“Maisie.” Podaxis gently pats my knee. “You didn’t mean to kill him.”
“It doesn’t matter.” My voice is raspy. Raw. I rise to my feet and take a step away from my friend. “Loving me is deadly. I can’t risk it.”
“So is this all you want from the rest of your life? To steal to get by? To keep all other people at claw’s length?”
What I want is to live my life in peace without having to worry that Queen Nimue will find me and try to exploit my deadly magic. But I can’t bring myself to say that, for it only brings up more questions. More uncomfortable realizations. Primarily the fact that I’m fae and—unless I’m mortally wounded in one of the few ways that can kill my kind—I could live indefinitely.
And so can she who hunts me.
There’s a reason I call my planhide forever.
It’s only terrifying when you consider just how long forever can be. No wonder Father wanted me to marry a royal on land. If I had, this would all be over. No hiding. No stealing. I would no longer belong to the Sea Court, and Queen Nimue wouldn’t dare try to take me from a royal household on land.
But, as I’ve already come to terms with, marriage wouldn’t have worked. Not with me. Not ever.
I stare out at the sea, my eyes unfocused over the glint of moonlight on the water. “I just want to survive.”
“You know, there’s more to life than—”
“What the jagged clam is that?” I grow tense as I realize my gaze isn’t resting on moonlight at all but light of a different kind. One that shouldn’t be there. I shutter my eyes, but there’s no denying what it is. “Fire.”
4
The night is so dark, I can barely make out the tendrils of smoke rising into the sky above the shipwreck. While I can’t see the ship from here, I know that’s what it is. The fire itself is relatively small, so I doubt the boat is anything larger than a two-masted schooner. Its proximity to shore suggests the ship had been heading in to dock, despite the absence of trade ports nearby. Even though it didn’t meet its demise on this side of the wall, it happened near enough that the sea surrounding it holds some of the isle’s magic. That means the wreck occurred within fae waters.
Which leaves two possible scenarios. One, the shipwreck was an unfortunate accident. Or, two, it was attacked.
By fae.
If it was attacked, was it done lawfully? If the ship was illegally approaching Faerwyvae, the fae have every right to stop it by any means necessary.
But if it was lured for nefarious purposes…
No, there are several far more likely possibilities. It could be an approved trade vessel that miscalculated its coordinates. A fishing boat that met troubled seas that sent it far from dedicated fishing waters. A damaged schooner seeking safe harbor for repairs.
My stomach sinks. If any of those are the case, it only makes it worse if the ship was attacked. There could be innocents on board.
“It isn’t any of your business, Maisie,” Podaxis says, his tone full of warning. “We should go. If it’s an accident, someone will be coming out to help.”
“I know,” I say, but I find myself rooted in place, unable to look away. What if he’s wrong? What if I’m the only one who sees the fire? With Cape Vega jutting out so far from the shore, no one east of Lumenas will be able to see the flames, and there are few coastal towns west of here that would be close enough to notice.
“I know that look in your eyes,” Podaxis says. “You can’t risk it.”
He’s right, but my heart plummets just the same. This isn’t the first shipwreck I’ve witnessed. I saw several from the beach back home. Whenever they occurred in the waters near Bircharbor Palace, my brothers would swim out to help. Sometimes even my father went. It didn’t matter if the sailors were human or fae. As Seelie King of the Sea Court, Father’s duty often involves keeping peace between humans and fae. That includes saving human lives when he can—unlike Nimue, the Unseelie Queen of the Sea, who probably caused a good portion of the wrecks I saw to begin with. There’s a reason she’s called Killer Queen. That’s what Father always said, at least. Regardless, he was tireless when it came to saving people and the work was never done until every survivor was recovered.
But now…no one seems to be coming to this ship’s aid. No one even seems to notice the fire.
No one but me.
As the ship sinks lower and lower, so do my spirits. Soon the fire will consume the ship whole and be doused by the ocean. Nothing but scraps will remain as proof that it was ever here.
And all I can do is stand and stare. Witness death. If I do anything else, I risk getting caught by Nimue. If the ship was attacked by fae, the attackers could still be around. If they see me, recognize me…
Podaxis tugs the hem of my trousers with a claw. “We need to go.”
“Shells,” I curse under my breath. “You’re right. I know.” Clenching my fingers into fists, I harden my resolve and start to turn away, my heart pounding in protest. Just as the now-meager flames leave my periphery, something else catches the corner of my eye. I pause, finding a dark shape moving in the water. Angling myself toward it, I step as close to the edge of the bluff as I dare, straining my eyes to make out what splashes between the waves. But it’s gone. I frown, certain there was something—
Movement again, and this time it’s closer, revealing what appears to be a head and flailing arms. My breath catches. “There’s a person.”
