“Good to know we’re all mad.” Despite the weight of the situation, a grin struggled to form on her cheeks. “Here I thought I was alone in that.”
“You’re not alone. Not in any way.” The thin line of his mouth almost made a smile.
Arwin continued to glide ahead, banking and turning on the swirling currents that surrounded the island. Vi worked to keep up, following her as closely as possible. But as the ice became thicker—its frozen tendrils reaching out into the surf—she began to fear for the vessel’s integrity.
Luckily, Arwin seemed to think much the same. She did a wide loop before returning to their small ship.
“I think we should tie off here,” Arwin announced. “The cliffs will keep their eyes off us, and there are no outposts I could find on this side of the isle. Those caves will be our way in.” She pointed to a dark spot tucked into the side of a cliff.
Arwin and Taavin made quick work of striking the sails as Vi debated if she should take the scythe with her or not. Ultimately, she decided against it. She wasn’t skilled enough yet to use it, and carrying it onto the island only risked it falling into Adela’s hands.
After disembarking, Arwin guided them forward toward the yawning darkness of the cave. “I only scouted far enough to make sure this was an unguarded route. Once we cross onto the hillside beyond, we’re all on our own.”
Slowly, twilight filtered in, penetrating the blackness. It was carried on the icy wind and snow that piled at the mouth of the cave. The three emerged into a snow bank up to their knees, looking down over a small slope that ended with what could only be described as a pirate city.
Much like Beauty’s Bend, the Isle of Frost was crescent-shaped, surrounding a lagoon packed to the brim with ships of all shapes and sizes. The coast of the lagoon was riddled with waterways. They snaked through ice-covered buildings, functioning as main thoroughfares for the pirate city below.
“How many pirates do you think there are?”
“Too many,” Taavin said grimly.
“Enough to make our odds worse than grim.”
Vi found herself agreeing with Arwin’s assessment. This was certain suicide. They were walking into the hornet’s nest. “Shall we, then?”
“Today seems as good a day to die as any other.” Arwin gripped her spear tightly. “I’m going to dismantle the shift and then I’m back to the boat. Good luck finding your father.”
“Wait, aren’t you—”
“Going to help you?” Arwin interrupted. “I’ve helped you both more than enough to get here and I’ve my own business to settle. Hopefully, I’ll see you both, plus a fourth, before things get bad enough that I have to set sail. It’d be a pain sailing that thing alone, so don’t die.”
Before Vi could get in another word, the shift pulsed around her and Arwin took to the skies.
Vi and Taavin trudged through the snow, sliding on packed ice and tripping on hidden roots and rocks. Vi glanced behind them, trying to cement the path of their return journey in her mind. The falling snow and blustering wind were already filling the tracks they’d made.
They stepped onto the narrow walkway that lined a canal. People were busy going about their business as they would in any city. She heard music drifting over the wind and snow from taverns; laughter rang out in harmony to a shouting match. Vi saw a man slam his hand down on a card table in a gaming parlor as they passed.
It felt chillingly normal.
She looked for someone who looked like they knew what they were doing. Vi scanned the men and women on the streets, and in the boats traveling the canals. She searched the signs and doorways for any indicators, no matter how subtle.
If Adela was smart—which Vi had no doubt she was—she wouldn’t let everyone know where she was keeping a prized prisoner. Even if the whole isle knew Adela had the Emperor Solaris, she would keep his exact location a secret. Which meant Vi needed someone—
She stopped dead in her tracks, a flash of red in the twilight catching her eye.
“What?” Taavin asked.
“I saw an elfin’ra.”
“What?” he echoed, but this time the word said a whole lot more.
“Come on.” Vi started for the building she saw the man slip into.
“I don’t think we should be going toward the people trying to maim or murder us in order to bring about the end of the world.”
“This whole island is trying to maim or murder us,” Vi whispered hastily back.
“Yes, but the whole island can’t bring about an evil god with our blood,” Taavin muttered.
