Chapter 49 – Raelyn
Chapter Forty-Nine
RAELYN
“Gods, I drank too much,” I whimper in the dim lamplight of our room. The sun has yet to rise, but we need to make it down to the docks before the fishermen do.
“I’m sorry, love,” Kian says, and I cover my ears with my hands.
“Must you yell?”
He chuckles. “Definitely not yelling. Let me see if I have any pain powder leftover, though I’m pretty sure I used up most of it on Sera’s leg.”
Her leg was killing her all day yesterday after the attack at the lake. I hope it’s at least a little bit better. I fall back on the pillow and groan.
“Ah! Found some!” he exclaims.
“Too loud,” I moan again.
He sits on the edge of the bed with a handful of the powder, then grabs a glass of water off the bedside table, mixing it in.
“Thank you for taking such good care of me, Ki.”
“I’ve always got you, Rae.”
My heart melts. I’m not sure how I ended up with such a wonderful man. Thank the gods.
“I wish my godly powers healed hangovers,” I say as I sit up and swallow down the mixture. The taste isn’t pleasant, but I’ve definitely had worse. “Do I remember something about stealing a boat?” I ask, rubbing at my temple.
“Unfortunately, yes,” he replies. “But don’t worry, we intend to more than compensate the fisherman for his vessel and also return it to him when we’re through.”
“What if he thinks his vessel is cursed after we sail it to the isle?”
“Well, either way, we’ll leave him enough to buy or build a new one if that’s the case. I steal from my father because I want to help my people, not because I actually like stealing. I’d never leave someone high and dry out here, even if they don’t realize who I am.”
I nod with an appreciative smile. I respect him and all that he does, even if it puts him in danger.
We tiptoe down the hall and stairs, thankful it’s early enough that the tavern is completely empty and silent. The door creaks as Alex opens it, and we all freeze, worried we’ll get caught, even though we technically aren’t doing anything wrong. Yet.
A thrill courses through me at this new adventure and the thought that I might soon meet Kyros, the sun god .
. . my real father, though I’m not sure I’ll ever really wrap my mind around that.
It’s altogether terrifying and exciting.
I only hope he will answer all my questions, unlike my adoptive father, who won’t even tell me about my mother, whom he supposedly loved.
Keeping to the darkest shadows, we follow Alex as he leads us to the boat he thinks will best serve us.
As we walk, I can’t help but wonder what binds Kyros to the isle. Surely, as a god, his power could free him? Something must have been done to him. Echoes of the screams I heard in my dreams make me shudder. The salty air has a crisp quality to it, and I pull my cloak tighter around myself.
“Here we are,” Alex whispers, directing our attention to a modest fishing boat. It’s not too large for him and Kian to handle, but also big enough to carry another traveler if needed.
“Remind me again why we need to be here at the crack of dawn?” Sera grumbles.
“Fishermen start their days early,” Alex explains as he works to untie the small vessel. “The last thing we need is for a horde of them to come after us.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she says.
“Trust me, Spitfire. I’ll get us where we need to go.”
She huffs and walks closer to me, her arms crossed in front of her. “I don’t have a good feeling about this, Rae,” she admits.
“It’s going to be okay. Kian will pay the fisherman far more than it’s worth.”
“That’s not what I meant,” she says, looking off into the distance. “Something is off.”
I rub her shoulder in an attempt to be reassuring. “I trust Kian and Alex. They’ll get us out of there safely.”
“I hope so.”
Almost surprisingly, we sail out of the bay without a hitch. Everything goes smoothly, and I thank the gods for small mercies.
The sun starts to rise, but we’re far enough away that we don’t see another soul.
I can’t help but admire the way Kian draws the sails taut, adjusting them to catch the wind just right.
His muscles strain and swell with effort, and I long to run my fingers over them, to memorize the hard cuts and edges.
Watching him work is putting all sorts of naughty thoughts in my head, and I squeeze my thighs together.
“Stop eye screwing your husband,” Sera teases from where we sit at the stern.
I giggle. “What? I can’t help it.”
“Sure, you can’t.”
I nod in Alex’s direction, where he’s steering at the helm. “Alex is pretty nice to look at too.”
She gives me a murderous glare before sighing. “He might be pretty, but he’s an ass.”
“An ass who saved your life,” I retort.
“True,” she admits. “I don’t know what it is about him, but he drives me to insanity.”
I shake my head. I know why, but I’m not going to force it on her. She’ll either discover it when she’s ready, or she’ll move on. It will be her choice.
We sail for hours, the sun beating down on us, and I bask in its warmth, playing with the sunlight as it spins in ribbons from my fingers.
“That’s so beautiful,” Sera says with awe. “I don’t think I ever really thanked you for saving me out there. It wasn’t just Alex, you know.”
“It was nothing,” I say, trying to brush her off. “I had to do something. I’m just glad my power revealed itself when it did.”
Sera looks down, chagrined. “I’d probably have run out of the lake and never turned back.”
“I don’t believe that for one second,” I retort.
“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” she admits. “Drowning is—” She shudders “I just . . . I thought I was a goner and my family would starve without me. Father hasn’t been well since his accident, and Mother can only do so much. I worry for my little sister.”
My brow scrunches. “Your family will always be provided for as long as I’m living. I promise you that.”
Tears well up in her eyes. “Thank you, Rae. That means everything to me.”
Unable to stop myself, I pull her into a hug. “I was scared too.”
She laughs, wiping away her tears. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get into a lake again.”
“What do you think it was?”
“Gods, I have no idea. Something slithered around my leg and pulled me under. I didn’t get a look at it.”
I shudder. “I didn’t see it either, just a large, dark shadow that tried to get away from my light as quickly as possible.”
“Hey!” Alex shouts. “I think that’s it up ahead!”
Sera and I both look in the direction he’s pointing, and a thrill of excitement courses through me. We’re so close.
Despite the sunlight shining down on us, the island is cloaked in shadows.
“That doesn’t look ominous at all,” Sera drawls.
“Oh hush,” I reply. “Everything is going to be fine.”
“Famous last words,” Sera mutters, and I roll my eyes at her.
“Can we try to think happy thoughts?”
While I don’t want to admit it, a big part of me is terrified at what we’ll find . . . or perhaps what we won’t find. What if I got this all wrong and am leading us into danger? Cary’s worried face flashes in my mind along with his warning to stay in Elsmont. Is this a mistake?
Sera blows out a breath. “Fine.” The grin she pastes on her face is so fake, I burst out laughing, which finally makes her smile for real and loosens something in my chest.
“Raise the centerboard and rudder,” Alex calls out to Kian as we get closer to shore and the water grows choppier.
“Are we going to get wet?” Sera asks.
Alex opens his mouth to speak, but Kian shoots him a glare. “Don’t you dare.”
Alex shrugs innocently. “What, you don’t want the ladies to realize how filthy our minds are?”
“I’m no lady,” Sera says under her breath, and Alex’s smile grows impossibly brighter.
I flip my hair nonchalantly. “I’m a princess now, not a lady.”
“Semantics, love,” Kian teases as the small sailboat runs aground.
After the boat is secured, Kian helps Sera and me onto the beach. I glance around, half expecting a lion to pop out at any moment. That’s just a dream . . . he’s not actually in lion form, I tell myself, even though I honestly don’t know.
The beach is surprisingly cool as the clouds overhead cast a darkness over us and a shiver courses down my spine.
“It is a little eerie here,” Alex says, handing Kian his pack. “I hope we’re not making a mistake.”
“Have a little faith,” Kian says.
I glance around the beach, looking for something familiar.
“Is this the right beach?” Kian asks.
I frown. “I’m not really sure . . . It looks different than in my dream. Maybe we should start walking? Hopefully something will spark a memory.”
Ignoring the looks Sera and Alex shoot each other, I blow out a breath. So what if they don’t believe my dreams? My gut tells me we are on the right isle, but the last thing I want to do is spend days searching it or find ourselves stranded here.
Alex adjusts the pack on his back. “Lead the way, princess.”
I roll my eyes but start in the direction that feels right.
We’ve been walking for maybe an hour, but it’s hard to tell. I miss the presence of the sun. Although it’s cool, the isle feels sticky, the humidity causing my hair to adhere to my neck and my clothes to cling to my skin in a less than comfortable manner.
A roar rends the air, and we freeze.
“Um, Rae, I thought the lion was just an imagination thing,” Alex says quietly, as if being too loud will summon the beast to us.
I shrug. “I mean, it’s his animal form, but if he’s trapped, as we suspect, he shouldn’t be able to roam free, and this isn’t exactly the typical climate for lions.”
“Perhaps it’s not an actual lion but the god summoning us,” Kian says.
“Let’s go with that option,” Sera chimes in.
I give an awkward laugh, trying to ease the tension that’s been increasing with each step.
While I’m not completely certain, every dream has been the same—the lion leading me to the waterfall and the pained screams coming from somewhere behind it.
My gut tells me he is trapped somewhere, and only his spirit could roam free as the lion.
We continue walking, and no oversized lions pop out and scare us, so I consider that a win. But once we round a bend, I’m struck with an extreme case of deja vu. This is it. This is where I was in my dream. I’m certain of it.
Perhaps even more terrifying are the footprints that lead up toward the dense jungle. Footprints the size of my feet with giant pawprints next to them.
What in the hells is going on?
“Can you see those prints?” I ask hesitantly, wondering if I’m hallucinating.
Sera’s eyes meet mine, terror filling them. “So there is a lion.”
“I don’t understand,” I stammer. “These look like my footprints, from my dream . . . but how in the gods’ names would that even be possible?”
Kian’s skin has lightened a shade, and Alex isn’t making quips, so I know things are serious.
“I don’t think the ways of the gods can be explained, as much as I wish they could,” Kian says.
“I never realized how devout you are,” Alex replies. “But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You’ve been obsessed with finding him for years.”
“I think we need to follow the tracks,” I say. “This is the path.”
Kian’s smile is tight. “Ready whenever you are.”
“Into the woods then,” Alex says with a fake sense of cheer.
We trace the footprints into the jungle, the thick foliage blotting out a majority of the light. It’s shockingly cool, and the sweaty clothes make my skin even more clammy and uncomfortable. The scent of rot assaults my nose and coats my tongue.
“What is that foul smell?” Alex complains.
“I don’t think I want to know,” Sera replies.
For the most part, a hush has fallen over our group.
Now that we’re following a path, everything is so much more real.
I look behind myself and suck in a breath.
The footprints we’ve been following have disappeared behind us, as if they truly are some kind of magic.
Gods, I hope we can find our way back out.
As the foliage gets denser, Kian pulls out his sword and swings at the branches, clearing a wider path for us. That will only be in our favor on the way out.
The faint rush of water greets my ears, and I pick up my steps. “We’re getting close!” I shout. “There’s a waterfall just a little farther.”
A sense of urgency overtakes me, and I push forward. Passing Kian, I start running through the woods. My feet are light as air as I speed ahead.
“Rae! Wait up!” Kian calls out, but I can’t stop. I’m so close, I can taste it. The roar of the waterfall increases in volume as I race toward it, to what feels like my destiny.
Someone is crashing through the underbrush behind me, and shouts from my party try to reach me, but all I can think about is my destination.
Out of nowhere, the density of the trees breaks, and I almost go flying off a cliff. Despite my improved reflexes, my arms pinwheel as I catch my balance and barely stop myself from going over.
“Hells, woman,” Kian growls, pulling me away from the edge so quickly, I fall back into him and we tumble to the ground. “Would you mind saying something before you go racing off through an unknown jungle?” He sucks in a breath and lays his head back on the ground.
“My body took over. I don’t know what came over me,” I breathe, feeling oddly rejuvenated. “It’s like something is pulling me.”
Alex and Sera break through the trees, and she collapses to her knees, panting heavily. “What the hells, Rae?” she cries out.
“Damn, I didn’t know you could run that fast,” Alex gasps as he leans forward, his hands on his thighs.
I sit up, smiling. “Oops.”
Kian drags me onto his lap, holding me close. “You need to stop scaring me like that, love.”
A bone-chilling growl breaks through the rushing roar of the waterfall, and we fall silent. For a moment, I was almost distracted from my goal. I can’t allow that to happen again, not when we are so close.
“It’s time,” I say, not meaning for the words to sound nearly as ominous as they do.