I don’t need it, not really. But something about the feel of the smooth, worn wood beneath my hands helps to settle me as I breathe in.
Out.
And again.
This part is not so difficult. Not with the edges of the tide pushing us forward, the ropes slipping free from the lurkers’ hands asVolatuspulls forward.
In fact, it’s almost too easy to draw up another thin line from the well. To focus on it, that brimming, swirling web of power, and coax more of it free.
It calls to me. Enough that the hair on the back of my neck prickles in silent warning as I pull on a little more.
It is never enough. Not at first. Not until it’s too much, and I’m too deep to notice until I’mdrowning.
I allow just enough to lighten the load we carry. To slip silent, invisible hands beneath the galleon we’re standing on, and nudge it forward.
The ship leaps beneath my feet, creaking into slow movement. There’s never quite enough wind in Terrosa anyway, the air humid without movement, but a slight breeze cools my forehead as we pick up speed.
Behind us, shouting erupts from the dock. Grinning despite myself, I let just a little more free. My voice carries over the calls from the confused lurkers. “Mainmast!”
A little more speed. Enough to get us clear of the docks, for Sol and Rio to unfurl the large sail that sits closest to the bowsprit at the other end of the ship.
“Looks clear, at least.” Merrick is steady beside me, his hands clasped behind his back. “No other ships pulling in.”
And there are none that can move likeVolatus. Not with me at the helm.
And in this moment, it feels so close to freedom that my lips curve, even as I taste the blood.
My hands tighten on the rudder before I turn it slightly to port, angling the bow toward the narrowed harbor entrance. “To the Never, then.”
“Aye.” Merrick sounds tired. “Let’s hope we make it that far, at least.”
Chapter five
Selene
Of all the cages I have been in, this is not the worst.
Lowering my head back against the wall, I consider my current circumstances. And how I might extract myself from them.
It’s a short consideration. My body rocks in time with the movement of the ship that now clutches me tightly in its hold. Stretching out my legs, I rotate my foot, eyeing the new copper cuff that secures my ankle to a rusted metal hook in the wall. At least two-inches wide, it looks innocuous enough. Almost decorative.
I was without one for a whole ten minutes.
I barely remember the time before I wore one. And perhaps that’s for the best.
If I breathe deeply enough through my nose, I can almost taste it at the back of my throat. The metallic clang of a dampener on whatever magic I might have inside me. It’s such a familiarsensation that I rarely notice it anymore. That gaping hole that once felt unending now feels smaller. As if my body has adjusted.
I wonder if magic can stagnate through lack of use. If it does, then surely I’m the same as any otherinritus.
I am no threat to them. To anyone. And yet wherever I am, I seem to be caged and chained like an animal that might bite at any moment.
I wrinkle my brow as I glance over my new cage. This storage room is dark – probably pitch black, but darkness has never been a problem for me. There are no bars separating me from the mountains of crates piled high around the space, only the chains holding me in place. A small, neatly packed bag beside me contains dried fruit, meat and biscuits, with a helpful accompanying flagon of… I sniff it cautiously. Water.
They even gave me a bucket.
If only I knew why I was here and where we were going, I might consider my current accommodations pleasant. At least here, there is no Boralas, and no Johan. An almost pungent tang fills my nose, driven by the waves I can hear sloshing against the outer wall of the ship.
Dragging me down, flipping me over and over, pouring down my throat in pillars of salt and pain—
