The Empyrean - Rebecca Yarros
it's between me, the sand and the sea
by siobhanbooks
Waves churn in the distance, rolling over the horizon in strokes of grey. Growing up, the sea closest to Aretia was always a gorgeous blue, sparkling under the sun. We'd visit the beach on days out or just for a few hours when we were staying our families' estates outside of the city. Besides the Riorsons, each of the noble families used to own a house in Aretia and an estate within a couple hours of the city — some families had more residences than others but pretty much everyone had at least those two. The townhouses were no longer standing, burnt down to nothing more than foundations and ashes when Aretia fell after the Apostasy failed. Now, with the sky as grey as my hopes for the future, those blue skies and happy days seem a whole universe away. The people who fill those memories are all gone now, lost to wars and battles and attacks and their own bad decisions (that last one being Xaden). I'm more alone than I ever dreamed possible when I was a kid, no longer a daughter, no longer a sister, no longer a friend. or Imogen Cardulo's grief in a world where they don't win the fight with Navarre