Chapter 19
Asigh of relief escaped Adara’s lips as Andreilia’s peak crested the horizon, a mass of verdant land tucked away in the midst of this ominous sea.
They’d made it. Once again, the Andreilians survived the Plagued Sea.
No sea monsters or raging tempests to capsize their ship were to be found.
Perhaps Dominic’s corrupt heart, having been tossed into the sea, provided some sort of barrier between him and the monsters.
Perhaps, the beasts tasted his vile heart and wanted nothing to do with him.
The Lykren spurred onward as a forceful gale filled the sails and an intense current swept them forward, eager to be home. The island grew closer, and in no time, they were upon Andreilia’s shores, lowering the anchor and cheering for surviving yet another impossible journey.
Asher had been aiding her in rewrapping her arm—which was almost entirely healed after their long voyage—when Adara heard signs of a struggle across the ship.
There was a loud thud against the deck. The impact sent vibrations through her boots.
Adara’s blood ran cold, apprehension filling her before she even turned to see what had happened.
Tyson stood over a prone Evreux, blond hair disheveled in the wind, his scarred lips twisted into a conniving grin.
Evreux attempted to push himself up, and Desmond kicked his hands out from beneath him while Tyson pressed a boot to his back, holding him down.
Tyson and Desmond exchanged a look of winning cruelty.
The thick muscles in Desmond’s arms bulged, his tattoos shifting with the movement, as he yanked Evreux to his feet by the back of his shirt. Adara had grown so used to their friendly manners around their own that she almost forgot the malice the Andreilian’s showed to strangers.
Desmond jerked his head, tossing long, dark braids over his shoulder as he held a knife to Evreux’s throat. “Thought you could get away that easy, huh?” he chided in Evreux’s ear. His pearly smile was wide but showed no mirth, only cold calculation.
Tyson’s caramel eyes filled with sadistic delight as he reared back and drove his fist into Evreux’s gut. Evreux instinctively doubled over.
Desmond pulled him upright. “That’s for sneaking onto our ship,” he spat before striding away with purpose.
Evreux’s soft, pleading eyes were such a stark contrast to his sharp features, locking on her.
“Who’s that?” Asher asked quietly.
“A stowaway,” Vesper snapped as he strode past them. Soon, they were all gathered around Evreux, shouting demands, until a stern voice cut through the air like a knife.
“Let him go,” Dominic’s order rang across the ship like a death knell.
Adara knew those words were not at all what the King of Keys truly meant.
Desmond lowered his knife and stepped away from Evreux, the latter’s shoulders relaxing. He straightened his ruffled clothing and stood straighter.
“We found him in the storage room,” Tyson said loudly for everyone to hear. He turned to Adara, pointing an accusatory finger at her chest. “What a coincidence that a stowaway was hiding in the same room she slept in.”
Though her heart pounded, Adara merely rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, maintaining an easy composure. “As if he couldn’t have been hiding elsewhere on the ship and only went in there once I was gone this morning,” she lied smoothly.
Tyson took a menacing step toward her, towering over her with a glare aimed down his crooked nose. He opened his mouth to speak.
Dominic cut between the two of them, raising a dismissive hand. “Doesn’t matter,” Dominic said, eyes dark and emotionless.
The singing of metal resounded as Dominic unsheathed his sword. He lunged, not giving Evreux a chance to explain himself—
Dominic’s weapon glanced off Infinova. Adara now stood between him and Evreux with her sword raised.
The Thief of Hearts’s features twisted into a furious scowl. “Get out of my way,” he growled.
“No.”
“Then I’ll kill you both.”
Adara raised her hand, displaying the scar on her palm. Evreux’s ragged breaths grazed the back of her neck. “You need me,” she snapped.
Dominic muttered something to himself and stood straighter, lowering his weapon but not sheathing it.
“Why are you protecting him?” Dominic said bitterly.
Adara waved a hand at the Andreilians surrounding them. “They made the same journey and now live on Andreilia. Why can’t he?”
Dominic ground his teeth together. “Because he snuck onto our ship.”
“Exactly,” Adara said. “Not only was he brave enough to sneak onto Dominic Nite’s ship, but he was smart enough not to get caught until we made it back.”
“Or he was helped,” Tyson cut in, staring harshly at her.
“Why would I help him?” Adara barked back.
“Adara’s right,” Tobias interjected. “Doesn’t this prove his survival skills? He risked it all to come to Andreilia just like the rest of us. He deserves a chance.”
Ace shook his head. “He could be dangerous.”
“Let him loose one night on the island and see if he survives, then we’ll see if he’s worth our trouble,” Desmond suggested.
Vesper nodded in agreement.
Sawyer shook his head, light brown hair drifting with the movement. “I’m with Tobias on this one. He’s clever. I’ll give him that. He could be useful.”
“Perhaps a duel?” Niran suggested.
Silas pursed his lips, keeping quiet amid all the chaos as the Andreilians argued, yelling over one another. Zephyr’s eyes darted nervously around, small hands fiddling with the hem of his tunic.
“Enough,” Dominic’s shout silenced them all. His emerald eyes fixed on Adara. “You think he deserves a chance?” he asked.
Although his words stirred hope within her, Adara swallowed it down, noting the cunning glint in his irises.
Adara nodded. “It’s not like he can leave the island and spill all our secrets anyway. He can’t man this ship alone and there’s no other way out.” Technically, a portal orb could be a means of escape, but the mermaids were reluctant to even give those to Dominic.
“No, but he could slit our throats in our sleep,” Vesper sneered.
Evreux rolled his eyes. “Don’t you think if that was my intention I would have done it already?”
“Not helping,” Caleb snapped at his side.
“I trust Adara’s judgment,” Asher added.
“Well, I don’t,” Tyson grunted.
“I said enough,” Dominic snapped. “One night on the island. See if he survives. If he does, he’s one of us. If not . . . well, the mutants will tear him apart, and we won’t have to clean up the mess.” Dominic drew his sword and leveled it at Evreux’s throat.
Evreux’s eyes widened with terror. He raised his empty hands in surrender and retreated a step.
Dominic did not stop his advance until the back of Evreux’s boots hit the hull of the ship. “Starting now,” Dominic said. He sheathed his blade and shoved Evreux over the railing.
They all rushed to port, watching his body tumble into the undulating sea.
For a moment, Adara worried a sea creature had already claimed him, but then Evreux’s head popped above the surface. He glanced up at them, as if hoping they’d change their mind and reel him in. Tyson and Desmond only laughed. Vesper wore a winning smirk.
Adara angled her head to the island, eyes locked on the mountain piercing the sky.
She placed her hands on the railing, pretending to simply drum her fingers along the wood in anticipation, but she subtly pointed her index finger to the mountain, indicating where Andreilia’s enchanted water lay.
Evreux dipped his chin slightly, and she prayed he understood her gesture.
“Did you know about this?” Dominic seethed.
Adara crossed her arms over her chest as the two of them stood at the edge of the wood line. The rest of the Andreilians had left them behind as they marched toward their camp, unloading stolen supplies from the ship.
She could try to play dumb with Dominic, but Adara knew he’d see right through her lies, so she did the next best thing.
“Of course,” she said arrogantly. “Nothing gets past me.” There was something so fulfilling about seeing the fury that twisted Dominic’s features at her insinuation: that she was clever enough to figure out someone snuck onto their ship while he remained clueless. The corners of her lips tugged up.
Dominic’s scowl deepened. “Why the Hel are you helping him?”
Adara huffed. “I already told you,” she said, “he deserves a place here like the rest of us.”
Dominic laughed. The sound, dark and bitter, sent a chill along her bones.
“Us,” he spat. “There is no us,” he snarled.
He jabbed a finger at her chest, right over the mark that deemed her a Flamecarrier.
“You do not have a place here. You are nothing more than a naive girl strutting around here thinking you’re so clever for challenging me in a game of love.
When really you’re just some stupid girl with a god complex, all because you were born with magic in your veins.
But you did nothing to deserve it. Nothing to earn it. ”
Adara’s fists balled at her sides.
Dominic snatched her hand, prying her fingers open and tracing their matching scars with a heavy hand.
“You had to make me promise to keep you alive because you can’t defend yourself.
How the Hel do you expect to protect someone else when you can’t even protect yourself?
” Dominic gestured to the jungle where Evreux was probably fighting off the strange creatures that roamed the island.
Those words struck Adara like a physical blow.
Blood roared in her ears. She blinked and she was back in the meadow, blood coating the verdant grass.
Mutilated bodies lay around her, the white of bone gleaming through gallons of blood.
Chunks of flesh and organs were scattered about the ground, their faces lacerated beyond recognition.
She gazed hopefully at the castle in the distance, right over the hill. They were so close. I promised them escape, she thought. I promised I would protect them. But there they lay—Callan, Draven, Kiara, Fallon, and Alecsander—dead, buried beneath the shadows.
She blinked again, and the vision was gone. Dominic’s glare fixed on her, waiting for a response.
Adara heaved a deep breath through the nausea churning her stomach.
“I made that oath,” she began, attempting to keep her composure while she wanted nothing more than to scream at him.
To shout in his face all that she had been through.
To show him what carnage played in her mind day after day.
Then maybe he would think differently of her.
“To be sure your allegiance would lie with me. I know where my loyalties stand—and that is with you. At least until we forge the Realm Fracturer and one of us wins this game.”
“Your loyalty will be your demise,” he said, tossing her hand out of his grip, which returned to a fist at her side, suppressing the embers threatening to set him ablaze.
Adara barked a humorless laugh. “Funny, that’s what has kept me alive so far.”
He shook his head with a mocking laugh. “No.” Dominic hooked a finger under her chin, tilting her head up to meet his eyes, demanding she understand his next words very clearly. “I have kept you alive.” His touch was so cold it burned.
Adara jerked her face away.
“What have you done?” he asked, arms splayed at his side.
“Besides putting us in danger? You didn’t solve the riddle in those ancient tomes to find out what is needed to forge the Realm Fracturer.
You didn’t discover the whereabouts of the Whisperer.
I bet you don’t even know where to find a dragon scale or shadow steel! ”
Every muscle inside her went taut.
“What?” Dominic asked, noting her sudden change in composure. A crease formed between his brows.
She said nothing, casting her eyes downward. She had thought of every way the information would come about, and she had never come up with a way to diffuse Dominic’s inevitable anger.
His lips pressed into a thin line. “You lied . . . didn’t you?” Dominic inquired, hands curling into fists at his side.
Adara did not reply.
“You lied,” he snarled.
She shot a glance at his white-knuckled fists, and knew he was imagining his fingers wrapped around her neck.
“You have no clue where those two relics are, do you?” he asked again. Power radiated from him.
A strong, vengeful energy that had Adara shrinking away.
She chewed on her lip, a frown pulling at her features. She knew it would eventually come to this, and she wasn’t sure even the power of her key could save her from the wrath smoldering in Dominic’s eyes.
“I didn’t lie,” she said warily, meekly. “I know where to find a dragon scale and shadow steel.” A pause that had Dominic simmering even more. “I don’t know how to get to them.”
Dominic drew closer. Adara retreated a step, then another, and another, until her back hit a tree. His hands smacked the bark on either side of her head, and Adara flinched, caged in between his arms, cords of muscle flexing.
“Where are they?” he seethed, more demand than question.
Adara struggled to speak past the lump forming in her throat. “In Blemythia,” she breathed. In a land long since forgotten, with no way to return.