“The guard doesn’t scare me. Only this uncertain future does.”
I tried not to let all the noise distract me. Messing up could mean death. My magic wasn’t a safe one, like the new magic the King allowed.
Nova’s anxiety washed over me through our bond. I tried to block it out, but her emotions always took a powerful hold on me.
I pulled inside myself until all the air went out of me.
Nova shrieked, shattering my focus.
A guard tackled me to the ground, knocking the wind from my lungs, and the threads of magic I’d gathered dissolved.
No. No. NO!
I tried to catch them, but they were gone.
We were unceremoniously carried back to our rooms and locked inside.
“I’m sorry I ruined it,” Nova said when they’d gone. She felt bad. “I shouldn’t have come to say goodbye.”
“It’s not your fault. It might not have worked,” I replied, resigned, but still held on to a fragment of hope that we could somehow escape our fate together.
“It is our destiny. I can feel it.” She always did have a feeling for those types of things. “Maybe it will be better than you expect. The God of Light means for us to go on this path, wherever that leads.”
“I don’t know if I believe that.” Fuck my duty to the Twelve Kingdoms, I would not stay for them, but I loved her, and I knew she believed it. “But we’ll face together what dawn brings.”
“Can I say I told you so when you change your mind?” She sat on the bed beside me.
“You will anyway, no need to ask me.”
“Give it a chance. You can always leave after we get there. No one will know about your powers, and it will be easier.”
“I will, but only for you.”
FOUR
FAOLAN
Everything in me told me to leave. Spread my wings and never look back, as we set sail for the port of Durran in the Light Kingdom. But my feet stayed rooted in place.
I couldn’t quite explain the feeling, but nothing about this voyage felt like a good idea. I knew Nyx hadn’t exactly planned to charter the ship I worked on, but all of this felt a bit contrived and, more than that, a bad idea.It felt like I had achieved nothing by leaving the capital, and I had a sinking feeling that I’d spend my life trying to extricate myself from one authority or another and never achieve freedom.
I should be listening to that warning from within. Once my gut told me to leave, I skipped. It had saved my neck far too many times for me to ignore. So why was I ignoring it now? I couldn’t say.
The ship was unrecognizable. State rooms had been hastily constructed for the prince and his princesses. Nyx, Zaria, and Kol had more modest accommodations, but they still far surpassed the normal level of comfort aboard the ship. I had shunned the offer of quarters alongside them and instead took my usual lower deck cabin, with a hammock and the bare necessities.
I would not get sucked into being part of their party. If I accepted their perks, I would soon be working for them and not Captain Veles, and I could not have that. I wanted to keep the lines clear. I was crew, and when needed, auxiliary guard, nothing more.
With only myself and the skeleton crew aboard to run the deck, plus a cook to feed us all, there was much to do. I made my rounds, ensuring all was well and pitched in where needed. The journey would fly by with so much to do, and with no cargo drops to be made, we would make good time. I was only disappointed we were not sailing for further shores. I longed to be as far from the threat of discovery as possible.
Our guests were no trouble. We hardly saw the prince out of his quarters, bar his daily evening stroll around the deck, and even less of Kol. I made sure to deliver food and other necessary items to their quarters myself to keep the crew far away. Word had spread in the lower quarters about who we were carrying, but that didn’t mean they should all be allowed to gawk.
Muffled voices broke my train of thought as I went about my work, and I stepped closer to the mouth of the corridor to listen, knowing I probably shouldn’t. They weren’t raised voices, but the tone sounded combative, and with my heightened hearing, I picked them up easily. They were coming out of Nyx’squarters. This was precisely why I kept the crew away, and yet still I listened.
“Why the fuck am I here?” Kol’s voice reached my ears, exasperation lacing his tone.
“We went through this before we left,” Nyx sighed. “I thought the sea air would be good for you. You can’t hold up in the castle for the rest of your days.”
“Does it fucking matter what I do?”Kol snapped.
