Chapter 24
“Cassio!”
Barrels rolling across the deck drown out my voice, and I glance down the long string of docks. Like Caelus, apparently Callum doesn’t mind employing pirates. So long as they’re doing his dirty work.
Their vessels bob in water, seaweed clinging to the hulls. I hold my breath—the air putrid from the dead, decaying fish floating in the waves, and scan the deck of the pirate ship.
Kressa rests her hand on my shoulder. “Maybe he’s not here.”
“Oh, he’s here.” I rip myself out of her grasp and stride toward the gangplank, stomping my booted feet up the wooden planks. “Cassio! I know you’re in there!”
As I step onto the deck, a door swings open, slamming into the wall behind it.
“Well, well, well. Look who’s brave enough to step aboard my ship now.”
Cassio fills the doorway, and in the month since I’ve seen him, he’s added new rings to his fingers—the handle of his blade gold rather than silver.
“I need a favor,” I say.
His lip tilts at the edge, revealing a row of gold-plated teeth. “As Irene?” He steps closer. “Or as Briar Calisdana?”
“Depends.” I cross my arms and lean my hip against the railing. “Who are you more likely to say yes to?”
He scoffs and lifts his pirate hat from his head, resting it at the space over his heart. “If I would have known the Princess of the Sea was the courtesan stealing from the crown, I would’ve told you to keep the jewels. That I wouldn’t stop sailing until I found your crew.”
The muscles in my shoulders loosen, and I press my fingernails into the knotted wood.
As much as the sentiment warms me, I couldn’t have told him who I was anyway.
The curse made sure anyone forgot. “Thank you.” I dip my head.
“Regardless of whether or not you knew, it wouldn’t have mattered.
My crew was being held prisoner, and now I’m trying to get the last one back. Inez.”
“The young one.”
I nod. “Have you heard anything? Sightings of her? Or anything about what Callum is doing inside the castle?”
His gaze swings over my shoulder. Kressa steps onto the deck, planting a hand on the railing.
“Ah, and the notorious bounty hunter we paid nearly all our wages to avoid.” He scoffs. “I see you finally found who you were looking for.”
“Word moves fast,” she murmurs, sidling up beside me.
But my mind is stuck on his words—the way he said them. The one she was looking for. A dusting of crimson coats the tops of her cheekbones, the sunburn I warned her she’d get. Freckles dot the skin around it, brought out by the sun.
My heart thumps against my ribs, and I swallow, forcing my attention from her.
“You’re lucky it’s you coming to ask me,” he says, curling back his lip at Kressa. “Because if it were her, I wouldn’t tell her a word.”
Kressa grumbles, but doesn’t speak up. My chest pinches, but I swallow the defense down. Only the people of the Earth Court know she’s heir to the crown—someone worthy of more respect. Her entire life, she’s gone under the guise of an advisor, her identity protected.
Even now, she becomes a smaller version of herself.
“We don’t have much time,” I say.
He nods, twisting a gold ring around his finger. “Callum and his fleet arrived yesterday, some by ship and some by air. But—” he steps closer, lowering his voice “—there’s a rumor that Isolde is back, too.”
My blood turns cold, and I tighten my grip on the railing. “Together, or separate?”
“From what I heard, together.”
My blood runs cold.
Kressa’s eyes widen, and her head whips to me. “Did you know anything about this?”
“Of course not,” I hiss. “The last time she saw me, I nearly killed her.”
She studies me for a moment longer, scanning every facet of my face. “If we run into her, we aren’t making it out alive. Not if she has her full power and is working with Callum.”
My heart hammers in my chest, so loud I’m sure she can hear it. “Then we’ll have to do everything we can to avoid her.”
Everything I can to find her.
“Didn’t hear anything specific about Inez, I’m sorry to say,” Cassio continues. “But I watched them unload a handful of prisoners from one of the ships. All from the Sea Court, if I were a betting man.”
A stone settles in my stomach. There’s no way I’ll be able to locate my compass, search for Inez, and find Isolde while also trying to free my people from the dungeons. But if there’s a way, I’ll do it.
“Any update on the Sea Court?” I hedge.
He sighs, shaking his head. “Word has spread that you’ve returned, but there’s no one currently ruling over the court. It’s in a state of chaos, and if anyone locates Delterran, I suspect it wouldn’t last long.”
I curse under my breath, and Kressa stares ahead, unwilling to acknowledge the severity of it. With my execution scheduled only days away from now, finding Isolde is my only chance at getting back to my court. It’s the only chance of my court surviving.
“Callum is paying the pirates a hefty sum, though.” Cassio shifts his jacket.
Gold pocket watches and jewels drip from him, glinting in the sunlight.
“So much so that he welcomes them into the castle as distinguished guests. I’ve got too much dignity for that, but some of the others have taken advantage of the opportunity. ”
“That’s it.” I shift closer. “Do you have extra clothes you wouldn’t mind us borrowing?”
He scans me, then Kressa. “Aye. You’re lucky there’s some women in my crew now.”
Turning on his heel, he strides across the deck and disappears down a flight of stairs.
Kressa turns to me, her brow pinched. “Are you sure about this?”
“No, but do you have any other suggestions? It’s only been days since The Gales ended and I killed Caelus, so who knows?
There could be wanted posters of us all over Sarenia—our faces plastered on them.
But it could be so unorganized that we can slip through unnoticed.
It’s out best shot at getting into the castle. ”
She shakes her head but doesn’t argue. Gripping the railing, she looks out at Sarenia and a long sigh escapes her lips. “This used to be my home. Elias and I grew up in those halls, playing tag, hide-and-seek. I used to watch the sunrises and sunsets from the turrets, sneaking extra desserts out.”
The boat bobs, and the hull smacks against the dock, but I can’t pull my gaze from her. I can almost taste her pain on the tip of my tongue—feel her tears gathering behind my eyes. I blow out a breath. “I’ve been homesick for quite some time, too.”
“Over a decade.” She lets out a hum. “You know what’s strange though?”
“What?”
“I still felt homesick when I came back to Sarenia before The Gales. It didn’t go back until…”
“Until what?”
Her throat bobs on a swallow. “Until the first time I saw you.”
The air between us takes on a charge, and heat sweeps over me.
My pulse rockets in my ears, my stomach clenching around her words, turning them over.
I lower my gaze to the wooden planks at my feet, counting the knots in the wood—anything to stop myself from telling her that’s exactly how I felt, too.
She’s not the sea, but she’s home.
One that—when I find Isolde—I can never return to.
“We can still fix this,” I whisper, letting my eyes find hers. There’s a world behind her irises, one I’d give anything to explore if we can find a way to heal this hurt between us. “We can talk to your father, explain the situation, tell him about the bond. Maybe he’ll be understanding, and—”
“He’d kill the both of us,” she says, softly. “Don’t you think I’ve turned over every possible outcome? If I don’t do what he says, he won’t give me the crown. And I need it now, more than ever.”
“So you’re just going to let him kill me? Watch as he severs my head from my body?”
Her gaze holds mine. “Despite what you may think, and after everything you’ve done, I don’t want you to die.”
“Then why not stop it? Let me go, and we can pretend like I escaped.” I rest my palm over hers. “We can do this, together.”
She stares at our hands, then slips hers out from under mine.
“Good news,” Cassio says, reappearing from below deck with clothes hanging over his arms. He holds a pirate hat in each hand. “I found one for each of you.”
Kressa shifts a step away from me, and I drop my hand from the railing. “I owe you, Cassio.”
He shrugs. “Consider this as me earning your forgiveness. For the way I treated you when you couldn’t board my ship or touch the sea.”
I pull the hat from his hands and press it onto my head. “Consider yourself forgiven.”