Chapter 28
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
Erinna’s eyes snapped open. The faint light of dawn filtered in from the window, but her mind was already racing. For the first time since being cursed, she didn’t wake in the feeling of fear or dread. She woke up with certainty. Today’s attempt would work. It had to.
Kane might just be the key to embedding the witchstone in the mast.
She frowned. If Kane was truly the answer to her problem, she may never hear the end of it. Erinna could already imagine it. His smugness would be insufferable. But if it meant success. If it fulfilled their bargain…
She threw off the blankets and hurriedly prepared for what she knew would be the final trial.
Kane was already up and waiting near the old archway. She couldn’t help the faintest smile. He grinned in return. They were both trying to contain some level of anticipation. Erinna had to admit, he was handsome when he wasn’t smirking or glaring. She shook the thought from her head.
“Lead the way.” He gestured in the direction of the dock with a small bow and mock deference. Erinna rolled her eyes, but not even his antics could dampen her mood.
If this worked, she’d have accomplished a huge feat of craftsmanship, but more importantly, she’d be closer to understanding the secrets her father was so desperate to bury.
She stared at her hand, remembering the deal she made with him on that fateful night. “How does this work anyway?”
Kane arched a brow. “What? You and me?”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop a small laugh from slipping out.
“No, the deals. Don’t magical pacts take a toll on your Talent?
” Magical contracts were not unheard of but were certainly rare and highly discouraged on Tarth.
Arcanum was a fickle thing to work with outside of one’s Talent.
Even trickier to mend to clauses. A poorly made pact could cause significant damage to both parties if not done correctly.
Kane looked to the sky in thought, clearly wanting to select his words carefully to avoid the deluge of follow-up questions. “Pact-making is something innate to my gifts.” The words were slow. Curated.
Creeping realization started to take hold. She knew of beings that could make these kinds of deals. Creatures from the north that were mentioned in whispered conversations or in tales to make children behave.
“So, not…human?”
Kane took in a lazy breath. “Still up for debate. Some would call me half.”
Erinna stopped midstride. They were halfway between the camp and the docks with nothing but the ocean breeze and trees to bear witness.
A few pieces of the puzzle clicked into place. She turned to face him. “Are you going to tell me, or are we going to continue with this guessing game?”
He smirked and held her gaze. “I think you already know.”
Erinna pulled in her bottom lip, securing a retort birthed from annoyance. She would have to think more carefully when bantering with a half-demon.
Her stomach flipped. She had heard rumors about the creatures that lurked beyond the veil that separated the Great North.
Demons that roamed freely in the land of mortals.
Vampyres—beings more dead than alive. Werewolves and witches.
She always thought they were more fiction than fact.
But now, she was starting to see how ignorant she truly was.
Erinna made a show of looking at Kane from head to foot. “That explains a lot about you,” she quipped, donning a smirk of her own. So what if he was a half-demon? That explained why it was so easy for him to crawl beneath her skin.
“You’re right. Explains my devilishly good looks.” Kane winked. Erinna groaned.
“So how does it work?” She was ready to change the subject back to something more useful than his playful vanity.
“You’re going to hate the answer.”
“Let me guess, you just call on the arcanum and let it do its thing?” She was starting to understand why the academy loathed this type of magic.
“Pretty much. It’s like an instinct. Something I’ve always been able to do.”
Erinna turned her attention to the sky, took in a long breath, and laughed. She was already swimming in chaos, reaching for answers. What was one more surprise to add to her list.
“That’s…not usually the response when someone discovers my infernal heritage.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not laughing at you. I’m simply too tired to be scared.”
“Scared?”
Erinna cocked her head to the side. “I should be. Right? Surrounded by pirates, striking deals with their half-demon captain.” She wiped her palm against her shirt, as if trying to wipe the dirt of their deal away.
Kane softened. “You have no reason to fear me.”
Erinna raised a brow. “Unless I get in your way.”
Kane winked in response.
She pulled her gaze forward, but her mind remained fixed on her half-demon companion. She heard tales about demons that still dwelled in the Great North, but brushed them off as mere legend. So much for that. “Where in the north are you from?” she asked.
“A story for another time, Erinna,” said Kane, clear he didn’t want to expand on the subject of his background.
Fair. It simply wouldn’t do to get to know each other.
The mast was splintered, sanded, and slightly charred, but Erinna beamed at it with pride. If her hunch was right, this attempt would end in success. She was so close to answers, or at least as much as Kane could tell her.
Kane, on the other hand, did not seem thrilled with the state of his ship. “I told you to fix things, not fracture them.”
“It’ll fix itself. I promise.”
“You better hope it does.”
Fear finally started to crawl under her skin. Erinna had been so confident before, but now, with the prospect of failure...she swallowed hard.
It had to work.
Erinna stepped to her handiwork and gestured for Kane to do the same. “This might work better with your…umm...” She scanned the deck in search of anyone who could overhear them.
Kane rolled his eyes. “Everyone here knows. It’s not a condition.”
Heat rose to her cheeks. “S…sorry. I just mean, that maybe using arcanum differently than a normal Talent might help.”
Kane gave her a blank stare in response. “From my perspective, Talent is the weird magic. My Grace is the normal one.” There was that word again. Grace.
“I just mean, something more organic may be the key here. This is your ship. It might respond better to you.”
“Respond better to me? You’re starting to sound like Brax.”
“Just follow my lead.”
Kane held out his hands, palms up. “Tell me what to do.”
“Here and here.” She pointed on either side of the stone. “Make sure your thumb and part of your palm touch the stone and the wood.”
He placed his hands where she indicated. His form was almost perfect.
Almost.
“It’s not quite—”
“Show me.” He placed his hand softly on her waist and pulled her in front of him. Kane stood half a foot taller, the shadow of his body engulfing hers. He resumed his position. Hands back against the wood and stone.
Erinna set her palms on the back of his hands, too deep in focus to consider their proximity. Her fingers laced through Kane’s as she guided his into perfect position.
“Mmm, it’s not…” she started more to herself. Witchstone was nearly as fickle as arcanum, especially for an untrained user. It was more about instinct than instruction, and if Kane didn’t get it right on this first shot, there would be very few chances left. If any.
Kane removed his hands to switch them with hers.
Erinna’s heart finally stuttered at their proximity. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest against her back, where his breath ghosted across her neck. Every nerve ending sparked to life as she became acutely aware of how close they were. How good it felt.
She blinked hard.
Focus. Now was not the time for mistakes.
Erinna closed her eyes and felt the space where wood stopped and stone started. The large gem thrummed faintly with the remnants of Asher’s Talent. She tried her best, but the witchstone spat the magic out in her face.
There—the place that was coldest. Small indents in the stone that asked for more. Hungered for power and its particulars. The wood was most pliable along those sides.
“Perfect.” The wood and stone buzzed against her fingers.
Kane nodded, positioned his fingers in the exact order as hers. His arms pressed against her sides, thoroughly trapping her to him. She removed her hands and nodded. His hold was perfect.
“This is going to be hot,” he warned.
“That’s fine. I’m not one to shy away from fire.
” She molded her body against his. Relishing the warmth it brought.
She needed to make sure his hands remained perfectly aligned, that the stone responded safely, and her current position would be the best. That was the reason she refused to move away. The only reason.
“Go,” she breathed.
Red burned beneath his palms. Like new coals beneath a fire. The faint smell of burning wood wafted up her nose.
“A little less,” she whispered and placed a hand on his forearm. Ready to push them away if things started to go poorly.
Kane complied, the heat a few degrees cooler.
The fire beneath his skin fought against the control.
She could feel the heat of his body rise in response.
There was a comfort in it, the warmth. It lulled the ice-cold power in her veins that bloomed softly in response to his pull of arcanum.
It was so subtle she barely felt the prickle of her own Talent.
He tried to match her instincts. One breath in, one breath out. There was a slight fidget in his right hand, one that could interrupt the arcanum flow. Without a second thought, Erinna placed her own hands on his, let the heat threaten to burn her skin so she could adjust his hold.
“Erinna!” His voice was thick with ill-concealed worry. Kane tensed on impulse, ready to withdraw, but Erinna pressed his hands into the wood and stone harder.
“I’m fine. Keep going, Kane.” It wasn’t a lie. Sure, his hands had grown painfully hot, but her skin remained undamaged. Her Talent responded in kind to his Grace. It bloomed to life, eager to coax and lick at the flames within him, cooling whatever fire threatened to damage her hands.
“Just a few more seconds,” she murmured, feeling him soften against her.
It had only been a few minutes, but such fine manipulation of arcanum required a significant amount of energy. Even Erinna knew that. Wood weaved against the gemstone.
It would work. Erinna buzzed with excitement. She could almost taste the success.
The mast groaned with strain and burned beneath Kane’s touch. Just a few more seconds.
Erinna removed her hands from his. “Stop.”
He pulled away as if scalded by his own power and stared at the handiwork. Two scorched handprints decorated the wood, the witchstone now the color of garnet. Veins like deep red marble, smoldered beneath the surface.
A bubble of laughter escaped Erinna’s lips. “It worked.” Erinna moved closer to inspect the craft, her finger ready to tap the stone. Kane caught her hand before she could make contact.
With a tug, he pulled her back from the roiling gem. He was stiff and rigid—ready to fend off an attack.
“You seem…tense?” Her brows knit in confusion. Why did he not share in her joy? He had a magically enhanced ship. One of only a dozen on the sea. Surely he should be thrilled.
“It’s not going to blow up, is it?”
“Why would it blow up?”
“Hellfire doesn’t respond well to certain things. And the last time this happened you got a gash on your forehead.” Worry laced every word as he nudged his body between Erinna and the stone. Like he was ready to protect her from any potential fallout.
Erinna bit her lip in thought. He had a good point, but this was the best it ever responded.
“No, it’s fine.” Erinna shook her head and couldn’t help but grin. She did it. She kept her side of the deal and could now reap her reward.
“So?” She crossed her arms in triumph and waited.
“So, what?”
“The deal, Kane. What does my father need from that tower?”
The pirate took in a long, slow breath. “He’s looking for information about your mother. Gave me those codes, a way to find the maps I needed and the ones he wanted too.”
She stood there dumbfounded. Erinna didn’t know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t that. She opened her mouth with an onslaught of questions, but the pirate interjected.
“I need to take care of some things. We’ll talk later.” With that, he turned on his heels and disappeared in a gust of smoke and shadow.