Adara’s heart reached out to him, reading the sorrow in his eyes and seeing her own. She missed her family too. And this stranger was right. She had begun to count on the Andreilians to have her back. Hel, she fought the Whispererblindfolded,and not once did Dominic let her down.
“I’m sorry,” Adara murmured, but she knew those pathetic words were no consolation for such loss. Without change, apologies were merely a breath of fresh air before the ocean pulled you back under again, filling you up with the pain of what could have been. “In my kingdom,” she began, “Pherraare worshipped.” Sparks sprouted from her palm.
The boy flinched, but when Adara made no move to harm him, his eyes widened with intrigue.
“You can summon from nothing?” he asked, lips parted in disbelief. His eyes were lit with glee.
She nodded. “A Flamecarrier, not a Searling,” Adara said. “My kind are born from the bloodline of the gods. Even normalPherraare celebrated.” The fire at her fingertips morphed into a massive tree, branches sprouting out, leaves tumbling from the limbs. Then it changed into a horse, galloping across her hand. “On my continent, the land is watched over by twenty-seven gods. Magic runs wild and free, sometimes even without a mortal to wield it.”
He stared at her with awe. All the tension that stiffened his body before ebbed away. “Where is this place?” he asked, a bit of urgency in his tone.
Adara shook her head solemnly, flames dwindling to ash. “As of now,” she said, “it is lost to this world. But Iwillfind my way back.”
He looked at her expectantly. And maybe she was foolish for promising something that was never guaranteed—for this whole Realm Fracturer could be nothing more than a myth, a hoax to send fools like her running rampant for nothing—but a beacon of hope wove its way between them, luminous and indestructible, and Adara said, “I’ll take you there one day. I'll show you all five kingdoms. I swear it.”
A wide smile cut across his face, genuine trust and happiness emanating from him. “I’d like that,” he said and extended a hand. “I’m Evreux.”
“Adara,” she said, shaking his hand.
“Did I pass your little test?” Evreux asked with a raised brow. The corners of his lips tugged into a victorious smirk as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.
She laughed quietly. “Yes, I suppose you did.”
“Now what?”
“Now you lay low here until we reach Andreilia. I’ll bring you food in the morning and keep the others away from this room,” she explained.
“And what about when we get to the island? They’ll know I didn’t sail there on my own.”
Adara chewed her lip. “Dominic will be furious you slipped past him, but I’ll convince him to let you live. I’ll say you were clever enough to sneak on our ship and go unnoticed the entire way. Outsmarting us like that could be an invaluable trait to have. You’ll have proven yourself by surviving.”
He nodded, but his features were tight. He looked at her down his straight nose, eyes skeptical. “Why should I trust you?”
Adara smirked. “Maybe you shouldn’t . . . but you have no other choice.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Are youwithDominic Nite?”
The insinuation jarred her, and she sucked in a sharp breath, muscles tensing. Adara glared up at him. She was notwithhim, not in the way Evreux implied, romantically, lovingly. No, Adara was with him in the toxic, deprecating sort of way that would have people questioning her sanity. Which she had to admit, she did sometimes as well. A war of hearts against the King of Keys, she supposed, would have that effect on someone.
Chapter 19
AsighofreliefescapedAdara’s lips as Andreilia’s peak crested the horizon, a mass of verdant land tucked away in the midst of this ominous sea. They’d made it. Once again, the Andreilians survived the Plagued Sea. No sea monsters or raging tempests to capsize their ship were to be found. Perhaps Dominic’s corrupt heart, having been tossed into the sea, provided some sort of barrier between him and the monsters. Perhaps, the beasts tasted his vile heart and wanted nothing to do with him.
The Lykrenspurred onward as a forceful gale filled the sails and an intense current swept them forward, eager to be home. The island grew closer, and in no time, they were upon Andreilia’s shores, lowering the anchor and cheering for surviving yet another impossible journey.
Asher had been aiding her in rewrapping her arm—which was almost entirely healed after their long voyage—when Adara heard signs of a struggle across the ship. There was a loud thud against the deck. The impact sent vibrations through her boots. Adara’s blood ran cold, apprehension filling her before she even turned to see what had happened.
Tyson stood over a prone Evreux, blond hair disheveled in the wind, his scarred lips twisted into a conniving grin. Evreux attempted to push himself up, and Desmond kicked his hands out from beneath him while Tyson pressed a boot to his back, holding him down. Tyson and Desmond exchanged a look of winning cruelty.
The thick muscles in Desmond’s arms bulged, his tattoos shifting with the movement, as he yanked Evreux to his feet by the back of his shirt. Adara had grown so used to their friendly manners around their own that she almost forgot the malice the Andreilian’s showed to strangers.
Desmond jerked his head, tossing long, dark braids over his shoulder as he held a knife to Evreux’s throat. “Thought you could get away that easy, huh?” he chided in Evreux’s ear. His pearly smile was wide but showed no mirth, only cold calculation.
Tyson’s caramel eyes filled with sadistic delight as he reared back and drove his fist into Evreux’s gut. Evreux instinctively doubled over.
Desmond pulled him upright. “That’s for sneaking onto our ship,” he spat before striding away with purpose.
Evreux’s soft, pleading eyes were such a stark contrast to his sharp features, locking on her.
