“It’s nice to meet you,” Auralie says. “Did Sig show you around the ship?”
I drop my arm down and readjust, so I’m sitting up straighter. Clearly my posture did nothing to deter them, so now I’m going to have to endure their company during this meal. As frustrating as it is, it might benefit me. This can be the first step in my plan.
I nod silently and take another bite.
“You’ll get used to it,” Stassia says. “It’s hard to adapt at first, being so closed in and all, but now it just feels like home.”
Home. She doesn’t understand what that word means to me. No place has ever felt like home to me until camp. Until Dane. The castle was a prison. This ship is a prison. Camp is the only place I’ve truly wanted to return to, filled with people I care about. I don’t care how long she thinks I will be here, no amount of time is ever going to make this place feel like home.
“I told you both to leave her alone,” Sig says as she walks up to the table and settles into the empty space in front of me.
“And I ignored you,” Stassia says. “Why wait? It’s not like she’s going anywhere. She might as well start getting to know all of us now instead of hiding in the corner.”
I huff a laugh, eyes trained on my plate, and push the food around. Looks like she knew exactly what I was doing and sat down anyway.
“We wanted to make sure she feels comfortable. We know the transition is hard.” I look up to find Auralie smiling sweetly at me. Her expression actually looks genuine, and I shift uncomfortably in my chair.
“So, Lennox, where are you from?” Stassia asks as she stabs a vegetable and pops it in her mouth, chewing daintily.
Sig looks up at me, waiting for my answer, the look on her face unreadable.
“I’m from Blackwood,” I say flatly.
“Ooh, isn’t that the kingdom with the really attractive king?” Stassia says, her eyebrows raising as her eyes widen.
Sig presses the end of her fork to her lips, trying to hide a smile.
“Uh, no, he’s not. He’s old and cruel.” I make a face, trying to brush off this topic while also completely baffled at the ease of their conversation with someone they have never spoken to before. None of these women have any idea the king is my father, and I have no intention of telling them. I need to shift the focus away from Blackwood’s royalty as soon as possible.
Stassia makes an incredulous noise. “Well, of course not now. At least he was when I left. I assume he’s aged now,” she says.
She must have been on the island for a while, if she remembers my father being a young king. I glance between the girls as they wait for me to respond. It makes sense now whythey feel so comfortable with each other. They’ve been under Weston’s trance for years.
When I offer nothing more, Auralie breaks the silence. “Stass and I are from Akarion. Sig’s from Berrendahr.”
“So that’s why you know your way around a ship,” I say, looking at Sig.
“I’ve also been here for a while, so that’s mainly why. But yes, I grew up around ships. I know how to sail.”
Blackwood shares a border with Berrendahr, a seaside kingdom whose ships are responsible for the movement of our lumber. They’ve always been an ally and partner in trade, yet I’d met no one from the kingdom. Sig is the first. The same goes for Akarion, though I should have met both at my ceremony months ago.
“How long have you been on Dawnlin, Lennox?” Auralie asks.
“Not very long. A few months, maybe?”
“Wow, and you found the healing waters that fast? Impressive. It took me a while, but I made it eventually,” Stassia says, and Auralie nods along with her.
Ice slides up my spine and I do everything I can not to show any emotion on my face. How does she know I found them? Did Fin talk? Why would he tell them instead of Weston? Or is this just a tactic to get me to admit it, then pressure me into giving them up?
“What makes you think I found them?” I ask, keeping my face straight.
“We’ve all found them. Every one of us,” Stassia says matter-of-factly, gesturing around the room.
“But none of us have been worthy,” Auralie adds.
“So now we’re here,” Stassia says with way too much happiness for the heaviness of the statement. “That’s why you’re here.”
My jaw drops, unable to hide my surprise. They’ve all found them, and no one has been deemed worthy? How could that be? Every single person here was a Voyager before Weston brainwashed them, so how could every single person be unworthy?
