The front of the ship stretched ahead of me; the smooth wooden surface broken only by boxes strapped down that could contain almost anything. Ropes coiled in neat piles.
And a solitary, cloaked man sitting at the top of the rail at the bow’s tip.
I should return to my suite. Lock the door. Lay in bed and contemplate how I was going to get through the future roaring toward me at such a furious pace it made my head spin.
Instead, I sucked in a breath and strode toward Lore.
22
LORANT
As I sat on the rail, the moonlight spiked down on me, but I barely felt its touch.
Because I knewwildfirewas coming the moment she left her suite. Not from the soft sounds of her shoes on the deck below, though that came later when she climbed the steps. No, this went deeper than sound, like a tether pulling at my awareness of her presence.
I welcomed it, not with the calm stillness, no, theharshnessI used with the world, but with a crackling intensity that heightened all my senses. My pulse flailed; a beast gone wild.
It was worse this time. The tightness in my chest flared hot, and my grip on the rail hardened until the wood creaked beneath my fingers. I couldfeelher approach, her energy radiating outward to seep into me.
She paused at the top of the stairs.
Turn away. Go back to your suite. Avoid me and let yourself fall into Merrick’s arms. He craves you already.
But she didn’t go back to her suite to wait for the king. Her determined footsteps sounded across the wooden deck, each one yanking on the thread of feeling I’d rather burn than admit was there.
I clenched my jaw, but the gesture did nothing to release the need growing inside me. How ironic. I could master the elements, manipulate air, turn water solid, and yet, here I was, easily torn apart by one insignificant woman.
Not an insignificant woman.Her.
Reyla stopped beside me, resting her hands on the rail. She stared toward the open sea, saying nothing. I didn't speak either, because what could I say? What did Iwantto say? There was . . . too much.
And not nearly enough.
Farris sat beside her, his small body a gray shadow in the moonlight, his ears twitching as he took in the night through the gap in the rail.
The soft rush of waves against the hull was the only sound between us for a long time, yet it didn’t make the quiet more bearable. If anything, it grated on my nerves, sliding beneath my skin. Poking me.
From the way Merrick gushed and the high color in his face, I knew things were going well for them. I was glad for him. How could I be anything less? I wanted this for him. Even for her.
But the need churning inside me . . .
I should hate her.
No. Not hate, but I should keep her at arm’s length like I dideveryone else. Building walls was what allowed me to survive, to live for the moment I was destined for from the time I drew in my first breath.
I slid off the rail to stand beside her, trying not to look at her, but my will to resist shredded much too easily. Moonlight glinted off her fiery hair. By the fates, why did the light have to catch it in ways that made it shimmer like flames dancing in the darkness?
I couldn’t stop my gaze from traveling over her frame. Why bother pretending I could? I memorized every line and curve of her, the way her simple tunic and pants barely contained her lithe body. And those damn eyes, wide rings of warmth mixed with a cool determination that made my insides clench whenever our gazes met.
Earlier, Merrick's voice had brimmed with an excitement that clawed at my guts. My possessiveness grew stronger with each of his words. It roared to the surface as she stood beside me now, and I welcomed the jealousy and let it simmer, because this feeling was better than drowning in weakness.
“Why are you here, Reyla?” The words came out sharper than I’d intended. Honestly, I’d aimed for the sting. But the silence between us gnawed at me, grating at the jagged edges of whatever I wasn’t willing to name, not even to myself.
She shrugged, not meeting my gaze, keeping hers fixed on the dark water, the moonlight casting slivers of silver across the surface. “I needed fresh air. It's stuffy inside my cabin.”
“It's pure opulence,” I sneered. “Were you expecting something fancier?”
“I was a dragon trainer. I thought I was an orphan, nothingelse,” she said with a matching fury. “In case you're not aware, fortress life isn’t one of luxury. We had clothing. Enough food to keep starvation at bay. Each other. But we trained ferocious beasts and let me tell you, they're not sweet little nyxin like Farris.”
