Chapter 38 #2
She swallows, and her knowing eyes meet mine. For once, I don’t look away. I offer the sliver of what I have—this feeling of gratitude and vulnerability. A long, silent moment passes by, nothing but the beating of our hearts and the women’s footsteps trudging through sand outside.
“Thank you,” she says, holding the door open.
Simon guides each woman into the hull, and they lower their heads between their knees. He throws a large tarp over them, and Kressa helps him secure it to the sides with ropes.
I stand on dry sand and worry my lip.
Kressa nods to Simon and whispers something I can’t hear over the crashing waves. They push the boat into the surf, and Simon jumps in at the bow, collecting a pair of oars. Kressa returns to my side, the bottom half of her pants dripping with water.
Her shoulder brushes against mine. “The tarp is to hide them. If someone spots the rowboat in the harbor, they’ll assume it’s just a fisherman.”
I swallow. “But on a night like tonight? The Princess’s birthday? If anyone sees him—”
She tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, the pads of her fingers skimming my lobe. “This is his third trip of the night. I asked him to take them last so I could prove to you they’re okay.”
The small boat disappears around the mouth of the cove. My heart tumbles against my ribs and I hold my breath, praying we don’t hear an alarm.
“So you are the reason why women have been going missing.”
She nods. “I suppose I am.”
I dig my heel into the obsidian sand, so dark I don’t know where my shoe ends and the sand begins. “How do you get them here? Through the castle?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
I glare at her out the corner of my eye, but she shakes her head. “You can threaten me if you want, but people are risking their lives to help. I won’t jeopardize their safety.”
“You’d rather die than share their names?”
“Yes.”
I study her face. “But you told me about Simon.”
She weaves her fingers through mine. “It’s not only them I worry about. The more you know, the more dangerous it becomes for you.”
“You didn’t seem to care about my safety when you threatened to tell the king about my theft.” I stare at our clasped hands—the way our fingers fit so well together.
She lets out a soft laugh. “Things have changed.”
The dark water reflects off her eyes, and she inhales a long breath through her nose, breathing me in. My heart rattles in my chest, and she leans in, ever so slightly.
A bird call floats into the cove and echoes off the walls.
Kressa releases a breath and drops my hand. “They made it.”
I blink and take a small step away from her, but her touch on my hand lingers like a ghost. “Where are they going?”
“Ignata.”
I tilt my head. “What’s in Ignata?”
She opens her mouth. Closes it. Wind whips around the cove, tossing my cloak around my ankles and kicking up bits of dry sand. The door leading into the castle sways on its hinges.
Finally, she says, “The King is there.”
I shake my head. “He’s dead.”
She huffs and drags a foot over the small strip of sand between us. “That’s what everyone believes, even Caelus. It made it easy to rebuild the kingdom and strengthen our army. The night the Sky Court invaded, they escaped through this cove.”
This is what the selkies meant when they said Earth Court reinforcements would arrive. Hope blooms in my chest, yet doubt claws its way in.
When I gain my freedom, will they fight alongside me after everything I’ve done? Will Kressa?
My mind snags on Kressa’s words, and I freeze. “They? Others escaped with King Golan?”
She nods. “Prince Barren did as well.”
The earth tilts on its axis, and my knees threaten to buckle.
I stumble back a step.
Barren’s face slams into my mind—his deep brown eyes and the way they widened when I told him I’d rather watch the world end than marry him. How I said I’d rather lose my crew and my power than rule by his side.
My blood thrashes in my ears.
“But I—that’s impossible,” I whisper. I watched blood flow from the wound at his neck and soak into his hair. I smiled as the life left his eyes.
“The Princess of the Sea tried to assassinate him that night, but she failed.”
Failed. I bring a hand to my mouth. “Do you know him? The prince?”
A nod. “We’re friends.”
Friends. She probably worked for him. A spy, like me. “And he knows you’ve joined the competition? That you’re searching for your brother?”
“No, neither him nor King Golan.”
I swallow. “Were you here, in the castle? That night?”
She pauses for a long stretch of time, and I worry I’ve crossed a line. My curiosity could be dangerous, yet so could getting myself tangled in Barren’s plans.
“I was,” she says.
A tremor sweeps over my body, and I dive into my mind, checking the mental door. It’s shut tight, protecting against an accidental confession. Questions flow through my thoughts, but I keep them to myself. The more I ask, the more suspicious I’ll become.
“I have something for you,” she whispers, cutting through my panic. She pulls a small drawstring bag out of her pocket and holds it out. “Happy birthday, Briar.”
I step back, shaking my head. “I don’t want it.” I don’t want anything from her—shouldn’t want anything from someone so closely tied to Barren.
Her gaze lands on my collarbone, and she slides a finger under the chain around my neck, lifting the pendant free.
She holds it against the moonlight and admires the etching.
“You don’t always have to have your guard up.
Harriet told me if she wins, she’s giving you a ship.
Freedom. I see the longing stares you give the ocean. You miss it.”
I shake my head. “You don’t know me.”
“I know enough to know you’re brave.” She steps closer. “That you’d risk your life for someone you care about. Hell, even for strangers. I’ve watched you go toe to toe with Caelus without batting an eye.” Her eyes burn bright, and she cups my face. “I know you well enough to know you amaze me.”
An emerald glow shoots from my chest, coating the cove. The hair on the back of my neck stands, and a shiver runs down my spine. My power urges—begs—me to close the distance between us.
Her gaze locks onto me as she holds the small gift steady in the palm of her hand. “You’re brave, Briar. You always have been. But you don’t need to be brave with me.”
A wave crashes and sprays mist against the back of her head. It slams into my cheeks, burning my skin like a branding iron. Water arcs toward us and reaches the upper bank of the beach, covering her shoes to the ankle.
My heart stops.
I shove her away and scramble back. Foam tips the wave, reaching for me. I throw myself into the sand, and it halts inches away from my feet before retreating back to its home. I press my hand to my thundering heart and swallow down mouthfuls of air.
Kressa reaches out. “Are you okay?”
My fingers dig into the sand, and I glare up at her. She’s blackmailed and lied to me. Friends with the man I tried to kill. And what the hell am I doing? I’m in love with Isolde—promised myself to her.
“Don’t touch me,” I say.
Her face falls, and her hand drops to her side. I swing my legs under me and rise, wiping the sand off my leggings.
“Briar, did I do something? You feel—”
“Don’t tell me what I feel.”
She flinches back, and whatever comfort she was channeling into my body disappears.
“I can find my way back,” I add.
A cold, hard mask slips over her face. “Understood. Tomorrow night we’ll look for Elias before the final ball.”
I nod.
She turns on her heel, but hesitates and drops the gift at my feet. I watch her leave, and when the door swings shut, I pull the bag from the sand.
I loosen the ties and flip it into my palm. A small, carved, wooden figurine slips out.
A ship.