Chapter 53
Sunlight pierced the veil of black that was her eyelids, forcing her eyes to blink open in a haze.
Adara groaned at the sharp pain that pierced her chest when she sat up, her cracked ribs protesting the movement.
She relished the pain, a reminder that Dominic had dove into the Plagued Sea and brought her back to life.
Wood creaked as the ship rocked on gentle waves.
Adara stumbled when she stood from the cot, her left leg throbbing, and caught herself with a hand on the wall.
The vast blue of the ocean was all that could be seen through the porthole.
No pirates, no lykrens. Memories came flooding back, and Adara hurriedly lifted her shirt—which someone must have changed because it was no longer stained with blood and shredded to pieces—to expose her stomach.
She breathed a sigh of relief, lungs straining to expand as her ribs yet again ached.
The lykren had sunk its teeth into her, yet it appeared all that remained of its acidic venom was a mass of mangled, blistered red skin.
A pail sat next to her bed, filled with some odious dark liquid she only assumed was her vomit as her body purged the lykren blood she’d swallowed.
Her muscles burned with each step she took, but she was alive.
She smiled to herself in the empty cabin. Dragons, apparently, could withstand lykren blood.
That smile faded all too quickly. Her strides lengthened as she thought of the others.
Adara had managed to slay the most ferocious creature in the sea, Hel, the world, other than dragons, of course.
But no one remembered those existed since Blemythia was gone, but she had no clue if her friends had managed to escape unscathed.
She ignored the aches and pains and straining muscles, as she made her way to the main deck. Bodies shuffled about, adjusting the rigging, passing out rations, steering the ship as wind filled its unfurled sails. There seemed to be a gloomy cloud that followed their sluggish movements.
“Look who’s finally awake!” Asher greeted, jogging over to her and tugging her into his embrace.
“There’s our badass Flamecarrier that not only survived a lykren but killed one!” Caleb’s wide grin was a flash in her peripheral before his arms were around her, too.
She wrapped her arms around them but didn’t respond with the same fervor. Her eyes scanned every single Andreilian bustling about the ship. Two faces, she noted, were missing. Her heart stuttered in her chest, lungs struggling to take in a full breath.
“Dominic?” she asked, pulling away from Asher and Caleb.
“He’s fine,” Caleb said with a dismissive wave, but that did nothing to quench her worries.
“Asleep in the captain’s quarters,” Asher confirmed, easing her concerns. “He’s got a deep cut across his abdomen, but Vesper stitched him back up. You’ve been out for a few days, and he’s been reluctant to leave his room.”
Adara nodded, swallowing the lump of dread in her throat. “And Silas?” she asked.
Asher and Caleb exchanged a dismal expression that told her all she needed to know. Her legs threatened to give out, and Asher placed a gentle hand on her arm, thumb stroking over her skin.
“He’s—”
“Dead.” A voice rang out, harsh and accusatory.
“Because of you,” Tyson snarled. His harsh, caramel eyes bore into her with unbridled rage.
“He would have stayed out of harm’s way if you didn’t insist otherwise.
” His hands slammed against her chest, throwing her to the ground.
Pain shot through her entire body as she hit the deck, her breath coming in thin wheezes.
It felt like her ribs were cracking all over again, caving in to stab her heart over and over, shredding it to a million splintered pieces.
Dead, because of you. The words echoed in her mind, replaying over and over and over.
No, he couldn’t be gone. Silas . . . She’d trained him herself.
Sure, he was young and small, but he was precise, lethal, clever.
She’d thrown out a flaming whip to save him from those pirates, and he’d finished them by shoving a knife through their throats.
He was brave and strong and unyielding. Her saving him could not have been in vain.
She thought he’d made it back to the ship.
“You told him to fight!” Tyson screamed in her face as he threw himself onto her, pinning her down with his hips, his knees on either side of her waist.
She strained for breath beneath his weight but did not try to throw him off. Tyson was right. She told Dominic to let Silas fight. She told him to be brave. And now, he was dead.
Tyson reared back, fingers curled into a fist. Adara didn’t even raise her arms to defend herself as he landed the first blow to her temple. She didn’t turn her head to dodge as another struck her jaw. Traces of copper filled her mouth, and she ran her tongue over her split lip.
“I watched him die!” Another blow to her collarbone, his fists flying wherever they could find her in his blind fury.
She didn’t blame him one bit, nor did she fight. The weight of much more than Tyson hovered over her, pinned her down, choking her with its merciless snarls until she couldn’t breathe.
“He was just a kid!”
Adara let the barrage of punches land on her face. Tyson’s knuckles were a blur of red, stained with her blood. The pain raining down upon her body was nothing compared to the ache inside her heart.
Your fault, your fault, your fault, the voice inside her head chanted in time to Tyson’s punches.
There was a blur of movement behind him, like someone was trying to pry him off her, but he lashed out with a knife, nearly cutting off their fingers, and the figure retreated a few steps.
She couldn’t tell who it was, black invading her vision.
She couldn’t discern who was screaming at him to stop over the sound of voices yelling in her head.
You failed to save him. Like you failed to save Cal and Draven and Kiara and Fallon and Alec. Like you will fail to save Blemythia.
She was nothing but a hollow husk, a shell cracking beneath each harsh blow. Pain of the body was such bliss, numbing the pain in her head. She welcomed the familiar feeling with open arms, waiting for it to sweep her away.
But it never came. “Tyson, stop!” A hand gripped Tyson by the collar of his shirt, jerking him upright.
Tyson staggered away from her, turning to glare at whoever stepped in to halt his revenge. Her entire body throbbed in agony. Adara blinked through the haze, her swollen and bruised eyes straining to see clearly.
“NO!” Tyson screamed, voice cracking hysterically. “You weren’t there!” Ace flinched away, spittle hitting him in the face.
Tyson whirled back toward her, but Ace grabbed his arm again, forcing him back.
“It’s not her fault,” Ace said. His voice was calm, reassuring.
Adara would have argued if she had the energy.
“Silas wanted to fight, and he would be proud to know that he went out fighting with his brothers.”
“You didn’t see his body!” Tyson cried, struggling to get to Adara as Vesper and Desmond stepped in to hold him back. “You didn’t hear his last words! You didn’t watch him slip away before we could even bring him home! He’d still be here if it weren’t for her!”
Adara flinched at the words that struck as hard as his punches.
“You’re right,” Ace said. “I didn’t get to see him one last time.
I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye.” Ace’s tranquil composure wavered, his voice quivering.
“And neither did Adara. It wasn’t her fault.
And if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be here!
” Ace held up his right arm, displaying the bandaged stump of his limb that ended above the elbow.
She’d almost forgotten that she’d severed his arm to spare him from the venom before it could spread.
Tyson’s eyes widened, and he staggered back as if Ace had struck him. “S-she—” His lips worked, but no words broke free.
“She saved my life,” Ace sneered at Tyson. “She saved all of our lives.” His voice rose, his words strong and unrelenting. His brown eyes slid to hers. “None of us would be here if it weren’t for Adara.” Ace closed the distance between them with two long strides and stretched out a hand to her.
Adara shook her head. She did not want to get up and face this.
She did not want their praise. She didn’t even know if she’d have the strength to stand, let alone look them in the eyes as they glorified what she’d done.
It didn’t matter that she defeated the lykren or protected them all. Silas was still gone.
Ace reached down and grasped her hand anyway. Once she was on her shaking feet, he steadied her by pulling her into a hug.
“I know you blame yourself,” he whispered for only her to hear. “But please know it wasn’t your fault.”
Tears pricked her eyes.
“You did your best to protect us all, even Silas knew that.”