It had been some time since Oswin had visited the Bay and, to tell the truth, she had never wanted to again. As she stood on the long stretch of dark shoreline, studying the faraway mountains that framed the terrain, Oswin felt her heart stick in her throat. Any time she thought of her brother it was with heartbreak. Their mother had been cruel to him, even if she had some reason, and the ripple effect it had over his life was unkind. Since conception it seemed fate had it in for Nephilim. Trying to stand by him and love him and support him to somehow make up for the way their dam treated him had taken its toll on Oswin. It had taken her away from her Peak sisters when they needed her most, when war broke out over the islands.

Now, nine years since his actual death, Oswin stood on the beach of the home he’d tried to make for himself and for his family and had to swallow everything back. She was not here today for any personal reason, but meant to stand on these shores as the Prime Minister of the Peak. The stallion now living here had created a stir as of late, though it was his coming after her sisters that brought her here. She knew this meant she could be quite the unwelcome party, so she stayed on the shore, near where she could turn around and splash back into the ocean if things escalated.

Hopefully they would not. Hopefully she would find a stallion who only wanted to gather bodies to weather the hardships Tinuvel brought to his herd. Did he intend to keep Kolfinna confined in his home even once he learned she had no interest in being here? Would he allow the Peak sister to return home?

Oswin knew the likeliness, but only stilled her doubts and pushed them away as she had done with the lingering grief at Nephilim’s memory. She needed to become better at handling conversations with herd leaders around the island. Despite his taking one of her sister’s from the Peak, Oswin just had to keep reminding herself she was here for answers, not to start fights.

oswin
this is as brave as I know how to be.
I know it’s gonna hurt you, but please… be a little proud of me.