Chapter 21
Ikeep my feet steady as I follow Nicole toward the stairs leading to the hull. A small shadow falls over me, but I don’t dare look up as the falcon swoops down and perches on the splintered wood of the railing.
A scroll rests in its taloned feet.
I glance over my shoulder, where Thea translates between Elayne’s sign language to Kressa. Julian stands against a wall in the shade, his arms crossed as he watches Celia.
Holding my breath, I slow my steps until I fall behind Nicole, and reach toward the falcon. It hops from its spot and flaps its wings, dropping the scroll into my palm. I close my hand around it and shove it into the waistband of my pants.
“I really expected there to be more of a plan,” Nicole says as she dips down the stairs.
We twist through the narrow corridor toward the storage room at the far back.
“What do you mean?” I say, pressing a hand against the scroll.
A hole gapes in the ceiling, the edges of the boards blackened with soot. Shame churns through my stomach. I was so confident I’d be able to hold off the wyverns and control my power, but if it weren’t for Julian throwing up a shield around the ship, I could have turned it to ashes.
Putting my friends in danger, again.
“What I mean is, you obviously conned your way onto the ship, and Kressa has no idea what she’s doing—putting all her faith in one of your crew members. Do you even think she’ll actually be able to locate the emerald?”
My lip curls upward. “Hard to tell. It depends if whoever took it came this way. She can pick up traces of conversations, see blurred images if we’re lucky. Sometimes faces.”
Nicole hums, pushing open the door. A large swath of fabric sits in the center, rolled up amongst crates stacked to the ceiling.
She kneels and throws it open. “Kressa told me you used to steal jewels to trade for prisoners.”
I crouch on the other side, dragging my fingertips over the tightly woven fabric. “I did.”
“And that you risked your life to save Elias.”
My hands pause, and I lift my gaze to hers. “What else did she say?”
“That you’ll either save or doom us all.” Silence stretches out between us as she drags the pad of her thumb over a raw edge in the fabric. She lifts her head but can’t quite look my way. “So, what will it be, Briar?”
The scroll is a weight against my hip, pressing into my skin. I stand, tugging an edge of the mast with me. “I think she’s giving me way too much credit. Alone, I’m not capable of either.”
She studies me. “You’re not what I thought you’d be.”
“And what was that?”
“I expected you to be capable. And to put it simply, you’re not.”
With that, she rises and drags the edge of the mast out the door. I narrow my eyes on her back, but my chest aches—a hollow space where my dignity and honor once lived. All I am is a shell of who I once was.
She disappears from view, and I rip the scroll out from my waistband. Silently, I undo the tie and unroll the parchment, watching as the mast inches farther out of the room. I don’t have long until she wonders why I’m not helping, but I can’t waste another moment without reading the letter.
B,
I caught sight of you, but we were attacked by a hoard of wyvern. I lost a lot of men—so many that I had to reroute to the closest landmass. Callum has begun monitoring falcon correspondence, so for future letters, do your best to write in code.
Every day, I wake up missing you. Like a piece of me, gone.
-I
My heart somersaults, tapping against my ribs. After what we went through this morning, it’s a miracle we survived—let alone Isolde. Whatever it was that called the wyvern back, it saved our lives.
I have to let her know where we’re headed.
Rolling up the scroll, I tuck it back into my waistband and lift the edge of the fabric, following Nicole up to the deck. A gentle breeze stirs the ashes, shoving them across the wooden planks and gathering on the fresh white sail as we heave it to the main mast.
I set my corner down. “I’ll be right back.”
She grunts and mutters something inaudible under her breath, but I turn my back to her and join the others, stopping at Celia’s side.
Elayne stands a handful of feet away with her eyes closed, a hand pressed to Kressa’s heart. Kressa’s back is to me, but Thea watches them steadily, her gaze catching mine for a heartbeat.
“Has she found anything?” I whisper to Celia.
“All she’s confirmed so far is that Inez and the emerald both came through this passage.”
“So they’re together.”
She nods and lowers her voice. “And right now she’s trying to get any insight on who they’re with or where they’re going. But it’s been a few minutes with no luck.” Shifting her gaze around me, she fans out her fingers and signs, “You said Isolde would be here. So, where is she?”
I shift sideways, blocking whatever view Julian would have of our hands. “The wyverns attacked her and her forces before they came to us. She lost a lot of men, but as soon as Elayne decides where we should be headed, I’ll let Isolde know.”
Celia raises a brow. “And you trust her?”
“No,” I say out loud, then sign, “But I’m out of options.”
She lets out a long sigh. “Inez, your compass, our ship, the rest of our crew. Something has got to give. We have to prioritize”
“We are not making sacrifices,” I hiss. “You can trust me.”
My final words hang in the air between us, and she shakes her head, staring at the space over my shoulder. “No, I’m not entirely sure I can. And I’m not sure you can trust yourself, either.”
The words—spoken so sure, pick at the wounds I’ve carried for so long. My chest threatens to cave in on itself, but I steel my spine. “Respectfully, Celia, I’m the only person I’ve been able to trust for the last decade. The only one I could rely on. No one else.”
“At one point in time, I could say the same about you, too. But I don’t know if there’s any coming back from this.” She lifts her gaze to the damage in the sail, then lowers it to the scorched wooden planks of the deck.
There’s no venom in her voice. Just the blunt edge of honesty.
“Sarenia. They’re in Sarenia.”
I spin around at Thea’s voice.
“Are you sure?” Kressa says.
Elayne nods, then signs, “The images are blurry, like she was being forced to use her power while they traveled. Or she used it in spurts, leaving behind a trail for us to follow.”
Thea translates for Kressa, and I step closer, my heart racing. If we make it back to Sarenia, I can find both Inez and my compass. And if I manage to get a message back to Isolde, she can meet us there.
We just have to be quick.
“And you see the emerald?” Kressa says.
Elayne presses her eyes shut, and her face goes still, the breeze teasing through her hair. A moment later, she opens her eyes. They meet my gaze, and she signs. “I don’t feel the emerald, but we need to get to Sarenia if that’s where Inez is.”
Thea doesn’t miss a beat as she says, “Yes, the emerald is also in Sarenia.”
Elayne closes her hands into fists and holds them at her side, her face clear. Pride swells in my chest, and without Elias here, there’s no one to confirm whether or not she’s telling the truth. But we’d all do anything to find Inez.
Kressa curses under her breath and replaces the cuffs around Elayne’s wrists. “Then we’re going to Sarenia. From here it’ll take about three days.”
I shift forward. “Let me try again with my power. I can get us there faster—cut the time in half.”
“No, you’ll only slow us down.” She shoulders past me, heading toward the helm. “Now go fix the mast.”
She disappears up the steps leading to the wheel, and I face the main mast. The hole I blew through it. And at the very tip, the falcon waiting for me to deliver it a message.
In three days’ time, we’ll be on Sarenia’s shore.