Chapter 2 #2
“Last chance.”
My feet press into the ground, my spine locks into place, and I fold my arms over my chest. I’m done with complying.
His lips smirk at me, as if pleased I’ve decided to stand my ground. But then he rushes forward, closing the distance between us, and shoves me with his hands, hard and fast. I fly backwards, my feet tripping over themselves as I stagger and fall.
And fall.
Air rushes around me as my stomach drops at the sudden lack of solid ground beneath my feet.
My lungs seize up as my breath is whipped away with terror.
My arms and legs spin wildly, slicing through nothing but space, desperate to halt my rapid descent, but there’s nothing to hold or grab onto.
Nothing is stopping my freefall into the sea.
Oh, stars, I’m going to die. I’m going to…
My body jolts, as if snagged by a hook around my middle, and I freeze. Every inch of my body, frozen in place. My eyes stare up at the grey and brown collage of rock I just fell past, all the way up to the pale blue sky, dotted with clouds.
I’m not in the waves that are so close they are deafening.
My chest burns from holding my breath, and I gasp for air, spluttering as it fills my lungs. I cough and half-choke, struggling to catch my breath.
Even though I can’t move, my skin is not numb to the cold splashes of the sea that slice into my back like little stab wounds. They bring the pungent smell of salt on the air, different to the scent that drifted to me through the forest.
Nothing else happens. I’m left, suspended, with nothing but magic holding me in place. Only this time, it’s not strong enough to stop me from breathing.
Is it a choice this time? Can he choose how much power to pull and control?
Time drags on as I wait, suspended. He knew all along he’d be able to do this—the bastard.
Finally, voices sound over the waves, and I know they’ve made it down the conventional way.
Then, just like the times before, the bind holding me disappears, and my stomach lurches as I drop.
This time, only a few feet, before arms manhandle me, bracing my fall and righting me on my feet.
Hands pull and grip my arms, and I resist. “Get off me.” The two men don’t obey and remain fighting to keep me standing on a flat rock, jutting out from the base of the cliff—a makeshift platform of sorts.
“Did you enjoy your choice?” My brother’s voice shouts over the waves.
“You jerk.” I yank my arm free and arc it into a collision course with his chin. My knuckle cracks, but I still the curse from spilling from my mouth. He deserved that, and more.
“Take her.” My two guards seize me, much harder than before and bully me, grappling with my limbs as I kick and twist. They end up half pushing, half pulling me to the end of the flat of the rock, where a small boat is moored half on the rocks.
They shove me over, where the older man who stopped to talk with my brother braces my fall.
“Sit.” He points to a small bench, notched into the side of the hull.
Without any other option, I cooperate and sit. And wait.
The rest of the party, six in total, all file onto the boat and take up positions along each side, pulling out the oars into the water.
With the waves breaking against the base of the cliff, I have little hope we’ll be going anywhere but joining the rocks at the bottom of the seabed.
But apparently, my brother isn’t the only one with magic.
The woman, seated at the front of the boat, which looks similar to the karve boats from Sunatora I’ve seen in history texts, raises her hand.
Her coppery skin glows against her dark hair, and as the sea begins to quieten, I wonder if she’s a Natural and can influence the water.
But there’s a difference between being able to make it rain, like Ravi could, and silencing the sea.
My eyes cast around each of the other men on board, but I discount the two that escorted me, as neither of them has given any indication of power.
With the woman seemingly calming our path, we start to move, travelling away from the cliff and farther out to sea.
Looking over the edge of the boat on either side, it’s like she’s channelled a path through the waves themselves, pushing them away from us, and smoothing the water for us to glide through.
We make surprising progress, given it’s just a few people with oars. They set into a rhythm that keeps us moving, all the while aided by the woman’s magic. As the sun overhead beats down on us, the welcomed relief of the icy water is now out of reach, the water only lapping against the bow.
The sun is the only indicator of time, and its position high in the sky tells me the day is far from over.
At some point, I must have drifted to sleep because my eyes fly open when the boat jostles, tilting me off balance in my seat.
We’re in the middle of the ocean, the sea seemingly calmer here, but I twist my body, looking back, and can just make out the tall silhouette of a watch tower along the cliff in the distance.
As I turn back around, I also notice what I’d missed when I first woke—a much bigger ship, now appearing out of the gloom of dusk. It’s twenty times the size of the boat we’re in, dwarfing us as it blocks out the sun and plunges us into cool shade.
The men moving cause a jolt as they rig ropes that attach the boat to the side of the ship, tethering us to it.
“Time to go.” My brother comes to stand in front of me, tilting his head to the side to encourage me.
I turn back, twisting in my seat to keep my eyes trained on Kirrasia—the place I didn’t even know of a few months ago. Now, I feel torn between wanting to go back, but knowing that things were not all what they appeared. That with every new truth, a deeper secret is unearthed.
Ten is banished; no sign of him. No sense of him.
And all those I’d call friends now have a target on them.
After this evening, when Aslendrix’s power returns, so will my own. I just need to stall for time, and then I can fight. Then I might stand a chance.
Until then, I can play along.
I stand and immediately split my footing as the rocking of the boat shocks me, and I refuse to hold my arms out for support.
“Do you need my help this time?” He can’t keep the smile off his face, obviously referring to the trip down the cliff.
“I’m fine,” I grit out.
“Great. Up you go.” I look up and see the feet of one of his men climbing up the ladder, hugging the hull of the ship. I shake my head, but I climb, careful with each hand and foot placement until I reach the summit.
Surprise, surprise, the two men who’ve shadowed me are waiting, poised to secure me once again.
My boots hit the wood, and I glare at them before my eyes wander to the rest of the deck.
I’ve never seen the ocean before today, let alone a boat or a ship. Half a dozen people litter the deck, all keeping their attention on their own tasks. I catch a glimpse of the other companions from our crossing, heading through a door at the end of the ship. Sleeping quarters or rooms, maybe?
“I’ll take her from here. Come on, Ever. Let me show you your quarters.”
He leads me the way I saw the others go, through a door off the main deck.
It’s a small corridor with further doors on either side.
We walk past an open door, and I glance in, recognising the three who joined us on the cliff, emptying their bags and making a stack of books on a desk. It’s only a glimpse before we’re past.
They stole books?
“My quarters.” My brother taps on one door on the opposite side of the hall.
“And yours.” He grabs for the handle and twists, opening it up and stepping inside.
It’s a narrow space, and at the far end is a wooden platform built into the room, with a mattress and bed sheets on top.
It reminds me of the cell he liberated me from.
Only lighter, due to the small round window, moving with the sway of the water.
A wooden chair and a table are the only other items to grace the room. “I’ll have Selina bring a change of clothes. And later you can take a bath.”
“A bath? Why didn’t you just dunk me in the ocean?”
“Trust me, you’d still need a bath. And, well, I don’t want to guess at how long it’s been since you’ve bathed. A week, maybe two?” He turns his noise up, and I hate that my chest clenches with embarrassment. He’s right.
“Is Selina the one who helped with the sea? She has power like you?” I ask.
“Not quite like me.”
“But the others don’t. They don’t have power, because they’re Kirrian and are bound by Aslendrix’s magic?” I push on.
“Oh, okay, you want to talk?”
“I want answers.”
“And who says I’m going to give them to you?” It’s his turn to cross his arms over his chest.
“Well, I’m pretty sure you didn’t break me out to kill me. You’ve had plenty of opportunities for that. So, I’m starting small. Micah said you had an army. Are these them?” Maybe I wasn’t starting quite so small.
“Sit.” He nods at the bed, but his comment about clothes and my lack of bathing has me walking to the chair.
“You’ll realise by now that it wasn’t just Micah we had on the inside.”
“Who else?” I spit. The arrogance in his voice grates against every nerve in my body.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
They had three bags of books. “The library.” I think back to our trip, all those weeks ago.
Micah just breezed right in. There were no officers to protect it, even though he said it wasn’t for everyday use.
At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it.
I was angry and frustrated. And didn’t know enough to question it.
“Yes. I hope you found those texts useful. Micah needed a little help in choosing the right ones for your education. But it seems you didn’t grasp the subtlety of my messages.”
All this time, I’d thought it was Micah helping me, when all along he was just a puppet, carrying out orders. My chest tightens, talons digging in deep enough to puncture and kill the last vessels of hope that this might all be some rotten joke. Some misunderstanding.
“Don’t worry, Ever. As I said before, he did like you. That’s why I did what I had to. Now. I’ll be back later.” He looks at me, mocking the sadness that must be showing on my face, and sending me spiralling headfirst into another emotion.
“You know, I’ve been lied to my entire life. I don’t know who my parents are. I didn’t know magic or Kirrasia existed until recently. And you just show up and say you’re my brother?” I lash out, my anger breaking free and overruling any of my common sense.
He just smiles at me, as if he’s won a secret game I didn’t know we were playing.
“Do you want to know my name?”
“No.” It’s a lie.
“Fenix. You, dear sister, can call me Fen.”