Chapter 26 The Journey Begins

• *Maerilee*
• The moment we set out for Oceana, there’s a palpable tension in the air. I can feel it coiling around us like a tight, invisible thread, threatening to choke me. I wonder if the others can feel it as well. Surely, they don’t all have the weight of grief so heavy on their chests, threatening to crush them.
• It took all the strength I have to leave my family in such a vulnerable state, knowing that war is inevitable. When I erected the barrier in the castle to seal them off from the rest of the world, I wasn’t sure if it would last. We’ve not even been gone an hour, and I can’t say for sure that the barrier is even still up.