The Bracken Woods all streams flow into the sea

If not for Spyridon's intervention, Minthe would have killed the other insolent male without a second thought. She was not insulted by the older male's move to stand between them, for Abraxas was his ward; as an elder consort, respectful of and obedient to the ways of the Nereides, it was his responsibility to ensure that other spawn were as well trained. And if they were untrainable, it would be his duty to kill them. If Minthe had opened Abraxas' jugular, it would not have reflected well upon Spyridon.

With a final snarl in warning, she returned to face her original direction. Minthe would reach the shore of the sound, even if it was only to breathe her final breath and die upon its sands— she was certain of it. Even now, the Sea called to her blood and beckoned for her to return to Her embrace. If only she could escape this terrible forest, to be once more under the gaze of Mother Moon, then she could use the stars to guide her.

Her eyes turned up toward the canopy, searching for a break in which she could find some constellation to guide them. It had been a tenuous hope, but Minthe still felt the sting of disappointment when there was no break large enough in the cold boughs to give her the answer she needed. "Ησυχία," she ordered her escorts, whether they had or had not been making noise, and with eyes closed she now listened.

There! Up ahead, she could hear the faint trickle of a water flow; a sound she would have missed, had Abraxas not caused the group to pause. He would receive no thanks for it, however. "Εκείνη μας ευλογεί. Εμείς πάμε με αυτόν τον τρόπο," Minthe told them, her love for the Mother swelling in her chest and causing a bittersweet ache. Upon reaching the stream, they would be able to follow its current to the ocean.