Accidental Surrogate for Alpha
“but if you want to go to the bow, land has been sighted. The navigator confirmed it’s the Altaran islands.”
Before the words are even out of his mouth, Cora is gripping my arm and pointing into the north, her face alight with excitement.“Ella, look!”
A group of islands appear so suddenly on the horizon that I have to wonder whether or not they might have been pulled up straight out of the sea for our benefit. They’re dark and jagged and entirely too ominous, with black volcanic beaches and jagged peaks thrusting skyward, lined with spiraling cliffs. My heart races the closer we come, and soon the islands are not merely blurry shadows, but solid, stark and in high contrast to the endless oce