44 LONNIE
ABOARD THE FORESIGHT
Several hours later, I woke in the quiet darkness of the cabin. I was wrapped in a comfortable tangle of blankets and bodies. For the first time in a long time, I felt truly content.
Or, at least, almost.
Some strange thought nagged at the back of my mind. Like, a misremembered dream, or as if I were looking for something, and I could not recall what.
Quietly, so as not to wake them, I rose from the bed.
Quick as a whip, Scion’s large hand shot out and circled my wrist. I stopped, startled, and turned back.
His silver eyes shone in the darkness, and his expression was almost resigned as he looked up at me. “Where are you going, rebel?”
I could hear the panic raw in his voice, and something inside me broke. “I’m just going outside.”
I smiled. “It’s a ship, remember? I’ll be back.”
He relaxed, and let go of me. “You better.”
My chest felt slightly lighter as I made my way across the room. Slowly, I turned the brass knob and gently pushed the heavy wooden door open.
The salty scent of seawater filled my nostrils as I stepped onto the creaky deck of the ship. It was late at night, and the only sounds were the gentle lapping of waves against the hull and the occasional flap of sails in the wind. The stars above shone brightly, their reflection dancing on the water below.
I let the door close behind me, and strode purposefully out onto the deck.
Out of nowhere, a massive bird swooped down and perched itself on my shoulder. Its weight caused me to stumble, and I felt a sharp pain on my shoulder as talons dug into my skin. I let out a yelp of surprise as I struggled to regain my balance.
Then, I turned my head and grinned. “Quill!”
The bird tittered at me, almost like a greeting. I smiled wider.
I had no idea where he’d come from, or what he was doing here, but I couldn’t deny that I’d missed the strange raven–nearly as much as the prince he belonged to.
Quill and I continued my walk across the deck, and I stopped when I spotted another figure outside in the clear night.
Part of me had suspected that I’d find him here.
Ambrose’s attention was fixed on the horizon as he guided the ship, so he didn't notice me until I walked toward him. At the sound of my footsteps, he turned to face me. He smiled as our gazes connected, but all too fast, his face fell.
Ambrose took a startled step backwards, his eyes widening with horror. “Where the fuck did that come from?”
I looked around, confused. “What?”
He reached down and began to draw his sword from his belt. “Move very slowly toward me, love. I do not wish to anger it.”
I glanced from him, brandishing his sword as if his life depended on it, to the enormous bird on my shoulder. “Do you mean, Quill?”
“What?”
he spat, distracted. “No, I mean that monster.”
He pointed with his non-dominant hand at Quill, keeping his right hand gripped firmly on the hilt of his sword.
“Yes.”
I raised my eyebrows, wondering if we could possibly be seeing the same thing. “This is Quill. He’s Scion’s bird and he’s harmless.”
“Harmless?”
Ambrose let out a bark of harsh laughter. “That thing is vicious. I swore blood-price to end its miserable existence if ever we crossed paths again.”
I scoffed. “Well, you can try, but you’ll have to go through me first, and I’ve recently had some excellent fighting lessons.”
Quill made a cooing sound, and nipped affectionately at my hand. Part of me could swear the bird was laughing.
I stepped closer, coming to stand next to Ambrose looking out over the silent water. “How was your chat with the prisoner?”
Ambrose cast another wary glance at Quill, before he answered: “Informative.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to tell me?”
He reached for the wheel of the ship again, and rotated it slowly the right, seeming to buy himself time. “Eventually,”
he mused. “Soon, even.”
“Why not now?”
“Because I’d rather you talk to Rhiannon first. I think it will make any conversation we have about our new passenger far simpler.”
“Did you see that? Are you sure, or…”
“No,”
he shook his head and smiled at me. “I can’t ever see you, love. I just think you deserve answers directly from the source, for once.”
We stood in silence for several long minutes. It wasn’t awkward or charged, simply comfortable. I listened to the sound of the ocean and the ice rocking against the ship, and felt oddly calm. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt calm–if perhaps, I ever had.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Home.”
I chewed on my lip. “Where is that?”
There were many places he might consider home–the rebel camps, the capital, this ship…
“I assumed the capital. We can figure out the rest from there.”
I looked out over the water, then off in the direction of the cabin I’d just left. I couldn’t imagine that he and Scion would be able to both exist in the capital at once without the castle burning down all over again. “What about…”
“We’ll figure it out. There are no secrets too horrible to be forgiven, or grudges that can’t be undone, love.”
“I don’t know about that.”
I murmured.
“I do.”
He chuckled softly, and tapped his temple. “Everything will work out, you’ll see.”
I grinned, and leaned against his side. I hoped he was right, not just about him, Bael and Scion, but about me too. Me and my mother, and all the pain that came along with it.
I hoped, and more so, I believed.
I didn’t know exactly how it must feel to be Ambrose–to know nearly everything long before it happened, but if I were to make a prophecy I would say everything would work out in the end–for all of us:
The Rebel King, the King of Elsewhere, the King of Underneath, and me: the queen who ruled them all.