Promise Me
Chapter four
The breeze carried the scent of salt, with a faint hint of smoke.
Lucianna breathed in the familiar air of the docks from her perch atop the Merchants Guildhall.
Let the sounds of the bustling city chase away her thoughts.
Some ten years prior, shortly after her Gift manifested at thirteen years old, Lucianna discovered her favorite spot on the island.
She’d found the rooftop during one of her father’s many meetings here.
The guildhall was a three-story building in the Beam District, near the docks.
From where she sat with her legs dangling over the edge, Lucianna could see where the horizon line kissed the Tides.
If she turned around, she’d be able to look out over most of the city.
And if she looked to her left . . . she’d glimpse the turrets of the castle standing proudly in the creamy orange glow of sunset.
Lucianna did not turn to the left.
Instead, she set her eyes on the foamy crests of waves and the ships rocking in port.
Eventide had just begun, which meant it was safe to traverse the waters again.
For much of the year, the Heartless Tides kept their uncaring reputation by being utterly impossible to sail upon.
Waves ripped apart ship hulls, and creatures that lurked in the depths came to the surface to hunt more frequently.
Storms peppered the seas. Not even a Gifted wayfarer could survive the waters.
But during Eventide, the Tides calmed to a degree that allowed for travel.
This is when each of the islands took to the seas.
Trade, messages, balls, all of it took place during the brief time that the Star of Adira was high in the sky.
Weddings, too. Lucianna’s stomach turned.
She pressed a hand to her abdomen. Within a few short days, she would be a bride.
After that, a wife. Her fingertips dug into the fabric of her lavender day gown.
She did not know much of her future husband, only his title and the rumors the position afforded him.
He was known to flirt with many a noblewoman.
Would he take mistresses? Would Lucianna care if he did?
There were also the more shadowy secrets that she caught wisps of during parties she’d infiltrated. Some said that he killed a man while attending the Obsidian Academy. Others said he captured the man and tortured him until he confessed.
Lucianna did not know what to believe, what to think. Her mind spun. Usually, looking out upon the Tides soothed her. Something about their recklessness made her feel more in control.
Boot soles clicked against the wooden slats of the roof. Lucianna did not turn around. Only one person in all of Enlight knew she came up here.
“I thought I’d find you here,” Damon said as he sat beside her. His long legs, covered in black trousers, hung over the lip of the building.
Lucianna looked at him. She was grateful he sat to her right.
The sight of her brother framed by the castle might have broken the resolve she was clinging to.
Damon’s expression was warm, but there was a tightness around his hazel eyes that betrayed his concern for her.
They were often mistaken for twins given their similar dark hair and shared eye color.
But Damon was an eldest brother through and through.
He carried the mantle of heir with dignity, and the responsibility of caring for Lucianna was one he took seriously.
His protective nature frustrated her at times, but tonight she could not find fault in his pitying gaze. She would look at him the same way if their situations were reversed.
Damon broke the silence between them. “I tried to get him to reconsider.”
Lucianna turned back toward the docks.
“You know how he is when he gets an idea in his head,” Lucianna said softly. “Nothing will deter him until he sees it through.”
“That is all well and good when it comes to business, but this is your life, Lu. Why have you not protested?”
She cut her gaze toward him. “And say what, Damon? It is not as though I can ask him to go back on his agreement with the emperor.”
Damon’s jaw ticked. He looked down at his hands, twisting the ruby signet ring on his right ring finger.
“You’re right,” he said in a gruff tone after a moment. “I am sorry if I upset you. I’m simply angry that he is sending you away.”
Lucianna sighed. “I am not being sent away. I’m getting married. This is not a punishment—it’s an honor.”
“An honor?” Damon sputtered. “Your choices have been ripped away from you. I thought you, of all people, would despise that.”
Lucianna’s chest pinched at his words. She shot her brother a glare. It was all she could do to keep her arrow-ridden shield of control aloft. An attack from her brother would shatter it. She could not allow her real feelings to surface, as much as she wished she could at times.
“Sacrifice is honorable.”
Damon splayed a hand over his heart. “I’m the heir; that is supposed to be my burden.”
“Yes, well, you weren’t given a Gift like I was,” Lucianna bit out.
Damon’s expression shuttered. Regret washed over Lucianna.
Damon had been born during a particularly harsh winter in Enlight.
He became Tidesick almost immediately. The local healer told their parents that there was a risk of death if they dipped him in the Tides on his third day of life, as was custom.
Since Damon was their firstborn son, Father wouldn’t risk his life for the possibility of a Gift.
Lucianna’s Gift often made her the favorite in their father’s eyes. He loved Damon and did not treat him harshly, but Duke Morrowe was a man of enterprise at heart. And Lucianna was simply the best asset he had. He’d be a fool not to capitalize on it.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
Her brother shook his head. “Don’t apologize. I provoked you.” He let out a weighted sigh. “I wish Mother were here. She would know what to say. I—Well, I am not equipped for such matters. As made evident by my blundering.”
Lucianna mustered up a smile.
“You are angry and afraid.” Damon winced at her implication of weakness. “So am I. But if I have learned anything since Mother’s death, it is that we must learn to do things while holding those emotions. We cannot let them stop us from accomplishing what’s required of us.”
Damon wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Lucianna leaned into his side.
“You cannot be Gifted and more wise than me,” he said, drawing a soft laugh out of her.
“I do not think myself wise.”
“And you are remarkably humble. That Lord Valengard will never deserve you.”
Lucianna laughed again, the pinch in her lungs easing some.
“You would say that about any man.”
“And I would be right,” her brother replied. “Most of my sore feelings toward this arrangement have to do with the fact that I didn’t get a chance to scare the daylights out of the man before he got to claim your hand.”
Lucianna wore a smile, but panic started to build within her once more at the mention of her future husband.
“What do you know about him?” she inquired in a whisper.
Damon had been to court before and spent more time amongst nobility than Lucianna. He might have knowledge she did not.
“I have never spoken with him, only seen him from afar,” Damon replied, sounding hesitant. “I’m sure you’ve heard that he is charming.”
Lucianna hummed in response. She watched a nearby sail billow in the wind. Willed herself to relax.
“It is not as simple as him being an amiable man. He is Gifted with the ability to enamor.”
Damon’s words pierced Lucianna like a dagger to the ribs.
“He can make others feel at ease. Placate them. Coerce them.”
The once-soothing salty mist now felt choking. Not only had she lost her choice in a husband, but she was at risk of losing every choice. Would he coerce her into doing his bidding? Into his bed?
She scrambled to her feet and paced away from the edge. Placed a trembling hand over her thrashing heart.
“In spite of what I’ve said, I have heard he is a good man,” Damon added quickly as he jumped up to follow her.
Lucianna frantically shook her head. Bile rose in her throat. Tears stung her eyes.
All her life, she’d done what was asked of her.
But in that time, she always felt she had a choice.
The only moment before this that she recalled the power to choose being ripped away from her was when her mother left this world.
Lucianna had made peace with that as best she could.
Enough to move through the aftermath. But this . . . how would she survive it?
All of the ways she could be tormented flitted through her mind. How powerful was he? Would she even realize it if he manipulated her? Would she wake up the next day filled with terror until he placated her again? Or would she walk around in a haze?
“Lu—” Damon started, but she held up a hand.
“Promise me that you will get me alone and question me after I am married. More than once. To ensure that I have not been ensorcelled.”
Pain overtook Damon’s expression.
“I did not mean to scare you. He is not evil, nor is he so powerful as to make you forget yourself.”
“Promise me,” she demanded.
A tear slipped past her defenses. Damon’s gaze tracked it. She tilted her chin up in stubborn resolve.
He nodded solemnly. “I promise.”
She let out a shuddering breath and swiped beneath her eyes.
“Thank you.”
Lucianna smoothed her hands over the skirt of her gown. Though her fingertips trembled, she ensured the ribbon at her waist was in its proper place, the bow in the center of her back. Then she adjusted the gold shell locket around her neck. The one her father had gifted her upon her mother’s death.
“We should head home. Father will be expecting us for dinner,” she said after she collected herself.
Damon stared at her for a period, not saying anything. She met his gaze with determination. He dipped his chin and gestured to the stairwell door. They walked down the stairs in silence. All the while, Lucianna’s stomach rolled like a boat upon the Tides.
Sacrifice is honorable, she repeated over and over to herself with each step she took.
The words did not soothe her.