Fifteen
TWO DAYS AFTER being taken captive by the Rakuuna, Charis had yet to sleep or eat. Her stomach clenched at the thought of food, her body thrumming with a strange, jittery energy that refused to let her relax. She jumped at every sound. Startled awake just as she began to doze off, convinced a monster was in her room. And withdrew into a shell of silence that no one could penetrate.
She felt one loose thread away from unraveling completely.
Halfway through yet another miserable day of being stuck belowdecks watching the vast, empty sea fly past her window as the Rakuuna vessel made the journey to Calera in half the time a regular boat would need, she decided she’d had enough of hiding. She might not have a crown on her head, but being queen of Calera was all she had left, and a queen didn’t cower when her kingdom needed strength.
Nothing would save her from what her captors had planned for her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t still help Nalani save their people. Information was the most priceless currency in any war, and she had her enemies so close she could reach out and touch them. It was time to do some spying of her own.
She had the fleeting thought that she should ask Tal for pointers, but the words stuck in her throat. Instead she left him in the cabin as he prepared to teach Holland the seven rathmas sword-fighting technique. Holland still called Tal by the name “impostor” and was rude to him, even by Holland’s standards, but he was also fascinated by all the things Tal knew, and nothing kept Holland away from what roused his curiosity.
If the past two days were any indication, Grim and Dec would soon join them, and the little cabin would become unbearably crowded.
Charis hung on to the railing as she climbed the stairs leading toward the deck. The sun was a shade brighter than it had been two days ago when Charis was last on deck, but the air instantly nipped at her cheeks and stiffened her fingers. Raising one arm to block the sun from her eyes, she moved to the edge of the boat, ignoring the scattered Rakuuna on deck.
If she acted like she belonged, she was more likely to eventually blend in. One could make valuable observations when one was overlooked.
A Rakuuna much farther down the port side called to another, and then two of them reached over the edge and hauled another Rakuuna out of the water. Charis tried not to stare at the way the water glittered against the creature’s scales or the way her limbs moved as though they had an extra joint.
Maybe they did. That could explain why their legs and arms were so disproportionately long compared to their bodies or how they could swivel their heads like owls.
She filed away that bit of information in case it was useful and rubbed her hands together to bring some warmth back into them.
The Rakuuna who’d come from the sea was carrying a large net on her back. She dumped it, and a load of fish squirmed and flopped onto the deck. Immediately, one of the other creatures squatted and began tearing the heads off each fish and stuffing them into his mouth.
Charis turned toward the sea and tried not to gag.
“It likes fish?” A voice spoke directly behind her. Instinctively, Charis grabbed a dagger from her wrist sheath as she spun on her heel to face a female Rakuuna with broad shoulders, what looked like a tattoo of a constellation on her bony chest, and a length of brown seaweed woven into her tangled braid. The female held a headless fish in her hands, skewered on the end of one claw, but the offering she’d been extending toward Charis was snatched back when she saw the knife.
“Make me bleed?” The Rakuuna hunched her shoulders, hissing as she threw the headless fish to the side and snatched Charis’s wrist instead. Her grip was painfully tight, but Charis kept her expression neutral. A predator only respected another predator. Mother had taught her that.
“I only pulled the dagger because you startled me.” Charis held the creature’s gaze, though looking into black eyes with no white rim felt like falling into an abyss.
“It should be down below.”
“I was told I could come onto the deck.”
“Wrong. Not if it makes us bleed.” The Rakuuna shook Charis’s wrist sharply, and the dagger fell to the deck as Charis’s wrist went briefly numb.
“Why do you care? We can’t harm you. You’ve proven that.” Charis watched her carefully. If she was afraid of physical harm, then they were vulnerable to weapons. Charis just had to learn how.
“Dishonorable.”
Charis’s laugh was an icicle, shattering on impact. “Do not speak to me of honor. We did you no harm. And yet you sank entire ships full of innocent people. Invaded my kingdom and killed anyone you met. Families out celebrating. Children dancing in the street. The queen herself. The Rakuuna are many things, but honorable isn’t one of them.”
“It does not speak against my queen.” The Rakuuna hauled Charis closer.
So they were deeply loyal, then. Charis appreciated that, even as it meant finding a Rakuuna to exploit for information might be difficult. So be it. She was adept at tricking others into giving her far more than they’d planned to.
“Your queen ordered the slaughter of innocents, both here and in Rullenvor. What kind of monster does that?” Charis threw the words at her.
“A good queen saves her people.” Spittle flew from the Rakuuna’s mouth, spraying Charis’s cheek. “It knows nothing of this. It runs away from its people.”
Interesting. What did the Rakuuna queen think she was saving her people from by invading peaceful kingdoms? Or was that simply the excuse she’d given the foot soldiers, who might balk at the idea of colonizing for wealth?
She softened her voice, infusing it with pity. “Your loyalty is admirable, but it is not honorable to kill innocents, even to save your own.”
The female bared her fangs and hissed, her claws breaking the skin on Charis’s wrist. With a jerk, she yanked Charis toward the stairs, sending her tumbling to the deck, where she was dragged by one arm. The Rakuuna took the stairs in three bounds, slamming Charis against the steps as she went, and then threw her against the wall outside her cabin. Charis’s head rapped sharply against the wood. Bending low, the Rakuuna whispered, “It stays quiet until it gets to Calera and our queen kills it.”
Charis tried to respond, but her head was fuzzy, and everything hurt as though she’d been trampled by a horse. The door to the cabin opened as the Rakuuna stalked away, and someone gasped.
Charis tried to rise, only to crumple to the floor.
“Charis!” Tal ran forward and dropped to his knees beside her. “Where are you hurt?”
Her vision wavered as she turned her face toward his.
“I’m fine,” she rasped.
“Liar,” he said softly.
She gave him a look of murderous fury. Or at least she tried to. Her body didn’t want to obey messages from her brain.
“I’m going to lift you and get you into bed,” he said firmly, as though expecting an argument. Which was fair, given that in the past two days, she’d either snapped at him or ignored him entirely.
This time, she simply closed her eyes and said nothing.
The Rakuuna had said her queen was going to kill Charis when she arrived in Calera. Was that the truth? Or just an assumption?
Tal slid his arms beneath her back and scooped her up. Cradling her against his chest, he made his way into the cabin. Holland was gone. Probably checking on the other Calerans. As Tal carefully settled her on the bed, he parted her mass of curly hair and examined what he found.
“You’ve got a pretty good knot here,” he said as he ran his fingers along the rest of her scalp, likely hunting for more injuries.
Charis batted his hand away none too gently.
The Rakuuna had been telling the truth as she knew it. Maybe it came from the understanding that to fully control a kingdom, its former ruling family had to be eradicated, the way it seemed the Rakuuna had done in Rullenvor. Or maybe the female who’d dragged Charis down the stairs knew that her queen had to make an example of Charis to break the rebellion brewing in Calera.
Charis had believed the bounty had been placed on her head as a way to use her to gain King Alaric’s jewels, but any heir to the Caleran throne would satisfy the treaty. He could marry one of his children to Holland, Nalani, or, seers forbid, Ferris, and it wouldn’t change a thing about what he stood to gain. If the Rakuuna queen killed Charis, however, she could destroy the spirit of rebellion in Calera by snuffing out their symbol of hope.
“What happened?” Tal asked as he dipped a cloth in the basin of icy water and then carefully positioned it against the bump on her head.
“Nothing.” She ought to feel scared. Defeated. Angry. Something. Instead, she felt numb.
“I’ve been with them for weeks, and they’ve never attacked me like this. Was there something...” He gave her a long look. “You didn’t goad her into doing this to you, did you?”
She looked away.
“Charis, that’s incredibly dangerous.” He looked worried, and she had the sudden urge to laugh. It bubbled up, raw and bitter, and once she started, she found she couldn’t stop.
“What’s so funny?”
“Warning me... that something is... dangerous.” The laughter burned now, scraping against the chasm within her as though it was a thing born from darkness. “I’m going to die, Tal.” Her voice rose as the laughter faded away. “They’re going to kill me, so what does it matter if it happens on this ship or after I disembark? The least I can do is get useful information for my people in the time I have left.”
The room was really spinning now, and Charis felt sick to her stomach. Her eyelids fluttered closed on a final glimpse of Tal’s face, stricken and pale, and then something heavier than sleep took her.
Charis woke with a dull headache and the unwelcome sight of Tal slumped in a chair, his head resting on the side of the bed as he slept. The cabin was pitch dark except for a lantern burning on low beside the vanity basin. Holland snored comfortably from his bunk above Charis.
Tal must have spent the entire day and most of the night at her side.
It was ridiculous to feel warm at the thought of him still pretending to care.
Irritated with herself, she sat up, wincing at the pain in her head, and took satisfaction in the way Tal jerked awake, wild-eyed and confused.
“Go away,” she said, her voice still husky with sleep.
He scrubbed a hand over his face, ran it through his hair, and then sat back in the chair. “No.”
She froze, her chin lifting as she stared him down. “What did you just say to me?”
“I said no.” He sounded calm—a bold choice given that she was absolutely certain the look on her face screamed murder.
Her hands curled into fists, and he gave her a rueful little smile.
“Hit me if it will help you feel better. I won’t try to block it.”
She sat up straighter. “I don’t need your permission.”
“That’s true, but you do need my help.”
“I’d rather die.” She threw the truth at him, the words vibrating with fury and pain, and his eyes darkened.
“I’m sorry, Charis.” He tried to hold her gaze, but she looked past him at the faint sheen of starlight drifting in through the porthole. The apology of a traitor was worth nothing.
“Leave me alone,” she said again. She wasn’t going to untangle the sheets from her legs and subdue her hair with him as an audience.
“I will, but first we need to talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you.” A lie, but one she’d defend with her last breath. Better to shut him out completely than to risk showing him just how badly broken she felt inside.
“Fine. Then you can listen.” He shot a glance at Holland as though checking to make sure he couldn’t overhear them, but his snores remained undisturbed.
She opened her mouth to protest, sure he was about to dive into a discussion about their relationship, but instead he said quietly, “We are going to discuss your assumption that you’re close to death once I’ve earned enough of your trust for you to listen to me.”
Her lip curled, and he hurried on. “In the meantime, I have information that you need. I’ve been gathering it for weeks.”
“By cozying up to your enemy, no doubt. One of your greatest talents.” Her words were dagger-sharp and bleeding fury.
“It worked.” His voice was flat. “I gained their trust, and they no longer pay attention to me as I wander the ship.”
“How foolish of them.”
“Maybe.” He leaned his forearms on his knees, and Charis ignored the treacherous flutter of her heart when this motion brought him closer to her. “There are several Rakuuna aboard this ship who are terribly sick. Skin flaking off, unable to eat, feverish, lungs filling with fluid. Maybe other problems, too, I’m not sure. Sometimes I volunteer to help. Two weeks ago, I overheard one of the Rakuuna who runs the medical bay say that the serpanicite from Rullenvor’s mines was nearly gone.”
“Serpanicite?” Charis frowned. Lady Ollen from the royal council had worn a huge serpanicite ring, proud to own such a rare piece. “What are they buying with it and from whom?”
Why would the Rakuuna focus on such a rare gem when others were more easily accessible? What was so expensive that they needed serpanicite to afford it? And which of the sea kingdoms was bartering with the Rakuuna?
“I don’t know.” Tal stretched, his back popping as he arched it. “I’ve also learned that the captain is the queen’s nephew or uncle... his Caleran is rudimentary, so I’m not certain. Anyway, they’re related.”
She looked away. That meant the captain was privy to accurate information about the queen and her plans, which meant the assumption that Charis was being taken to her execution was likely true.
How could she keep her promise to free her people if she was going to die once she reached Calera’s shore? The answer that came to her made her clench her jaw until it ached.
She’d rather use Reuben. Holland. Any member of her crew.
Anyone but Tal.
But of every captive on board this ship, he had the best chance of survival. His father was the one who had the jewels the Rakuuna needed, which meant Tal had leverage. The Rakuuna queen wouldn’t risk angering King Alaric enough that he’d refuse to make a deal with her.
Fine. She’d use him. Her people mattered more than her pride.
But there was a fine line between using him and allowing him into her inner circle, and she wasn’t going to forget on which side of the line he belonged.
“King Alaric agreed to help me retake my kingdom. Perhaps you and Holland can use some of his serpanicite as leverage to bargain with the Rakuuna queen. Obviously, he doesn’t have enough to satisfy them or he’d have already paid the ransom for you, but you just need to distract the queen long enough to stage an attack she doesn’t see coming.”
Tal’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “I wouldn’t put too much faith in my father.”
“I don’t put much faith in any royal from Montevallo,” she said crisply, ignoring the flash of hurt in his eyes.
If he hurt, it was only a small fraction of the pain he’d given her. She expected him to argue the point, to try to get her to see his actions in a better light, but all he said was, “I don’t either. However, I’m not sure an attack against the Rakuuna will be successful. I’ve observed them for weeks, and other than the illness in the sick bay, I haven’t seen signs of any physical weakness we could take advantage of.”
An idea formed as she looked out the window to avoid his gaze. An idea daring enough that even Holland would approve. Maybe she could still make a few moves in her deadly game against the Rakuuna queen. Maybe she didn’t have to spend her days willing the despair away as her fate closed in on her.
And maybe she could still keep the promises she’d made to her people by using the traitor who’d broken her heart.
As the sound of footsteps in the corridor drifted past the closed door, she said softly, “I learned something, too.” Pulling the small satchel of moriarthy dust from her belt, she dangled it in front of him. “And I’ve got a plan.”