Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Come to the Crystal Castle. See light where there was darkness. She freed the Itherians. Be a part of this.
—Correspondence from Ordell to Enya. Date preceding Sultiran Calendrical System.
The soft lapping of water drew me from sleep, and I inhaled a deep breath of cedar. My head fell to the side and landed on soft, cottony sheets. I tugged the furs higher and reached for Bayne as my aching arm slid across the bed.
My hand found only cold, abandoned space, and I tugged it back in, huddling against the draft that snaked its way into the captain’s quarters.
I blinked my eyes open, frowning at the wall of weapons before me. Axes, intricate bows, spears, curved blades. What the…
Astraeus.
I was in Lord Astraeus’s captain’s quarters. The events of the last several weeks raced back into view as I sat up, and nausea slammed into me. I leaned over its edge and hurled into a small bowl of stew that had been left for me.
I was alive. And weak, I realized, as I slowly sat up. I tugged an oversized tunic off my chest, disgusted as I recognized the pirate lord’s shirt. Every part of me reeled at the thought.
My fingers grazed an oval burn blistered on my chest. My amplifier had done this.
I sucked in a quick breath and scanned the black wooden desk where my things sat.
I tiptoed to the amplifier that sat on top of the round stone containing Faron’s Bellator power next to a stack of books.
A small gasp escaped my lips as I lifted the pendant, still warm to the touch, and ran a thumb over the surface.
A delicate etching of ferns and flowers twisted around each other, adorning the once smooth amber in an elaborate design.
Bayne must have worked a spell into the amplifier to keep it from being destroyed.
As I tapped into its power, the spell directed the resulting damage to follow a design on its surface.
I gazed with wonder at the pendant and popped it open.
The remains of the small, ancient creature hadn’t been disturbed. Even with all the power it took to…
Aquila.
Nerissa and Vulcan.
I scrambled as I tugged on my leathers and threw on my own bloodstained shirt. Fogginess clouded my head as I stumbled toward the door. I blew out a breath as I stepped from Lord Astraeus’s quarters and into the bright light of midday on board the Hydra.
Vulcan’s scarred face was free of the blood that coated it before our trip through the lake.
His hazel eyes found mine and softened, with the smallest hint of a smile forming on his lips.
I opened my mouth as I moved toward him when a thin form rushed at me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders and squeezing the breath from me.
“Lyvia!” Vienah cried against my shoulder.
“I’m so glad you’re all right,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Where is—”
A deafening screech echoed above as Aquila’s massive shadow swooped behind the mainsail, and he landed with a thud in the middle of the deck.
The few remaining in Lord Astraeus’s crew stumbled back at the sight of the giant bird.
Who was now…enormous. His wingspan rivaled Tiberius’s, and his body was large enough to carry one, if not more riders.
Caeluma.
His keen eyes surveyed me, and he cocked his head, sending a wave of gratitude and warmth. I placed a hand upon my chest as he bowed. A squeezing sensation built in my heart, and I blinked away a tear.
“Thank you, Aquila.”
The bird straightened, his form towering over me and casting a net of shadow as he ruffled his coppery feathers.
“Is Nerissa okay?”
A wave of reassurance, hedged with concern, rippled, and he turned his head toward the crew chambers below deck.
I moved to make my way below deck when Carina strode toward me with an air of confidence I’d yet to see in her.
“Bonder,” she said, adjusting her cracked spectacles.
Carina stood with her chin high, and her Ravindra eyes narrowed on me.
A nasty cut ran down the side of her face and across the side of her upper lip, making her appear anything but timid.
The shadows of battle lingered in the traces of darkness below her eyes.
Gone was the meek, mousy princess we’d left Lotrennia with.
“Your call to protect the innocent,” Carina continued. “Your oath with Astraeus. Does it extend to the innocent in Lotrennia?”
I blinked. “Yes. Of course.”
She peered at me, her keen eyes studying me as if struggling with some internal decision.
“I am under orders to return the bone to my mother. As are you,” she said, her eyes still hard on my own. “Do you remember the terms of her deal?”
My lips pursed as I replayed the words of Queen Antares in my head. She’d bring our fleet back to Sultira when I gave her the bone.
“They’ve wed,” she continued. “If what Tiberius showed you was true, Bayne is king, which means fifteen thousand Lotrennians will follow you to Sultira. But only if you return to our land with the bone.”
My stomach pitched. I wouldn’t give Queen Antares this power. We’d find another way to dethrone Saros and return to Sultira. I couldn’t let any Bellator power fall into her hands.
“Are you willing to let that go? The aid and power of the elves? Even if it means the continued sacrifice of Sultira’s people while you wait to dethrone him?”
Fresh nausea churned in my gut. “She’s not getting this bone, or any other bone of power,” I said quietly.
Carina’s eyes bounced between mine as she took a step closer. “Leaders are forced to make difficult choices. My mother has made many that have left her…”
She paused, glancing at Aquila's large form behind me. “Scarred. And changed. She wasn’t always like this.”
Her eyes drifted toward the sea beyond us and its vibrant waters before shaking her head.
“I haven’t sworn the air oath to my mother.
She reserves that right for people she deems more valuable.
” Carina crossed her arms as she surveyed me.
“But I’d swear one to you, if your offer of an alliance still stands. ”
“An air oath?”
“The same words Astraeus swore to you,” she confirmed. “That you receive my counsel. That you use your powers to unify the lands of Vael.”
I blinked and nodded, taken aback by her sudden offer.
“I’ll find you later,” she murmured and moved to join Kresida at the back of the ship.
“Nerissa’s below,” Vulcan muttered as he approached, his voice dry and throaty as if he’d hurled a gallon of lake water.
“How long has it been?”
“A day and a half,” he murmured as his blonde eyebrows furrowed.
We entered a small, private room below deck where Nerissa’s form lay peacefully under a thick, black fur. Ronan straddled the sole chair, hunched over the back of it as he watched her.
“Has she awoken yet?” I asked quietly as I entered.
I stepped around the chair and knelt beside her cot. Ronan wiped the crumbs from his eyes, rubbing the space between them. He shook his head, light curls dull and splattered with mud and dried blood.
“Have you slept?”
Ronan turned toward me and raised his eyebrows. Of course not.
“I can take over,” I said, concern squeezing at my chest. I reached out to the wall I had so forcefully broken through. My consciousness reeled back as a current of flame lashed at it. Despite the guard, my chest eased. She was still there.
“Pretty sure you’re needed elsewhere,” he muttered, turning back to Nerissa. “I’m not leaving.”
My brows pinched in question.
“Astraeus,” Vulcan answered.
I scoffed, shaking my head. “He can wait,” I growled, nodding to Vulcan and pulling a chair up next to Ronan. “I’m staying.”
Ronan’s lips twitched.
A tug of air pulled me from my slumber. I blinked at Nerissa, still asleep, as I sat up.
Ronan lay passed out on the floor. A shade of amusement rose as I remembered the last time he offered to sleep on the floor.
Such different circumstances. And instead of dredging up the stinging ache of betrayal, the memory brought a swell of gratitude along with it for his friendship.
His love for Nerissa was so clearly written in his actions that I wondered how anyone, Nerissa and I included, ever missed it in the first place.
Another tug of air, this time wrapping itself around my braid.
What the hell—
A wave of irritation washed over me as I realized Lord Astraeus was pulling on the air oath connecting us.
A third tug.
I might murder him.
Another.
I stood, ready to make my way upstairs, when it happened again. This time, I grabbed hold of the air and yanked. Smug satisfaction bloomed in my chest as a choked cough came from above deck.
“What in Tynan’s Hell is wrong with you?” I snapped as I found him smirking above deck.
He was back in his deep blue coat, hair cleaned and braided, his beard neatly trimmed. He flashed a white smile and arched a dark brow.
“Milady.” He sketched a bow. “Is that any way to speak to your captain?”
My stomach twisted. “You’ll never be my captain.”
His dark eyes narrowed as he stepped closer. “We’ll see about that,” he whispered. “I’ve called you to—”
“First of all,” I stopped him, placing a hand on his chest and shoving him back. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” he said, the sides of his lips kicking up into a smirk once more.
“You know what,” I snapped, and a glint entered his dark eyes as he tugged once more, flipping my braid over my shoulder.
My fingernails dug into my palms as I resisted the urge to claw his face off. “I swear to the gods, if you do that one more time, I will—”
“You will what?” he asked, cocking his head. “This was your idea, you know.”
I opened my mouth to respond when Raek stepped to his side, eyes darting between us.
“Fish stew?” he said, holding a steaming bowl toward me.
I paused mid-breath and stared at the hand he outstretched. A savory blend of spices wafted from the hearty helping. I swallowed the growing amount of spit that formed in my mouth. Oh, gods. That smell.
“Err… Yes. Thank you, Raek.”
I swallowed once more, taking the bowl from him as he stepped away. I lifted the stew to my lips and stifled the groan that threatened to escape.
I blinked my eyes open, not realizing I’d closed them after a couple mouthfuls. When was the last time I’d eaten?
Turning back to Lord Astraeus, I scowled, noting the look of satisfaction that accompanied the insufferable smirk still plastered on his face. His teeth slid over his lower lip, stretching the scar, as he watched me shovel the rest of the stew down. I shoved the empty bowl into his hands.
“Raek is a good cook.”
“Bit salty if I’m being honest,” I murmured.
“Liar.” He chuckled, the sound sending an involuntary set of bumps down my arm.
He handed me a waterskin, and I slugged it down before straightening my shoulders.
“Where were we?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“Right.” I lifted a finger. “I need our coordinates, Astraeus. Others will be joining us soon.”
“Tiberius, I assume?”
“Who told you that?”
He waved a hand and walked across the deck. I bristled before scooting after him to keep up with his long stride.
Tiberius. I took a quick survey of my energy and opened the connection to my caeluma. My heart warmed at the touch of his consciousness, despite the chill air that swirled around him. Still airborne then.
“We are about fifty miles east of Sultira, heading south.”
My stomach pitched. South? I opened my mouth.
“You were the one who said Nivis is heading toward Sultira, right? We can’t go west. We need to sail south.”
“We need to get to Lotrennia—”
The pirate lord shrugged, and his lips kicked up in a cocky grin I longed to slap right off.
He hopped up the steps to the quarterdeck, where he gave a nod to one of his men who handed him the helm.
Astraeus’s palms rested casually on the smooth wood as he turned back to me.
His dark eyes sparked as he paused, staring at me curiously.
“What?”
“Are you talking to him right now?”
I blinked.
Got what you need?
Yes. See you in a day.
I threw my love down the bond before cutting the cast.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” I said back to Astraeus.
“You’re a terrible liar, Bonscaíh.”
I threw him a vulgar gesture, and his intolerable grin widened.
“What is it like?” he asked quietly.
“It’s like none of your damned business.” I turned, stalking down the quarterdeck and headed toward Astraeus’s quarters to remove the rest of my belongings.
One day.
Tiberius would be here in one day. A smile tugged at my lips. Too long. It had been far too long.