Reid stared at the keys as Sachia took them from Vaasa’s outstretched palm, but he didn’t ask questions. Sachia turned the keys over in her hands, then folded them tightly within her fingers.
“Ozik cleared the guards,” Vaasa added.
Sachia’s brows rose. “If he’s going to betray us, now is the time.”
Ozik wouldn’t. He couldn’t, not now that a second bargain lived between them. Vaasa dipped into her pocket and grabbed ahold of the necklace, her magic winking out now that she touched the iron links.
I want you to kill me, Vaasalisa.
Her mother’s warning blared in her mind—that the cost was too high. This was the piece of Ozik’s request she hadn’t yet put together. What would it take to kill the vessel of a god?
Shivers racked her body. Reid lifted the blanket to her shoulders, affording Vaasa what felt like an inconsequential privacy. Cold air assaulted her as she quickly shucked off her bloodstained dress. She pulled the wool uniform on and baskedin the immediate warmth, then shoved her feet into boots before slipping the necklace into a buttoned pocket of her pants. The moment she released the necklace, magic returned on a breath.
Vaasa hauled the large, heavy fabric of her dress over the side of the boat, leaving it for the ocean to claim. Any guard would take one look at her and know she wasn’t a true soldier, but it was still better than trying to make it through the prison in a blood-soaked gown.
Reid lowered the blanket. “We’ll follow the plan we set originally.”
“The Red Corsairis waiting out in the bay with the larger crowds,” Sachia said before turning to the ocean and away from where Reid was undressing. “Koen’s arm is broken and he’s been beaten, but he’s alive. He’s with Melisina on the ship.”
“Everyone’s alive?” Vaasa asked, hope rising in her with the wicked churning of her magic.
“Everyone’s alive.”
“Thank you,” she said, her hand coming up to clutch her throat on instinct. Everything was happening so quickly, she could hardly keep up. Smoke billowed into the sky from the fire in the Sanctum, and despite trying to shove guilt aside, she imagined Roman’s screams.
“Was it you? Did you kill Lord Karev?” Sachia asked suddenly.
Vaasa met the pirate’s eyes. She nodded.
Sachia’s jaw dropped. “You hung him from the Sanctum?”
Vaasa chewed on her cheek, wringing her hands nervously as she stared at the lip of the boat. Each moment that passed felt like a lifetime. She slid her eyes to Sachia once more, reluctantly answering. “I only did to him exactly what he threatened to do to me.”
Reid went still at her side.
“Shit,” Sachia muttered.
Their boat approached the Last Crossing, hugging the shadow of it. Only a sliver of yellow fought for dominance in a blue-faded sky, indigo blue revealing stars above them. Four figures appeared from under the sturdy columns of the bridge, and Vaasa’s heart leapt into her throat, but Sachia let out a sigh of relief.
“Crew members,” Reid assured her with a quiet murmur. She turned to him, and his broad shoulders and chest stole her vision, clearing it of anything else. Magic poured from her hands, and she didn’t bother trying to keep it down this time. He dipped his gaze to the magic, then back to her eyes, giving that amused smile that had once driven her to the brink of madness. Then he darted over the lip of the tender and into the water just as Sachia jumped in, the water coming to their knees.
Strong arms hauled Vaasa up and out of the boat, Reid tightening on her body and legs like he wasn’t going to let her go; water didn’t dare to touch her. He walked her all the way to the shore, setting her upon the rocky beach. There was a purposeful look on Reid’s face, all determination and task, and the sight of it reminded Vaasa precisely who she’d fallen in love with.
“Lead the way,” Sachia commanded under her breath to Vaasa while two of the men beached the tender.
They ran under the cover of twilight, hauling themselves up the ladder one by one, the cold filling Vaasa’s lungs as she sucked down air. The guard who normally watched the cave entrance was nowhere to be found; the prison was a ghost town. All the guards had likely been assigned to the execution or had gone to the port, leaving only the bare minimum here. Ozik had done precisely what he promised, and the thought gave life to further panic in Vaasa’s body. Still, the only way was forward, and so she descended into the cave.
Reid stayed just behind her, his fingers brushing against the small of her back. It was empty. No one.
In front of the door to the sentinels’ break room, Vaasa slid to a stop, fumbling with the iron ring of keys until she found the one that opened it. The small group swarmed inside, finding two guards waiting, and the three members of Sachia’s crew took their lives before they could scream.
They sped into where the prisoners were held, the stone walls seeming to groan with the captives. It filled Vaasa’s ears like the waves of the ocean. Ducking into the stairwell, they started up to the third floor, which was where Roman had told Sachia that her brother would be.
Sachia burst through the door. “Micha!” Sachia yelled, pain and desperation coating each syllable. “Micha!”
Nothing.
“Micha!” Sachia yelled again, relentless. She began looking through the bars of every cell, the other members of the crew doing the same thing.
