“The two left on the ship. If they suspect something is amiss, they’ll contact Adela and she’ll kill my father.” Vi looked to Taavin. “You’ll wear Charlie’s clothes and we’ll ride out on the rowboat. Arwin, you fly in from behind. We strike them both at once, but only when we’re certain we can take them out cleanly. If one survives for even a second, it could be enough time to relay a message.”
A jump off the cliff, followed by a pulse of magic, and a bird rising on the updraft was all the affirmation Vi was going to get from Arwin. But she didn’t need more. Time was of the essence now.
Still, she found herself staring at Fallor for one last, long moment. He was dead. She imprinted his bloody corpse on her memory. He was dead, and he couldn’t come for her again.
Vi turned away, crawled toward Charlie’s body, and began to tug at his clothes. “Taavin, help me, he’s heavy.”
The man appeared across from her, wordlessly helping lift the dead weight to yank off Charlie’s long tunic.
“How did you kill him?” Taavin asked warily.
“Juth calt—I shattered his heart.”
“You what?” he whispered.
“I shattered his heart, maybe his lungs, too.”
“I’ve never heard ofcaltused that way,” Taavin said warily.
“Well, now you have.” Vi held out the shirt. While she waited for Taavin to take it, she ripped off Charlie’s earring with her other hand and pocketed it. “I’ve had a long road to get here, and I’ve had to improvise along the way. Now, wear this—the sun is getting low and I don’t want to test their patience.”
Taavin yanked off his shirt. It was the first time she’d seen him in such a state of undress. The scar on his face extended down past his collarbone. There were other scars, too. Smaller, fainter, curving and intersecting… almost as if someone had taken a knife and lazily drawn lines across his body time and again until their bloody art left a permanent mark.
No doubt from Ulvarth, she thought darkly
He finished tugging the tunic overhead, bringing her back to the present.
“Good thing pirates are embroiled in shady business.” Vi lifted the hood of the tunic. “Of course they’d have sewn a hood to everything.”
“Vi, you saw—”
“Later.” Vi gave his hand a squeeze, knowing where his mind was. She didn’t have to know the stories behind those markings to know that it was likely something very few had seen, and that he’d want to keep them hidden. “When we’re on our new boat.”
Taavin gave a small nod as he stood. Vi did as well, taking a step in front of him. She kept her head down, starting on the switchbacks with Taavin close behind.
“Remember, I’m your prisoner. Push on my back a little, make it a good show.”
Taavin did, but the shove was so weak Vi had to intentionally put a stumble into her step. She fought the smallest of smiles. Even acting, he didn’t want to harm or demean her.
Sure enough, there was a rowboat moored on the beach. Just off the shore was a single vessel—narrow and fast looking with one main sail and a secondary. Perfectly hidden from view of the town.
Two silhouettes were drawn against the setting sun, standing at the railing. Vi held up a hand, blinking into the sunlight as they trudged through the sand toward the small skiff. She didn’t see Arwin anywhere.
“Do you see her?” Taavin asked, pushing on the rowboat. He strained against the sand—clearly not a trained deckhand. Vi hoped Fallor’s other crew would assume Charlie drunk.
“No,” Vi murmured. She wanted to help him, but she doubted Charlie would’ve asked for help, so she just stood there, waiting and watching the other two pirates aboard the boat.
“What if she left?”
“She wouldn’t. She still has to disable the shift on the Isle of Frost.” Vi hoped to the Mother above that remained true.
The skiff was in the water and Vi boarded first, Taavin behind her. He took up the oars, pulling them hard through the water and fighting against the waves crashing along the beach. Vi looked at the surf splashing up against the sides, remembering the last time she had been in a rowboat like this.
Then, she had been a prisoner. Now, she held the upper hand.
“When we get close enough that you can be sure to hit your mark… usejuth calt,” Vi said under her breath. Taavin looked up at her, panting. “I’ll take the woman, you take the man.”
“I don’t think I can…” Taavin nearly stopped rowing, continuing in an instant. “I’ve never been trained to use it in that way. What if I explode their whole body?”
