She made her way to the steps leading to their sleeping quarters but paused when Auggie started a conversation several yards behind her. He mentioned a certain name, a name that had haunted her for more than one reason, and she found herself turning back against her will.
“You know, I saw bits and pieces of young Sebastian as he grew up. It’s such a shame what’s happening.” Auggie shook his head.
“I thought you were from Evonlea?” Kai, who was seated to his left, asked. Rynn and Jade were also there, eating and talking in a circle while Aidan was off laughing with some of the crew members. Bri was probably in a secluded hideaway with a lucky Damien. Isla silently slipped behind the small group and leaned against a barrel to listen.
“I live there now, miss, but I grew up in Karstos. In the capital, actually. My pa was a fisherman, and the lords of the court there in Delarossi liked using him over anyone else,” Auggie said proudly. “Even though we were commoners, everyone in court loved my pa. He ended up selling most of his weekly catches to the palace, and I got to go with him often as a young lad.
“I remember King Ryder. Great man. Pa always said he was the best ruler Karstos ever had.” Auggie paused to take another bite of his food. The vision of the buoyant, kind-eyed older king from the portrait next to Sebastian’s came to Isla’s mind.
August continued. “I was about fifteen when the prince was born. He was a smart boy, and sweet, from what I heard. Maybe a little mischievous, but what youngster isn’t? I’d catch glimpses of him from time to time when making deliveries. And when we’d be invited to various events, I’d hear all about the darling Prince of Karstos. I left Delarossi when I was twenty-five but kept in touch with loads of them. Still do, in fact.”
Isla’s eyebrows had been slowly inching up as he spoke. Who would have thought this humble man would have so many connections?
Auggie shook his head sadly. “When King Ryder died five years ago, it was devastating. But everyone who wrote to me from Delarossi said they were confident in his son. Said he was the perfect man to step into his father’s shoes. Never even a hint he’d turn this corrupt.”
“You never know what’s truly in the hearts of people until you give them power,” Jade said quietly.
“Oh, I know, miss, but I still didn’t expect it from that one. My friends would write over the years to update me on what was going on in the capital and they always mentioned him. Boy would volunteer at the orphanage, give his yearly allowance to some business or other that was about to close down. Stories like that. He just seemed like a good egg. And a handsome fellow, to boot. I would’ve thought he’d be off married and raising a bunch of little ones by now. It’s a shame how he turned out.”
Things began to connect in Isla’s mind. Things that made her head feel like it was being scrambled.
The others exchange looks. “We heard rumors that he disappeared from the public eye within the last two years. Do you know what that’s about?” Jade asked.
Auggie shrugged. “My friends mentioned it once or twice. After his coronation five years ago, there was a period of mourning, but he was still out and about. He went to council meetings and balls and festivals, donated money, all of that. And then a couple of years later, he stopped everything. Only let his closest advisers see him and shut off the palace from most outside guests. Nobody has seen him in two years, that I know of.”
Someone asked him another question, but Isla had already tuned them out.
If all that Auggie and his connections from Delarossi said was true, it seemed impossible for a person who had been capable of so much kindness and benevolence to fall to such depths of greed without any warning.
Unless he was not truly himself.
Unless some outside force compelled him to do their bidding.
Butwhat? Orwho?
Sebastian was being manipulated bysomething. She was sure of it. He needed her help as much as the elementals did. This nameless foe they were facing had been pulling more strings than they even knew.
Her thoughts swirled in her head like a cyclone while her heart pumped wildly, and before she knew what she was doing, her feet carried her away from the main deck and toward the stairs to where she and Bri slept.
Sebastian was the only person who knew what they were up against, who could give her answers and help her figure out who was behind all of it.
She reached the cabin and, grateful that Bri was not yet in bed, strode to her traveling bag, searching the contents until her fingers closed around the small vial. Batting away any rational part of her brain that told her to consider the consequences, she laid down on the bed, uncorked the lid, and dipped it back into her mouth until the smallest drop of liquid hit her tongue.
The last thing she thought as her mind went foggy was that Sebastian’s blood tasted surprisingly sweet this time.
When she opened her eyes a second later, she thought it hadn’t worked. She was lying on a bed very similar to the one she’d just left, inside a small room that smelled of salt and wood stain. The ocean ebbed and flowed beneath her. Was she still on theMekaisa?
As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, she realized this cabin wasn’t the one she shared with Bri. There were slight differences: lighter wood, cleaner floor, and no traveling bags covering the ground. Looking to her left, she tensed and bit her tongue.
Sebastian was lying next to her, sound asleep.
He looked so peaceful. Like slumber finally freed him from the force inside his head, his sins forgotten as he rested. He was lying on his stomach, his arms beneath the pillow under his head, corded bands of muscle lining his shoulders and back. His blonde hair was once again loose and wavy, hanging down his forehead and tickling his ears. Long, dark eyelashes brushed lightly against the tops of his sharp cheekbones. His breathing was deep and unlabored, his face young and unburdened.
Isla’s eyes traveled further down his body, flames engulfing her at the sight of his bare skin, when her chest constricted. Faded pink lines crisscrossed down his back. Her fingers reached out of their own accord. Were those…scars?
She barely felt him move, barely had time to breathe before his hands had circled her wrists and he pinned her beneath him on the bed. She struggled against him, watching fear, then confusion, then heat pass through his tired, black eyes.
A feral smile spread across his face.
