“Because of a deal I made a long time ago. Not being able to show my face is the price I pay for being able to share my voice.”
“I do remember you saying that before,” I answer, extending my legs out in front of me as I lean back on my hands. Silence falls between us—one that feels far too easy toshare with this stranger who is notquitea stranger. The breeze around me begins to pick up, the tendrils of hair loosened from my braid snapping against my cheeks. “I’m not ready to leave. I can’t— I don’t know if I can face him. After learning everything, I don’t know if we can fix this.”
She hums as sparkling stardust floats in front of me.
“Can’t I stay here for a little longer?”
“This is not supposed to be a place for you to linger,” she responds, firm but not unkind.
“Please.” The word is a heartbroken plea, a desperate attempt to try and stay in the one existence that hasn’t shown me any pain or heartbreak.
The woman sighs though the sound isn’t one of annoyance. It is more resigned, as if she had known this was going to happen. “Rest here for a little while, Rhea. And then you will have to return.”
I nod my head, lying down on my side and curling in on myself. And though I know I am not in the world of Olymazi anymore, and that she cannot reach me here, I still wait for my white fox to settle in next to me. But Bella never comes.
She is dead because of me.
Chapter Eight: Bahira
“It’s well over thehour mark,” King Kai growls, holding my trunk as we make our way to the rowboat at the edge of the water.
I ignore him, my gaze steadily fixed on the expanse of ocean in front of me. The lapping deep blue waves move in rocking motions, the sunlight sparkling off of the Spell lying at the water’s surface.
The king sets the heavy chest down in the middle of the long wooden boat, his arms folding over his chest as he faces me.Rolling my eyes, I turn to glance over my shoulder one last time, meeting the stare of my mother and then my father through the Spell. He tilts his lips up, quickly nodding his head in a show of support that squeezes around my heart. I dip my chin in response, the breeze blowing off the water moving my curly hair wildly about my face. Finally, my gaze falls to Daje. His hands rest at his sides, his face contorted into a concerned grimace as our eyes meet.
“You’ll see your boyfriend in three months. We need to go now.”
Slowly, hoping it will piss him off, I turn back around and face the annoying male. Tua walks to the opposite side of the boat and leans down to grab its edge, waiting for his king to do the same. King Kai just stands there instead, his towering frame incredibly imposing even with the entire ocean behind him. Still, a sharp thrill runs through me at the thought of riling him up. So I again ignore him and walk up to the vessel, leaning down to grip it as I raise an eyebrow at him in question.
Grumbling under his breath, King Kai turns around and grabs the boat roughly, his strength causing it to tip his way. He looks as if he could carry the entire damn thing by himself. I let my eyes roam over the width of his shoulders and the way his muscles bulge and flex with his movements.
Once we are far enough away from the shore that the rowboat is somewhat floating, Tua and King Kai hold it steady so that I can get in. My abdominal muscles flex as I try to balance myself while the craft rocks steadily side to side from my weight. Once it evens out, the king and Tua step in, each grabbing an oar and pushing us the rest of the way off the sandy embankment and fully into the water. I peer over the edge as they row, looking down through the thick layer of the Spell that extends a few feet beneath the water’s surface.
The king looks over his shoulder at me, studying my face and then moving up to my hair where he lingers before focusing on a point above my head.
“What?” I snap, folding my arms over my chest.
“I’m just curious if you know how to use that spear. And I’m wondering why you brought it at all.” The boat rocks slightly, poor Tua doing all the work of rowing us while the king asks stupid fucking questions.
“Is it against some sort of shifter custom for a visitor to bring a beloved gift with them when they travel?” I ask, grinning when I see his hands tighten around the dark wooden handle of the oar.
“Of course not. Bring whatever gift you want. Though it would be a foolish thing to advertise if you don’t know how to wield it,Princess.”
That thrill within me at riling him up sparks brighter—fiercer—as I lean forward, planting my hands on the bench in front of me. “Keep offering up unwanted, idiotic advice, and perhaps you will find out,Your Majesty.”
The king observes me for a moment longer, wicked amusement sparkling in his dark brown eyes, before he makes a noise of derision and turns back around. Tua laughs quietly as the rowboat finally nears the hull of the ship.
It is so much larger up close, towering many stories above me while its white sails loosely flutter in the wind. My head cranks back even farther as I try to take in the ship fully. Masts loom tall from its center, built from a light brown wood.
Tua and King Kai guide the rowboat up to the side of the ship, near where a rope ladder is now hanging flanked by two single ropes. My thoughts run wild as I look at my trunk, wondering how in the world I’ll be able to climb the ladder while holding it.
Seeing my unvoiced question, Tua grabs one of the ropes hanging from the ship and begins to loop it through a metal eyehook sticking out of the top edge of the rowboat. “We’ll attach the ropes to the boat for them to haul up, and then we’ll climb the ladder.”
I give him a genuine smile as I nod my thanks for his explanation. King Kai sees the entire exchange and decides to add another tally to the total I’m keeping in my head of things he says that make me want to punch him.
“Worried all your pretty dresses might get ruined?”
“Prick,” I mumble under my breath as I check to make sure my spear is secure on my pack before moving to stand closer to the ladder. My shoulder hits against his arm as I pass, eliciting a dark chuckle from him. When Tua tells me that it’s safe to climb, I begin the ascent to the deck of the ship.
