“Kame!” he shouted to the Calbernans on the sterncastle. His first mate, who was standing at theKracken’s wheel, turned around at his call. “Call the men. You and Kuota come here and lay hands on me. Then have the others form up behind you until we’re all linked.”
Soon every sailor aboard theKrackenhad lined up to form a living web, all linked hand to skin. All linked, ultimately, to Dilys. He turned back to Gabriella and motioned for her to come to him. She did, reluctantly, and when she drew near, he took her hands and pressed them to his chest. “Good. Now, I want you to share with me again as you shared your grief over your sisters. Give me everything you possibly can.”
“Dilys...” Gabriella was starting to see where he was going with this, but after what had nearly happened yesterday, she was squeamish about the idea of rousing anything even close to that much of her power again. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He leveled a hard look on her. “You promised that if I could prove to you once and for all that you can love me without putting anyone in danger, you would marry me and claim me as your mate.”
“Yes, but I never meant I’d put us all at risk again to prove it. I won’t.” Dilys stared at her long enough to make her squirm, but she didn’t back down. “I won’t do it, Dilys. I’m not going to endanger us all by summoning the full force of my magic. I won’t.” She crossed her arms and tried to ignore the disappointment in his eyes.
“I see,” he said at last. “Very well.” He turned towards the bridge. “Helmsman, set a course for Konumarr.”
“Tey, moa Myerielua.” The helmsman began barking orders, and the ship that had been sailing towards Calberna set a more northerly course.
Gabriella scowled at Dilys. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Taking you home to Wintercraig, of course. As I told you yesterday, I promised Queen Khamsin I would bring her sisters home. Now that our search has ended, I’m honor bound to deliver you safely back into her care.”
“I can’t go back! I’m too much of a danger to anyone I love. You know that!”
“I’m sorry,moa haleah.It cannot be helped. You refuse to wed me because you fear your power, but you refuse to allow me to demonstrate that such fears are groundless. Right now, you are a subject of the King and Queen of Wintercraig, and I have no authority to refuse your sovereign’s command to your return to your homeland. Had you agreed to wed me, on the other hand, our marriage would make you a daughter of House Merimydion and a subject of theMyerial. In such a case, were you to command me not to return you to the bosom of youroulanifamily, I would be breaking no vows or treaties by acceding to my wife’s desires. Alas... you are not my wife, nor a citizen of Calberna, so...” He let his voice trail off and shrugged.
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you telling me you’re shipping me back to Wintercraig—where you know I’ll be a danger to my family!—unless I marry you? That’s blackmail!”
“I prefer to think of it as negotiating from a position of strength.” Behind him, a number of Calbernans and even a handful of traitorous Wintermen suddenly started coughing or scratching their noses and looking up at the sky to hide their smiles.
She whirled on Commander Friis, who was standing a few feet away on the quarterdeck, working hard to conceal his amusement. “Are you just going to stand there and let him blackmail me?”
Friis stood at attention. “Forgive me, Princess, but... ah... given the events of the last twenty-four hours... I... er... well, I”—he coughed into his fist—“I think the king and queen would prefer to see the two of you married as quickly as possible.” His gaze strayed to a point beneath her throat. His cheeks and tips of his ears went pink and he glanced quickly away.
She looked down to see her robe gaping open to her navel. Blushing furiously, she jerked the edges of the robe together and tightened the sash with a yank.
She spun back towards Dilys, ready to blister his ears with a few hot words, only to find that he had come up behind her, blocking her from the view of his crew. She craned her head back to glare up at his great, hulking height, expecting more smug arrogance, but the teasing laughter had left his face, and his eyes gleamed with a soft, sympathetic light.
“It’s all right, Gabriella,” he murmured. One large hand slid around her neck, and his thumb gently traced the line of her jaw. “Trust me. It really is going to be fine. You won’t hurt anyone. I promise.”
Her chin started to tremble and she had to look away quickly.
“All right,” she mumbled when she had herself under control. “All right. I’ll give it a try.”
He kissed her again, tenderly, and pulled her out onto the deck. “Kuota, Kame.” He waited for the two Calbernans to lay their hands upon him, then he pressed Summer’s palms to his chest. “Now,moa kiri,rouse your gifts.”
Since yesterday’s excitement had started with the news of her sisters’ deaths, she let her mind tentatively turn to that for a trigger, but to her surprise, nothing happened. Oh, she still felt the pain of their loss and tears came to her eyes almost instantly, but the rush of grief-fired fury never came. Her magic remained quiescent.
She frowned in confusion. “Nothing’s happening. I’m thinking of my sisters, but nothing’s happening.” A look flashed across Dilys’s face: satisfaction. “Did you do this?”
“Tey.You gave me your pain. I gave you back love. You should be able to mourn them now without fear of accidentally unleashing your magic.”
He appeared so matter-of-fact, as if he hadn’t just given her one of the most incredible gifts imaginable. All her life, she’d held herself back, held her heart back, afraid to love for fear of what loss would make her do.
“My gods,” she whispered. “You did it.”
“What I did isn’t a blanket cure,” he said. “It only works for the one emotional path. Pick a different pain, and your power will rise as it always has. For the purposes of this demonstration, that’s what I need you to do. Think of whatever you fear most.”
She didn’t even need to hunt for a fear. It came of its own volition. The thought of Dilys dying.
And just that quick, her power came roaring up, fresh and furious, ready to destroy anyone who even thought to harm him.
“Good,” Dilys bit out, his voice gravelly. “Now, give it to me. All of it. Hold nothing back.”
