Vali took a step forward. His ears were perked, desperate for a sound that wasn't there. He looked behind Rurik's legs. He looked behind Rajah's cape.
"Dad?" Vali whispered. "Where is she?"
Rurik looked down at his son. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. The great orator, the commander of armies, couldn't find the words.
"We..." Rajah choked out, his voice thick with tears. "We were too late."
"Too late?" Arjun dropped his wooden sword. Clatter. "But... you're the strongest. You're the General."
"The water," Cassian said, his voice hollow. "She fell. The current... it flows to the Deep Ocean."
Jasper stood up. He adjusted his glasses, but his hands were shaking violently. "Statistically... survival in open ocean during a storm... without magic..."
He stopped. He looked at Cassian. "She drowned?"
Cassian didn't answer. He just squeezed the piece of wet cloth in his hand.
