Her pulse pounded loudly in her ears.
“That spark of fire that I once saw in you was a candle flame. Now it burns like a bonfire, but not with love. Where is your Celestial?”
“Gone,” she said tightly. “And I will say no more about that. Speaking of those absent, where is Von? I have not seen him either.”
Tarn’s attention returned to his book. “He’s preoccupied.”
She narrowed her eyes. The constant deflecting was making her suspicious. “I want to see him, Tarn.”
“Then I suppose you better arrive within four days, Maiden,” he said dismissively. “Time holds for no one, and neither do I.”
“Wait,” she blurted. “I’ll be there. What is the name of your boat?”
“The Somnio.”
The water mirror cleared, leaving Dyna to stare at her reflection … along with the shocked faces of her Guardians standing over her shoulder. Including Klyde.
She spun around.
“Oh, you little liar,” Lucenna hissed. “I knew you weren’t simply speaking to yourself at night. You were communicating with that man this whole time!”
“Is that true?” Zev asked, staring at her wide-eyed. “You plan to join Tarn in Dwarf Shoe?”
Dyna quickly stood. “It’s not what it looks like.”
Electricity crackled around Lucenna. “It looks like you’re consorting with the enemy. Why else keep it from us?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t like it.”
“With good reason,” Zev said gruffly. “What is the meaning of this? I don’t understand.”
Rawn lifted his hands placatingly. “All right, we can address this in a calm manner. Let’s allow Lady Dyna to explain her motives.” He turned to her with a worried frown. “I am sure there is a valid reason for her actions.”
They fell quiet as they waited.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I plan to steal Tarn’s ship.”
They stared at her as if she were out of her mind.
Dyna groaned. “I didn’t share this with you for the very thoughts I can see spinning in your heads right now. You weren’t meant to know until we arrived in Dwarf Shoe. My plan is to arrive in Port Kelpway under the guise of joining him. The rest of you could sneak onto the ship to help me take Tarn down.”
Klyde scratched his cheek, “Well, lass, I am no stranger to reckless plans, but this one may be out of the question…”
“What do you mean take himdown?” Zev asked, flabbergasted.
Dyna straightened her shoulders, clenching her jaw. “I intend to finish him.” A long drag of silence followed, and their skepticism only angered her. “We could have been on our way to Mount Ida by now if I had done the right thing and let him die from the start!”
He rubbed his face. “How long have you been planning this?”
“Probably for as long as she has been speaking to him in secret,” Lucenna said.
“How long?”
Dyna sighed. “Three months past.”
Zev shook his head. “I thought we agreed to no longer keep things from each other.”
A twinge of guilt sank in her stomach. “It will work, Zev. The time I have spent talking with him was to gain his trust. He is waiting for me to arrive.”
