“Any idea on how long we will be in Lunaria?” Raneese asked as she skillfully steered the ship through the waters.
Turning from where he was looking out over the crystal blue waters to lean against the rail, he crossed his ankles as he folded his arms across his chest. “Why do you ask?”
Raneese shrugged. “Justseemslike it will be a longer trip than usual, I guess.”
She gave him a side-long glance before turning her gaze forward once more.
Daemon rolled his eyes and pushed away from the rail, crossing to the opposite side. The sound of rope slipping through the riggings as his crew adjusted the sails echoed through the quiet that had fallen between him and his captain.
He’d never lied to her before; there was no reason to start now.
With a heavy sigh, he gripped the edge of his ship. Letting the feel of the smooth wood beneath his palms calm him. “I can’t be there whileshe’sthere. Can’t stand to see the way she turns my father into a cowering insect who bows to her will.”
“Is that all?”
The tone in her voice said that she already knew it wasn’t, but he blew a breath and answered anyway.
“I need to clear my head.” Daemon paused for a moment and looked out over the Cerulean Sea. The water was calm, unlike the thoughts that spiraled through his mind. “I need to recenter myself. If I don’t…” Shadows danced at his fingertips, swirling around his digits in inky ribbons.
A wary look crossed Raneese’s face as she nodded.
He didn’t need to explain. He didn’t need to bring up what had happened when they left Lyndaria. He’d never had that happen before. Never lost such control over his magic, not even when it had first manifested.
His shadows had bled out of him in waves. It was as if his entire ship had been dunked in a bottle of ink so dark that not even the light of the full moon was able to penetrate it.
Daemon shivered at the memory and pulled his magic back into himself.
The trip across the Cerulean Sea was uneventful.
They’d stopped on Malaena—the middle island—the first night to grab the supplies that the Priestesses had sent word that they needed. And so that Daemon could reassure his people that he would do everything within his power to keep them safe from Davina.
By the time they reached Lunaria the following day, it was nightfall.
The moon was high in the sky, and the stars were out in full force.
With the lines that secured the Nevermore to the dock in place, Daemon dismissed his crew…all save for Raneese.
“I need you to do something for me,” he said as they sat in the captain’s quarters. The rest of the crew were already shoreside, most likely dining at one of the small taverns in the harbor.
“What?” The word was slightly drawn out as Raneese narrowed her eyes and took a large swig from her glass.
Daemon reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment, then slid it across the table to Raneese. “I need you to bring this to Lady Aesira of Opal.”
Raneese sputtered, and the rum that was still in her mouth dribbled down her chin. “Excuse me?”
Daemon shifted slightly in his seat. “I need you to bring this—” he held up the parchment and waved it around in short movements, “to Lady Aesira in Opal.”
“Don’t talk to me like a petulant child. Iheardyou the first time, asshole. I meant,whydo you need me to bring a letter to Aesira?”
An exasperated sigh left his lips as he ran his free hand through his hair. It had gotten longer, more unkempt, but he didn’t care. “Because Auraelia returned this.”
He reached into his pocket and let the sapphire dangle between his fingers from the slender, silver chain. The glow from the lamps in the cabin danced on the deep blue surface, but his shadows were still cold.
Still lifeless.
Balling up the pendant and chain in his fist, he dropped it back into his pocket. “I need to get this information to Auraelia, but since I no longer have a direct line of communication with her, I have to find another way to do it.”
“What about Aiden?” she asked as she idly ran her finger around the lip of her glass.
