Free The Shadow Soul by Kaitlyn Davis Page B

the sky, almost blocking the sun from her eyes. It was impossible. Yet there it was.
    And then it was gone from her sight as Rhen turned them down a narrow road, somewhat vacated.
    "Are you alright?" He asked, turning to pet Ember and run a hand through his hair, pushing the reddish locks from his brow.
    She nodded, not sure how to express the mix of fear and excitement brewing in her chest. Everything was new, everything was an adventure, everything was terrifying. Taking her hands from the saddle, she flexed her fingers, forcing her blood to pump again.
    "You'll get used to it, the staring I mean. Everywhere I go, people look and then just when I get close enough to say hello, they turn, eyes to the ground as is proper. Since I was a boy that's how it's been with the common folk and even some of the nobility." He patted her knee. "You'll get used to it."
    But would she?
    "I'm sorry I took the shirt," he said, wincing slightly, "I thought it might be funny to see your expression. I wasn't really thinking." He shook his head, blowing out air.
    Jinji looked at her dark skin, more out of place in all this gray than it ever had been in the forest contrasted against golden bark.
    "I stand out either way," she told him. Her chest felt heavy, as though a fist had closed around her heart. Even in the middle of more people than she had ever seen, Jinji was alone. She swallowed the grief down, forcing her shoulder back, steady. "Besides," she continued, meeting his stare like she would any other stare she came across, "I don't intend to forget who I am."
    Rhen paused, considering her.
    "Then you're a better man than I am, Jin," he responded, so softly that she almost didn’t hear it.
    Then he slapped Ember's behind, earning a nip on his shoulder and a very annoyed sounding neigh. But Rhen just grinned, scratching his horse's ears and pulling them all down the street.
    A flash of blue caught her eye, far down where the narrow lane opened up again. The noise grew as they approached. The sun returned, as did the crowd. But Jinji's eyes were still glued to the blue, to the water, chopping and crashing against gigantic wooden structures that somehow floated atop it. Men swinging from ropes. Giant white cloths that looked like clouds against the sky. Squiggling fish caught in nets bigger than her entire village.
    "These are the docks." Rhen shrugged, as though this were somehow normal. 
    "And those are…boats?" She asked, searching for the word.
    "Not boats, Jin." Rhen patted her shoulder. "Ships. Big, beautiful ships."
    "And this is how we get to the isles?" She asked, wary.
    Rhen just nodded as a mirthful smirk sprouted on his lips, birthed from a memory Jinji didn't have access to. 
    He led them forward through the crowds that parted as they neared, to the beginning of a long wooden row standing over the water, lined with ropes and ships. Tying Ember's reins to an open post, he scanned the area.
    "This should do." He nodded. "You can walk around if you'd like, but I wouldn't go very far from Ember. She'll keep you safe, just in case any unfriendly people come near. I should be back shortly."
    He waited until Jinji gave her consent before disappearing into the crowd. Once he was gone, she slid from the horse, stepping over the creaking wood, until her eyes dropped over the edge and down into the churning water.
    Breathing deeply, she sat, letting her feet dangle over the side as her body began to relax. She imagined she were home, toes dipped into the cool water of their little stream, not feet above the deepest waters she had ever been so close to.
    Keeping her eyes downcast, Jinji watched the blues intermix—bright and greenish swirls faded into cloudy gray, warmed into sun-kissed turquoise. All were flecked with bubbling white as they splashed over and under each other, fighting for the top spot. Farther down, the ground faded in and out of view as the waters changed, muddied each other, and then cleared.
    Blue strands popped into