Phoebe's POV
The drive to the harbor stretched across three brutal days. Then came the real test—over a week at sea to reach Valerium Kingdom.
Our ship would dock at Ashford Pack first. The territory closest to the capital. The last civilized stop before we entered hell itself.
Water travel was completely foreign to me. My stomach twisted with nerves just thinking about it.
By the second day, the ocean turned vicious.
Waves crashed over the deck like angry fists. The ship pitched and rolled beneath us. Seasickness hit me like a sledgehammer.
I spent the next several days confined to our cabin. Flat on my back. Miserable. Helpless.
Perry hovered over me constantly. His worry was a living thing, radiating through the mate bond until I could barely tell where his anxiety ended and mine began.
"Feeling better?" His voice pulled me from a drowsy haze as we approached our final day at sea.
