Chapter 2
Chapter Two
FINLEY
A LAKE IN CRESIN
Amelia offered a smile that should have been friendly but was too thin and forced to be anything but. “It appears as though we have some catching up to do.”
Finley relaxed her fists and shoulders. Her cousin showing up and summoning them on a strange visit under a lake was an annoyance, and she’d rather see anyone but her, but there wasn’t any need to attack.
At least not yet. “No, we don’t, and you disturbed my sleep so if you would so kindly leave me be.
” She waved a hand like a queen dismissing her servant.
Amelia only chuckled. “I’d think you’d have enough of sleep by now.”
Finley glared at her through narrow eyes and gritted her teeth.
“What do you want?” Rafe stepped forward so he stood closer to Finley, the veins in his wrists and arms tense. His voice sounded more like a wolf’s growl than a man who had just been in a prison wagon.
Amelia dismissed him as though he were nothing. “Down boy, I’ll get to you next. I need speak with my cousin.”
Finley pursed her lips together and stood before Amelia nose to nose, dragging Rafe and their escort behind her with loud grunts.
“What are you doing here? How are you here? What even is this place?” She cocked her head and took half a step back when a realization came to her.
“Unless you’re a prisoner too and they brought us to some strange water jail. Did they finally foil your evil plans?”
Amelia crossed her arms in front of her and examined her nails. “Hardly. I’m the one who put you both here and your guard is with me. I felt you needed to learn a lesson for failing me before I got you back on track. I think you’ve learned enough for the time being.”
Finley sputtered and her cheeks warmed. “Failing you? You’re out of the mirror, aren’t you?”
The sorceress pointed a sharp finger at Finley. “You still have my mirror.” She then jutted her arm out to point at Rafe. “And you still have a princess to kill.”
Finley grew even more lightheaded than before, and she took in a breath to keep from showing her shock. A princess to kill? She and Rafe would need to have words about that later.
The look Rafe gave her could have stabbed someone who had half the backbone Finley did. “You’re working with her?”
Finley ignored him and kept her focus on Amelia.
The shifter had no room to place judgment on her considering his very existence, and clearly, he was too.
Instead, she sighed and crossed her arms as though she had better things to do and better places to be.
Even though her magic pulsed and crashed in waves under her skin at the presence of her cousin and being underwater.
Her involvement with them supposed to be done, and Finley wanted nothing more to do with their plans.
“I don’t remember giving you the mirror back being part of the bargain and I received what I wanted, so you have nothing more to negotiate with.
I don’t care about your plans, so from what I can tell this is pointless. What is it you really want?”
She tapped her finger on her arm as though she was keeping track of time and needed to leave as soon as possible. As if she could get out of these chains and leave.
Amelia didn’t back down, but examined Finley, assessing her words and planning carefully. “I want my mirror. I never said you could keep it forever.”
Finley didn’t remember the details of their arrangement, but it was a weak argument. There had to be more to this. Her cousin never made things as simple as they appeared. “And?”
“Get me The Mystic.”
Everything in Finley froze in place at the request, and she fought to keep her face neutral so Amelia or Rafe couldn’t see the panic that shot through her.
If Amelia wanted The Mystic, she didn’t have to go through Finley to get it.
If she were there with her crew, she’d be able to protect it.
Or even if Ai were there in her place, it would ease her mind.
But neither of those were the case. Still, she didn’t want to hand them over to Amelia on a platter either.
“No.”
“It can get me to Farren Castle undetected underwater and then together we can use the mirror to get to the Paravian mountains. You do want to get to them, don’t you?”
It could. And yes, she could use the mirror to get to the mountains and the cure.
Damn it all to Stula’s realm if she’d let Amelia travel there with her.
Finley still didn’t want to be a part of this political scheme, and she didn’t trust Amelia to not run off with the mirror and her ship. “Fuck no. Can I go now?”
“I can tell you what ingredients you need to put in the Gallis’ Chalice to break the curse.”
Finley stopped tapping her fingers and her breath caught in her throat. Getting the Chalice was half the battle, the other half was the ingredients. The offer was tempting. Too tempting. Still, Finley was smarter than to take Amelia’s word for it.
“How do I know the ingredients you give will be correct and not a lie?”
Amelia cocked her head to the side toward Rafe. “I’ll have him verify with Stula herself.”
Finley barked out a laugh. “You think I trust him more than you? And I doubt he gives a shit about the curse.”
To Finley’s frustration, Amelia remained calm and collected.
Bored even. They may not have been close or even liked one another, but they were cousins.
Distant cousins. Cut from the same cloth to know how to lie and manipulate and not give in to anyone.
Finley’s parents may have tried to stop the destructive trends and kept Finley away from Amelia’s family.
But those roots ran deep, and Finley found herself behaving like them more often than anyone liked. It was useful on the high seas.
Here though, it was two strong waves crashing against each other vying for the same space.
There was no telling which would win. A sinking feeling formed in the bottom of Finley’s stomach that told her in this situation, Amelia had more up her sleeve, and she had the upper hand.
Finley’s magic was weakened here, Amelia’s wasn’t.
“Fine, do as you will. In the meantime, you’ll get to stay here until I say you can go.
Which may be never.” The smile offered them was feral and wicked.
The sorceress was getting desperate; she had to be.
Finley didn’t know exactly what happened between her and Rose back in Eral Forest after she borrowed the Shadow Slayers, but she did hear about Rose taking her grandmother’s place and there was now a spell keeping Amelia out of the forest. Whatever it was, the result had been in Rose’s favor.
So why was Amelia appearing so confident now?
Finley had her suspicions but didn’t want to admit them. Because if she was right in said suspicions, she hadn’t been able to protect Ai.
Amelia gestured to the people behind her, and they parted, revealing what they’d been hiding and Finley’s chest tightened.
There was Ai, on her knees with hands tied behind her and bound at the ankles.
Seaweed was gagged around her mouth, and she shook her head violently at Finley as though she knew what her best friend’s answer was going to be to whatever Amelia requested.
Honestly, Ai was probably right in shaking her head the way she was, but Finley hadn’t failed her. Not completely. Not yet. They could still get out of this.
“At least you’ll enjoy the company if I allow you to be near one another,” Amelia said.
“What are you doing with her?” Finley asked in a poor attempt to keep her voice neutral. Her best friend was her one weakness, and one people knew about. Which in a way was two weaknesses. She needed to work on that.
Once she and Ai were safe.
“I thought you would need some encouragement. But it seems as though your mind is made up.” Amelia turned to look at Rafe. “You can hide here as long as you like, but you know the pull will be too great even for you in time. Enjoy your stay until then.”
Finley opened her mouth to give herself some time and talk her way out of whatever was going on, but Amelia turned on one foot, making her long skirt swish against the stone floor as though she walked through a castle, not a lake.
A puddle formed at Amelia’s feet then traveled up her body, turning into a pillar of water.
For a moment, she was a beautiful water image, almost a statue, until it crashed to the ground then seeped into the floor.
Water swirled around them and broke the chains holding them together apart, then swept the pair into the air.
The bubbles and green glow blocked Finley’s vision, and she felt herself being carried away and couldn’t tell where she was going until she fell back to the ground in a thud.
The chain spun around then shot into the ground and locked Finley in place.
Across the cave Rafe landed with a groan, and she heard his chain lock him in too. The waves and bubbles subsided so Finley could get a sense of her surroundings. Still underwater in a cave with iron bars in front of the opening. So, she was right. An underwater prison and without Ai, again.
Finley let out a loud groan of frustration then flopped onto her back on the floor.
“She’s your cousin?” Rafe asked, a hint of accusation in his tone.
“Distant.”
“And you’re cursed?”
She pushed herself back up into a seat and ran her fingers through her hair. She continued to run her fingers through the knots and tangles in a poor attempt to make it somewhat acceptable to look at. “What do you think?”
Rafe murmured a wordless response and pushed himself against the cave wall so his back rested against it. “And why didn’t you just lie to her so you could get out of here and ditch her?”
It was a fair question, and one she wasn’t prepared to answer.
Finley had already given in to Amelia once and helped her, she didn’t want to even pretend to do so again until she had a plan.
Even more than that, it was pride. Finley refused to let Amelia feel like she had the upper hand.
Silly? Yes. But it was who Finley was, and she couldn’t let her pride go even if she’d lost almost everything else.
“I want to have a plan before I even pretend to agree to anything,” Finley answered. A partial truth.
Rafe pursed his lips as though in thought, then nodded. “If you’re related, does that mean you’re a sorceress too?”
Ah, the inevitable question. Finley paused from her untangling and showed off the tattoo on her arm. “You saw me use my tattoo with your own eyes not long ago. If I was a sorceress I wouldn’t need it. Amelia has a tattoo as well, but it never glows.”
He nodded again. “Do you think she’s telling you the truth?”
Finley bit her lip and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. That was her inevitable question, wasn’t it? “It’s possible,” she admitted. “But I have no way of knowing for sure.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
She quit fiddling with her hair and glared at him. “What? Like you want to help me?”
Rafe was silent, which was enough of an answer for her.
“Then it’s none of your business. Now let me sleep in peace.”
His jaw twitched and he looked back and forth as though he was debating something but ultimately slid to the ground and remained silent.
Good. Including Rafe would only complicate matters anyway. Finley needed to do this on her own. The thought didn’t comfort her or put her mind at ease as much as she hoped, and she willed for sleep to take her in the hopes that when she woke a brilliant plan would come to her.