Eight
CHARIS STOOD ON the dock and struggled to breathe past the fist of panic closing around her throat. Every creak of a boat nudging against its mooring became the telltale sound of the Rakuuna ship closing in. Every slap of the waves against the pilings was a monster clawing its way out of the sea.
She hadn’t been quick enough in her search for answers, and now she’d brought danger to the people of Solvang.
Charis’s body trembled, and the ground shifted beneath her. From what felt like a great distance, the sound of voices pierced the faint ringing in her ears.
“—can’t take that risk, can we?”
“Perhaps the king of Solvang would—”
“He can’t do anything. No one can. We’re—”
A warm hand wrapped around her arm, steadying her as her knees buckled. “Your Majesty.”
She blinked, and Orayn’s face swam into focus. His dark eyes held hers, calm and unflinching. His hand lent her strength while she slowly became aware of the icy wind scraping across her cheeks and the creaking dock resting solidly beneath her feet.
“There you go,” Orayn said, as if he’d simply helped her over a slick patch of wood. “It’s all right now.”
She clenched her teeth to keep them from chattering. Nothing was all right. The enemy was here, and the only weapon Charis had was one tiny satchel of poison tied to her waist. Movement caught her eye, and she turned to find the others standing on the dock, watching her. Waiting.
She was supposed to have the answers. She was supposed to know what came next.
The faint light of the sister moons gleamed against Dec’s dark eyes, and Charis flinched inwardly at the compassion she saw there.
Her chin rose, though her jaw was still tight. She took a step back, breaking Orayn’s hold on her arm, and forced herself to quickly sort through her options and find a path forward.
One that didn’t end in bloodshed.
“What should we do, Your Majesty?” Finn asked, sounding as if he was working hard to remain calm.
She drew in a ragged breath and reached for the voice Mother had used when her people needed to believe she was a shield of iron standing between them and what they feared. “We have only one real choice. We set sail immediately, using the fog as cover.”
“How will we get out of the harbor when we can’t see more than half a ship’s length ahead?” Grim asked.
She glanced at Orayn, who said quickly, “We’ll use our maps and a depth finder to keep ourselves away from the shoreline. If we take it slow, we can manage.”
“We’ll sail in absolute silence and will not light a single lamp until we’re far from Solvang.” Charis looked to Dec. “You have forty minutes to gather any crew who aren’t yet on board. Otherwise, we leave without you.”
He bowed and left the docks at a run.
Turning to the others, Charis spat out orders. “Grim, go make sure everything is on board and secured. I don’t want the sound of a trunk sliding across the deck to give us away. Orayn, you and Finn chart your course and get the depth finder ready.”
She turned to her guards. “Vellis, you’ll bring word to Lord Holland and Lady Nalani that we’ve had to sail early to avoid detection.”
Heaviness filled her at the realization that there would be no goodbyes. No last chance to properly return Nalani’s hug or tell Holland what his stalwart support meant to her. Pushing her feelings aside, she met Vellis’s gaze. “Have them report the presence of the Rakuuna to King Gareth and Queen Vyllanthra. Orayn, how long should it take us to reach Embre?”
The big man counted on his fingers, his lips moving silently as he calculated the distance, and then he said, “With winds like this, two and a half weeks. Maybe three.”
She turned back to Vellis. “Let Lady Nalani know that I will send a palloren once we reach Embre. If she hasn’t heard from me at the end of five weeks, she should assume that we were lost at sea and work with King Gareth to send a Solvanish ship to purchase the poison.”
Vellis bowed, but Charis wasn’t finished. “One more thing, and it is the most important. You are to stay behind and guard Lady Nalani. Create a security team around her the way you did for me.”
Vellis’s mouth dropped open, and she looked ready to protest. Charis hurried on. “Reuben, you are to stay behind and guard Lord Holland. I feel sure he’ll make it difficult, but he is my heir, with Lady Nalani second in line. You must let nothing happen to them. Am I clear?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Vellis whispered, bowing again.
Reuben, on the other hand, glared. “I decline that assignment.”
Charis set her teeth. “You don’t get to decline anything. I’m your queen, and I gave you an order.”
He folded his arms. “You are in imminent danger, Your Majesty.”
“All the more reason to make sure my heirs are alive and well.”
“I would rather make sure you are alive and well.” His tone was mutinous.
She held his gaze for a long moment. “We both know the chances of me surviving both the Rakuuna who hunt me and the battle for Calera are small. I’m fighting to save our kingdom, but I don’t necessarily expect to be alive to rule it. If Holland or Nalani can’t take the throne, that leaves the leadership of Calera in the hands of my fourth cousin, Ferris Everly, and I believe we agree that’s not an option that bears considering.”
“Your Majesty—”
“I need to know my heirs are safe, Reuben. And while you and I often have our differences, I trust your ruthless dedication to your responsibility.” She straightened her spine as another gust of wind whipped through her cloak. “You all have your orders. We leave in forty minutes. Get it done.”
Precisely forty minutes later, Charis’s ship quietly slipped its berth and began slowly moving toward the mouth of the harbor. Or at least Charis hoped that was the direction they were headed. It was impossible to see from one end of the ship to the other in the thick fog, much less track their surroundings.
Except for the creaking of the timbers and the snap of the mainmast in the wind, the deck was silent. Most of the crew were belowdecks, waiting as one agonizing minute bled into another. Orayn had advised Charis to wait belowdecks as well, but she’d refused.
If the Rakuuna came for her, they wouldn’t find her hiding. They’d find a fierce, vengeful queen facing them head-on from the bow of her ship.
Her hands shook as she gripped the railing, made slick by the fog.
She hadn’t been able to say goodbye to those she loved, just like she hadn’t been able to say goodbye to her parents. She was so far from her kingdom and the person she’d once been that the invisible threads binding her to her home felt stretched thin enough to snap. And Alaric had agreed to help her without mention of his youngest son, which meant she no longer had any strategic reason to rescue Tal—a fact that shouldn’t have mattered to her and yet somehow did.
The darkness within shivered as one grief became tangled in the next, until all that remained was empty, all-consuming loss. Thick tendrils of mist drifted across the deck, brushing against Charis and moving on without breaking form, as though she had no substance. As though she was nothing but a memory.
Her eyes burned, and she blinked rapidly to keep tears from falling.
The mainmast flapped, timbers grinding as someone adjusted the sails, and then the ship began gently curving to the right.
They were leaving the harbor. At any moment, the Rakuuna might spot them and come swarming on board. Or maybe they would simply tear the ship to pieces, fish Charis out of the water, and take her back to Calera.
At least she had a plan in place to ensure the poison in Embre would be purchased and an armada would descend upon the Rakuuna in Calera’s port. And Alaric could still be convinced to help since the treaty between their kingdoms stated that an heir of Calera would marry an heir of Montevallo. Charis needn’t be alive for that to happen.
Holland would be furious to suddenly become both king and betrothed to Tal’s older sister.
From a distance, muffled by the shroud of fog, the sound of bones rattling against cobblestones drifted through the air.
The breath froze in Charis’s lungs.
She knew that sound. The first time she’d heard it, she’d been aboard this same ship, hunting for the enemy who was sinking Caleran vessels, blissfully ignorant of the calamity that was coming for her people. It was the strange language of the Rakuuna. The noise they made after the piercing wail that seemed to start their conversations.
Charis gripped the railing until her palms ached.
Where were they?
In their ship, anchored outside the harbor? Or in the water, hunting for Charis and her people?
Another rattle, like a gust of wind disturbing dry twigs.
The fog made it hard to tell what direction the sound was coming from, much less how far away it was.
Charis drew in an unsteady breath. If the fog was distorting the sound of the Rakuuna, then it should be doing the same for the tiny bit of noise her ship made as it sliced through the swells. As long as the wind held, they would be far away from Solvang by the time the midday sun burned through the mist.
The Rakuuna had no way of knowing which ship was Charis’s, or even if she’d still been in Solvang, so it was unlikely they’d be immediately concerned about the ship that had set sail in the middle of the night. Who knew how long it would take them to realize they needed to keep searching the sea for her?
The faint echo of a high-pitched wail slithered through the fog, and someone behind Charis swore softly. She stiffened, her heart suddenly pounding as the person said, “Maybe we ought to load the cannons, just in case.”
Equal parts fury and hope flooded her as she turned on her heel to find Holland standing there, clearly exhilarated by the prospect of risking his life. Reuben stood beside him, defiant.
Keeping her voice barely above a whisper, she said, “I explicitly ordered you to keep Holland in Solvang.” She glared at Reuben, but the shadow of loneliness within her shrank a little as Holland grinned.
“No, you explicitly ordered him to guard me. And here he is”—Holland flung out a hand toward the older man— “guarding me.”
“I told you to stay behind.” She pinned Holland with her glare, for all the good that ever did.
“And I decided not to.”
The ship swayed as it plowed through a patch of rough swells, and Charis braced herself while Reuben looked ill. Holland, however, looked even more excited than he had when he’d heard the Rakuuna.
“I was trying to keep you safe.” The words drew blood from the most tender area of her heart. How was she supposed to shoulder the responsibility for the life of another person she loved? Especially when she was their enemy’s primary target?
“I don’t care much for being safe.” Holland shrugged and then looked at her properly. His smile faded. “I’m staying at your side for as long as it takes to see this through. Nalani and I both agreed I was the best person to help you on the journey while she helps from Solvang. You might as well just accept my presence because you can’t get rid of me.”
“But you could die.”
His eyes lit up as he whispered, “Yes, but life isn’t worth much if you aren’t risking everything for what you believe in. Just think of this as the best adventure I’ve ever had.”
“Holland.” Her whisper carried the words she couldn’t bring herself to say. That she was furious he’d put himself in danger for her. That she was grateful to have a friend close by as she sailed into the unknown. That she’d never forgive herself if anything happened to him because of her.
He brushed a hand against her shoulder in a rare show of affection and said, “You’re welcome. Now, are we staying out here all night listening for monsters, or are we trying to get some sleep so we can help relieve Orayn and Finn when the fog burns off?”
“You and Reuben go get some rest. I’ll be along shortly.” She raised a brow and waited for arguments, but the two men seemed to realize they’d pushed their luck enough for one night.
Turning back to the bow, she peered into the fog and listened for any sign that the monsters who hunted her were closing in.