‘Don’t worry. I know the rules,’ he replies. ‘You just get you and your prince across.’
I don’t need to be told twice. I race across the stone beach to where the boats have been dragged up past the shoreline. They’re sturdier than I expected, with wooden hulls and wooden oars with metal ends. Great for a gentle row on a lake, but crossing a freaking channel? We’ll have to wait and see.
‘Where do you want me?’ I ask Kyor. ‘Front or back?’
‘Now, Thorn, really?’ he groans.
‘I meant in the boat,’ I huff.
‘Right. Right, go in the front. I’ll steer.’
I head to the bow and start to drag it forward as Kyor pushes from the back. We need to get it into water, but where we go from there, I’ve no idea. No bright lights guide us as only the faintest glimmers of the Eastern Isles are visible over the waves.
‘Any chance they just have really small lamps on the islands?’ I ask.
Kyor flashes me a grin. ‘Sadly, I think they’re just far away, my love.’
If it wasn’t for the fact that the others are racing down the cliff face behind us and would happily skewer us with their swords, I would let my heart stutter over what he just called me again. But then, it could easily have been a slip of the tongue. Or a casual term of familiarity, nothing more.
I force the words out of my head as my feet hit the water, and a rush of fear judders through me, so visceral it steals my sight.
I don’t want to be here. I shouldn’t be here.
The thoughts come with a hollowness. Like they are somehow detached from my own mind. But how could that possibly be? How can I have thoughts that aren’t my own?
‘Thorn?’ Kyor’s voice snaps me out of the moment. Only then do I realise the water is knee-deep. ‘You need to get in.’
‘Right. Sure.’
As I climb into the boat, Kyor pushes us out, wading through thewaves until the water is at his thighs. Then, with one final launch, he jumps in and begins paddling.
For a few minutes, we’re completely silent. The only sounds are the lapping waves and the gentle splash of our oars breaking the surface.
‘Is it just me,’ I say, ‘or does this all feel a little too easy?’
‘Just stay alert,’ Kyor murmurs.
I do as he says, but it doesn’t stop me from talking. ‘Where are the others? How are they doing?’
‘Hold on. They’re … shit.’ His response is enough to make my chest squeeze. ‘Looks like Benny and Jonas are going to have to fight the others for a boat.’
‘Fight who?’
‘Yeva and Odetta.’ My throat constricts even further. Jonas and Yeva are both from Wrohelm, so what does that mean? Would he switch sides and help her instead? No, I can’t imagine he would, and Yeva and Odetta’s combined firepower is substantially greater than what Benny and Jonas are working with.
‘Fuck,’ I say. ‘Any chance you can intervene? Offer them a helping hand?’
Kyor exhales sharply. ‘Rose, my love, are you suggesting that I interfere in other Rettlings’ fights just to aid your friends?’
Yup. There was no mistaking it then. Twice in two minutes. Still, this time I don’t dwell on it.
‘That’s exactly what I’m saying. Can you do it or not?’
‘You know that if I do that, there’s a chance that Etta won’t see them as worthy of the gifting. They should really do it on their own.’
‘Are they going to do it on their own?’ I snap. ‘Or are they going to get killed?’
His silence is all the answer I need.
