying about it doesn’t help me find Fin.

I search for hours. Hours of running through the rain, drizzle, mud, and floods all to come up empty-handed. There is nothing, no sign of himanywhere. I’ve stuck to the main areas, traipsing through the paths on the far side of Dawnlin, constantly checking my map to make sure I am not missing something.

I can’t tell because of the cloud cover, but I assume it will be late by the time I reach the beach. Dane said it wasn’t likely he was anywhere on a beach because of the lack of shelter, but I can’t leave any stone unturned. I find a break in the rocks similar to the stairs Dane and I took. A trail winds down to the beach and I follow it. This sand is different from the black beach and sand of the cove, its light color darkened with all the rain from the storm.

“Fin!” I call out. Waves crashing are the only responses I hear. “Hello? Is anyone out there?”

Nothing but the shriek of the winds and rustle of palm fronds.

There is a break in the rain, thank the gods, but I don’t know how long it is going to last. The storm seems to be picking up again, and the day is coming to an end, so I need to keep moving.

I scan the beach as I walk, staying away from the surf as much as possible. I need something, anything, some kind of sign that either he had been here, or one of the Voyagers had searched here already.

There are no footprints in the sand, the water and the surf having smoothed it all. My heart sinks, but I push on.

As I scan the sand and the rocks ahead, something catches my eye. Something is sticking out of the sand. I break out into a run and drop to my knees in front of it. I start to dig, grit sticking under my nails and the sand heavy with water as I toss it to the side. Clawing at the object in front of me, I finally pry it loose and my stomach bottoms out.

“No,” I breathe as I realize what it is.

It is his bow.Mybow.

Snapped in half, the two pieces held together by only the string. My eyes scan the surrounding ground, and I see them. The ends or tips of arrows poking through the sand, everything clearly signs of a struggle.

“No!” I scream. “FIN!”