28. Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
Dynalya
D yna slipped past Tarn and strode further into the captain quarters. A dance of purple lights from the spinning amethyst crystal on the ceiling greeted her. Besides the Forewarning Crystal and the red Crystal Core, new wards dangled from the ceiling. Their purpose was the same, but they didn’t prickle on her skin anymore. He didn’t bother to put bangles on her this time.
She didn’t need them.
“Well?”
Dyna wandered around the room. “Well, what?”
“While that exhibition out there was interesting, I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t call on your magic once. Nor does it glow in your eyes, but more importantly, I do not feel it hovering off you as I did before.”
“I don’t see why that’s relevant.”
They were interrupted briefly by Olsson. The burly man came in to set their meal, tasted it before serving Tarn, and promptly stepped out.
Dyna arched a brow at him questioningly. The security of Tarn’s meals was Von’s job but had to continue pretending she didn’t know he wasn’t here.
Dyna joined Tarn at his table and frowned at her questionable meal that didn’t look appetizing in the least. “Surely, you don’t expect me to eat this. It’s unlike Sorren to burn food.”
Tarn steepled his fingers. “You’re deflecting.”
“And you’re prying,” Dyna replied sharply. She didn’t owe him any answers to her private life. “Did I come here for interrogation? If so, drop me off at the next port.”
“Testy.” His fingers slowly drummed on the table in a pensive rhythm. “I was merely curious. I find my mind is full of … questions.”
Tarn’s eyes caught the sunlight from the windows, turning them icy white. Dyna held still as she waited for his next question. For his next demand. But what he asked next was the last thing she expected.
“Why didn’t you take my hand?” It took her a moment to understand Tarn referred to the first time he asked her to join him.
Dyna swallowed before she could make herself answer. “I did,” she admitted faintly. “Want...to take it.”
The truth rune that had been burned on the wall, lit up the cabin, bathing the edges of his face in blue. The ship creaked on the waves as neither of them moved. It was the only sound in the silence that took up all the space between them.
Dyna reached into her cloak, but he snatched her wrist. “So fearful I will betray you?”
“The only people who can betray you are those you trust.” Tarn’s gaze darkened and the intensity behind his stare sent her pulse racing. I trust no one.”
“Then don’t expect me to trust you.”
They fell quiet again as they measured each other. He pulled her hand out of her cloak, revealing the red apple in her grasp. Dyna arched her brow pointedly and he released her.
Tarn leaned back in his seat and crossed a leg over the other. “Then tell me this: why did you contact me through your water mirror? I will suffer no lies from you, Dyna.”
He would not trust her nor believe her without the truth.
Dyna took a bite of the apple to buy some time. She had to tell him that much. Suddenly, her chair felt too uncomfortable. Getting up from the table, she wandered the cabin, stopping to examine the artifacts on his desk with false interest. “At first, I contacted you out of spite. Speaking to you …” She sighed heavily. “It felt like revenge.”
“Against who?”
“That doesn’t matter,” Dyna said coolly as she faced him. “I’m here now. Is that not what you wanted?”
“Better question is, why now ?” Tarn asked, watching her intently. You had your chance to join me before and you did all to escape, including taking a life. I am no fool. Over these past winter months, something changed. In you or your situation. Therefore, I will hear your intensions plainly. What do you want ?”
His head on a spike.
His boat.
His resources.
Him—out of her way.
But Dyna couldn’t lie here without giving herself away. The longer she was silent, the more her heart raced. Tarn rose and prowled forward. She walked backward as he approached until her back was against the wall.
Tarn stood inches before her, forcing her to meet his icy eyes. His substantial height was made her feel small. “Why are you here, Maiden?”
He demanded an answer. There would be no way around it. She had to lie.
But the only way to lie in front of the truth rune was without words.
Dyna rested her palms on his chest, holding his gaze. His white brows furrowed. “I’m no longer a maiden,” she whispered.
Then Dyna stood on her toes and kissed him.
It was like pressing her lips to cold marble. He was stiff and unmoving. She felt his shock, but Tarn’s moment of hesitation lasted only a second. Then his arms were around her and his mouth invaded hers. Dyna closed her eyes and pretended. She imagined who she wanted it to be, but it was impossible. Cassiel was a gentle kisser.
Tarn was not.
Kissing him was demolishing. Bruising. Immobilizing. He pinned her to the wall, consuming her air. There was no love behind the kiss. Only a heated attraction fueled by something that felt like possession. Perhaps Dyna had been lying to herself. It wasn’t only spite or anger. Her body was starved for touch, and some part of her needed to feel wanted.
Even if it was by him.
Tarn’s hands traveled around her waist, sliding up her spine. She shivered as his other hand took her throat, holding her in place as he took control. The beat of her heart raced with every intimate stroke, stirring heat in her stomach.
Dyna might have liked this form of wild kissing. If her lips did not burn. If guilt did not chastise her. If tears did not gather behind her eyes. The shriveled bond shook violently as if to recoil. Her entire body rejected the man who was not her mate.
But Dyna endured it.
She wrapped her arms around Tarn’s neck made herself kiss him back. Let it burn. Let it hurt. Let it peel back every layer of her skin. Maybe then she could sear Cassiel out of her memory for good.
Tarn’s fingers threaded through Dyna’s hair at the base of her neck, and he tugged her head back. She choked back a moan at the sting as his mouth moved over her racing pulse.
“Wait,” Dyna gasped. This was too much. Every kiss he planted on her skin made her feel like she was sinking to a place she may never surface. “Tarn…”
She put herself here, she had to get herself out. Dyna yanked on his hair, but that only seemed to encourage him. Incorrigible man. She was about to knee Tarn in the groin when his icy tongue swept against hers, then he froze, and his hands halted on her waist. Tarn pulled back a few inches, staring at her incredulously. The cabin was quiet, only holding the sound of their soft panting and the crash of waves.
Dyna blinked at him in confusion, coming out of her daze. Clarity struck when he smelled her breath. A flush rushed through her face. She slid back to her feet, but he grabbed her wrist before she could get away and he riffled through her clothing. His hand came away, holding the pewter bottle. He flicked it open, and the scent of bitter herbs wafted between them.
Tarn’s quiet, mocking laugh made her stomach turn. “ Oh , we’re not so different after all, are we?” Humiliation and anger churned inside of her, and she flushed. Dyna tried to move passed him, but he grabbed her arm. An arrogant glint shone in his eyes. “Call me curious, but I must know what changed.”
Dyna shoved against his chest, but she may as well try to move the ship. A panic rushed through her. “Let go!”
Tarn released his grip at her next push, and the force sent her sprawling backwards onto his bed. Fury crackled through her like hot oil on water, and the mood rune blazed red.
She gripped dagger’s hilt. “Hold me down again and I will bury this in your throat!”
Tarn smirked as he wiped his wet lips. He leaned against the end of the bed, not looking inclined to continue what they started. “I like it.”
She clenched her jaw. “Like what?”
“You—showing some teeth.”
Dyna glanced past him to the mirror on the wall. Through that reflected surface, she had communicated with him for the past three months. She saw herself now, couched on the bed like an animal ready to spring.
“Fangs…and claws…” she retorted to herself. “Odd, how not too long ago I rebuked myself for lacking them. And now…I hate that it’s all I have left…”
Dyna sat back and folded up her knees, wrapping her arms around them. Her eyes bitterly stung as her vision blurred. “I…lost my magic. It was taken from me.”
The temperature dropped in the cabin suddenly. “By whom?”
The seething behind the question made her meet Tarn’s gaze. His eyes were orbs of ice, but he was listening, truly listening, as he watched her with a focused attention that made her want to tell him everything.
Dyna opened her mouth to answer but she couldn’t say his name. Her tongue refused to form the letters.
She closed her wet eyes. “The one I was bonded to. He left me ... because he believed me too…weak.” Her voice wavered at the word. “He was right. I was weak. I was completely helpless as my magic was stolen from me … and now all I am left with is a pit of hatred and these dreams I cannot escape.” She gritted her teeth as she glared up at Tarn. “So yes, I suppose you and I are the same. Is that what you wanted to hear? That I am a hypocrite for taking Witch’s Brew? That you were right about the world? Does it please you to know I am now as deranged and violent as you are?”
“Yes.” Tarn’s low reply settled in the vacancy of her chest.
The bitter tears she’d been holding back rolled down her cheeks.
Taking her chin, and Tarn was surprisingly gentle as he lifted her face. “The most painful betrayal is from the people we trust the most. Yet that pain is a lesson we never forget. For it hardens us and teaches us that the only one you can ever trust is yourself.”
As much as Dyna wanted to deny it, a part of her couldn’t help but agree.
“That faltering you once had, the na?ve notion that everyone is good — it’s gone now. You are ready to spill blood and fight for what you want, for at last, you understand there is no other choice. The girl you once were is dead, and you have risen from her corpse to become the woman you are now.” Tarn wiped away the last of Dyna’s tears with a faint swipe of his thumb, leaving a trail of frost behind. “And as I once predicted...” he murmured. “She is glorious .”
The atmosphere seemed to dim with the confirmation of what she had long suspected. She had become him.
A cold cynical person who was quick to violence and mistrust.
“What if I don’t like her?” Dyna whispered.
“There is no need to like her. To survive, you don’t have to be stronger, only deadlier. And that is what she is. Your truth — unleashed. You are here now because you know it’s the only place you will not be judged for it. Because you know exactly what you can achieve at my side.” His expression shifted to a half smirk. “I assume this is why you attempted to seduce me. Unless it was also revenge against your Celestial.”
Blushing, Dyna jerked her away. “I am here because I need to find Mount Ida. And as much as you pretend, you waited for me because we both know you still need my map to get there.”
But there was no reply to that. Tarn moved on to the sideboard and took out two goblets. The drag of silence made her realize something. He had yet to ask for her map. In all their secret conversations, he had not asked about it once.
Her eyes widened. “You don’t need it anymore…do you?” One end of his mouth lifted as he poured the wine, and a chill washed through her body. “You know where Mount Ida is. How? When?” No one else in his camp knew the location of the island was except her. He had tried to take it from her mind, but—her breath caught. “Clayton.”
When he hit her with the desolate spell, he had been rummaging in her mind and found exactly where it was.
“He was of some use to me after all,” Tarn said. “Before I slit his neck.”
He watched her carefully, gauging her reaction.
“Good. He deserved it,” Dyna said with such frostiness, she wasn’t sure if she was still acting. Inside, horror bubbled in her chest. The one advantage she had over him was gone. “If you have Mount Ida’s location, then why wait for me?”
Tarn walked back to her, and Dyna’s pulse climbed with every step. She instinctively wanted to move back, but her legs were pressed firmly into the side of the bed.
“You may have forgotten, scarlet flower.” He handed her the goblet. “I still have plans for you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What plans?”
“We will discuss that in a moment. Drink.”
Dyna glanced down at the ruby liquid. The scent of bitter herbs hung in the air beneath the fruity aroma of wine. Her mouth watered with craving to drink Witch’s Brew again. To dilute all the emotions tearing through her now. But she knew what would happen if she didn’t stop.
“I don’t want to be a monster…”
Tarn brought the goblet to her lips. “Why fight what nature has made us?”
Maybe he was right. Why fight it?
She would not beat him by being who she had been. He already told her as much. Sometimes to defeat a monster, you must become one.
“What do you want most in the world?” Tarn asked.
Dyna considered the question. “To take back everything stolen from me,” she replied. Her magic. Her dignity. Her control. Over everything, including him.
The truth rune glowed blue and cast a gleam on the walls.
Tarn held out his hand. “Then you will have exactly that.”
She took a breath as they gazed at one another. There was the look again, the one he had in the tent the last time he offered his hand. The genuine desire that she would accept it … and him.
“Put all your trust in me, Dyna, for you will also have mine. Join me and nothing will ever stand in your way.”
“Join you as what?” she asked. “As I already told you before, I will not be a slave or your spy.”
“You will serve a purpose far grander than that. A place at my side as I conquer Azure. Not behind me or in-service to me.” He closed the space between them, lifting her chin so she saw nothing else but him. “ With me.”
Dyna’s heart raced wildly at the proposal and the heated insinuation behind it.
How ridiculous.
How enticing.
She evaluated every honeyed word, listening to what he said and what he didn’t. Tarn may not need her map, but he was a collector. A user of people. He needed her for something .
He made no promise not to betray her, and she wouldn’t promise that either. Because she had a mission, and the outcome garnered no loyalty. She knew he would never trust her, but she could, however, wait until he lowered his guard.
Sliding her hand into his cold palm, Dyna gave him a sly smile. “Does this mean you intend to make me Queen of Azure?”
Tarn returned the smile. “Why else do you think I waited?”
An answer without an answer. He was good at those. Well-practiced when he was constantly in the presence of a truth rune. It reminded her very much of Leoake.
“Then I will toast to that.” Dyna tossed back her head and drank the enchanted wine to the dregs.
All her emotions faded. All worries. All exhaustion. She felt strong. Clear of mind. All that weighed her down faded away.
For once she was sure of herself. She would win.
Tarn smirked as he drank from his cup. “Cheers.”
“So, about these plans—” A knock at the door interrupted her.
Lieutenant Olson came in with the man of Xián Jīng. We are ready to set sail, Master.”
Tarn nodded and took a seat at his desk. He eyed the map with a crease forming in his brow. Set a course for the Misty Isles. We will replenish provisions there in Hagers Port before making our way to Mount Ida.”
Dyna’s heart sank into her stomach. Hager’s Port? I thought you were still searching for the Druid.” Her tone was inquisitive but perfectly innocent, while inside she tensed. If they left Kelpway before the others arrived, it would throw off her plan. He heartrate started to climb at the thought of going out to sea without her Guardians. Lucenna may not be able to track her that way.
After three months of searching Dwarf Shoe, it is clear he is not here. I have been stagnant in this town long enough,” Tarn said as he read over a chart. His cold eyes narrowed on the quiet man. Remind me, Sai-chuen, what purpose do you serve?”
The Xián Jīng man tilted his head. “I did say the Druid would be a challenge to find. He must have caught wind of me, but I have received word he was last spotted in Little Step.”
“And you are telling me this now?”
“He is either departing the state or taking the train. Both would require leaving the ship.”
Which Tarn preferred not to do. He didn’t want to call attention to himself.
“I disagree.” Dyna crossed her arms as she sat on the edge of his desk. “The Druid won’t be lurking in cities of stone. He will be in what feels safe and familiar, like the forest. If you ever want to find the fae, then find a crop of trees first.”
They were random facts. Her last statement was vague and, in some ways, true with her experience, so the rune couldn’t call her a liar. She needed to stall for time and stay in Dwarf Shoe.
Sai-chuen’s black eyes lifted to her, his expression unreadable.
“Trees…” Tarn repeated skeptically.
Dyna shrugged. “Do what you wish. I am only saying it’s worth looking into. There happens to be is a small woodland in Argent Cove near the coast.”
And it was the next port over. A day away.
She slid off the desk and strolled outside, lingering by the railing as she looked out at the city of Kelpway. Zev won’t make in time, but luring Tarn to the next port was the next best thing … if he took the bait.
The breeze blew against her as Dyna held her breath, waiting for his decision.
After five minutes, Olsson left the captain’s quarters. “Weigh anchor and hoist the sails!” he barked to the men. A swarm of action broke out. His heavy steps climbed the stairs to the quarterdeck above her and she overheard him say to the helmsman, “Chart a course for Argent Cove. The master wants us flying on water with the next wind.”
Dyna hid a smile. Soon the sails inflated, and they were out on the sea.
Unleashed , Tarn had said.
She would show him unleashed.