Chapter 18
Somewhere in the Amrata Ocean
Wind pushed against the sails, sending the ship cutting through the dark blue water. Mist sprayed as the vessel rose and dipped with each wave. An azure sky met indigo ocean as far as the eye could see in every direction. Arya had never felt as small or insignificant as she did in that moment.
She blinked against the bright sun that burned her eyes and swung her head to the side, where her mate stood at the helm.
Jai stood tall and straight, his hands on the wheel and feet braced apart as he stared ahead, a look of utter contentment on his handsome face.
He knew every inch of the ship. He knew how she would react, as if the vessel and he were one being.
Jai was born to be here. On the water, commanding a ship and riding the waves.
She had known he missed it, but he hadn’t said a word.
When the business with the Masters was finished, they would set sail on this vessel, charting the seas for as long as he wished.
They could travel at night and sleep during the day.
It wasn’t as if she had a family who would miss her now. Besides, she couldn’t be an agent for the CCD forever. It was a good plan, and one she knew Jai would approve of.
Suddenly, his gaze met hers. His smile widened, his expression softening as it always did when he looked her way.
She headed to him when he motioned her over.
As she approached, he let go of the wheel with one hand and slid her between him and the helm, molding his front to her back.
Arya leaned back against him and sighed.
“How is your seasickness?” he asked.
Her skin tingled where his warm breath brushed against her ear. “Perfectly in hand.”
“Good. Now, tell me why you were staring.”
“Can’t I look at my gorgeous lover?” she teased and turned her head to glance at him with a smile.
Jai pressed his lips to hers. “You’d better always look.”
She sighed and returned her gaze to the horizon.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he said.
“I was thinking about our future.”
He placed one hand on her hip and tugged her closer. “I like the sound of that. What did you come up with?”
“That we should sail around the realm. This is where you belong. Right here at the helm.”
Jai was silent for a heartbeat. “Is that what you really want?”
She turned to face him and looped her arms around his neck. Strands of her long, white hair pulled free from her braid to wave around her face. “What I want is a life with you. It doesn’t matter where that is or what we’re doing.”
“Is it any wonder that I fell in love with you?” he asked.
Arya shrugged a shoulder. “Of course not. I’m amazing.”
“That you are,” he said huskily.
“Does that mean you like the future I’ve crafted?”
His eyes, a beautiful light gray with beads of silver woven through his irises and deep gray bands encircling it all, held hers. “I love the water. I love being on a ship. But they pale in comparison to what I feel for you. I don’t care if I never see either one as long as you’re by my side.”
“We lost so many years,” she began.
He put a finger to her lips. “None of that matters now. We found each other again. We triumphed against our enemy, and we will win against the evil plaguing our land.”
She melted into him as he traced her bottom lip with the tip of his finger.
“I survived years of misery and torment to find my way back to you. Nothing could stop me from finding you, and nothing will keep me from having a life with you,” he whispered before giving her a soft, lingering kiss.
Arya wanted to stop time and savor the moment for longer, but she knew the instant she felt his body tense that their private time was finished. He looked down at her and stroked her face. Then, he lifted his head and placed both hands on the helm.
She turned to face forward. “We’ve reached the spot, haven’t we?”
“Aye. Hold the wheel,” he bade.
She grabbed the helm just as he released it.
Jai hurried down the steps and called out instructions to Rohan and Farah as he climbed up the rigging.
Arya followed him with her eyes, but the blinding sun made it unbearable, giving her no choice but to look away.
Jai was hurting, too, but like everything else, he never complained.
It wasn’t long before the sails were lowered and tied off. She waited to hear him give the command to lower the anchor, and was surprised when it didn’t come. Rohan frantically stalked around the edge of the ship, looking over the side into the water as if expecting Kalyani to suddenly pop up.
Rohan made a complete lap before he halted, his hands on the railing as his chin dropped to his chest. “I knew we wouldn’t find anything. But still, I hoped.”
Jai scaled the rigging once more and shielded his eyes with his hand as he scanned the area. “These are the coordinates the stones gave Yasmin. The currents would’ve taken anything away that was left over.”
“Left over?” Farah asked.
Arya said what no one else would. “Animals.”
“The sloop was headed westward,” Jai said.
They all followed the direction of his finger. There was nothing more than water in that direction, at least from what Arya could see. Except that was the same direction they had come from after escaping Mortham and stealing the ship.
She swiveled her head back to Jai to find him watching her. When they had swum out of that cave, she had hoped it would be the last time she saw that place. But deep inside, she had known they would return one day.
“Rohan!”
Farah’s shout pulled Arya’s gaze away in time to hear a splash as Rohan dove into the water.
“Bloody hell,” Jai said. “I’ll follow him.”
Arya rushed to the side just as Jai climbed out onto the rigging and plunged into the waves.
“We have to find Kalyani,” Farah said, her gaze locked on the water. “He won’t survive otherwise.”
“We’ll find her.”
It wasn’t in Arya’s nature to make false promises, and even though she hoped they would locate Kalyani, she couldn’t shake the feeling that things wouldn’t go as planned. They had all been lucky so far. Eventually, that luck would run out.
The vessel started to turn as it got caught in a current. Arya returned to the helm and caught the spinning wheel to hold it straight. Each second felt like an eternity as they waited for Jai and Rohan to surface.
“They’re back,” Farah shouted as she raced down the ship to lower the ladder over the side.
Rohan was the first to climb up. Farah wrapped her arms around him the instant his feet were on the deck.
Arya stared at the rope holding the ladder, waiting to see Jai.
She released the breath she had been holding when she spotted his hand, quickly followed by his head.
She looped a rope around the helm to keep it in place and made her way to him.
Water dripped from his clothes as he met her halfway. He was out of breath, his white hair slicked back against his head as he shook it. Of course, there had been nothing to find. Kalyani had been here too many hours ago.
“How far down did you go?” Rohan asked.
Jai turned to face him. “As far as I could. I caught a glimpse of the bottom before I had to get air.”
“Anything look like an elven city?” Farah asked.
Jai shook his head. “There could have been, but I could only see about twenty feet before me. The deeper you go, the darker it gets.”
“I couldn’t dive as deep as I’d hoped.” Rohan leaned against the side of the ship. “Look around. Kalyani could be anywhere. I may never find her.”
Arya grabbed Jai’s hand, needing something to hold on to. “She’s alive, and she’s not with the Masters. Those are two things we can be happy about.”
“I should be pleased about that. But I’m not.” Rohan straightened and walked to the stairs that would take him down to the sleeping quarters.
Farah patted Jai’s arm in thanks and followed Rohan.
Arya waited until they were alone before turning to Jai. “Did you really not see anything?”
“Being down there is worse than a human walking in our world. It’s not just the currents and the animals. It’s the fact that I can’t move properly. Or breathe. If we’re going to find Kalyani, we need a Sea Elf to do it.”