“Traitor?” Kiva scoffed.
“I do believe that’s what they call you when you change sides.” One corner of his lips turned up in a familiar smirk, and a spark ignited inside me. I hated when he smiled like that. Like this was all a game.
I knew better.
If he’d truly changed sides, if he was being honest, it meant he’d turned his back on everything he’d once served. This was not a game.
“Why are you here, Ericen?” I forced myself to my feet, Res rising with me. “What do you want?”
“Those are two very different questions.” His voice dipped low, and I felt the intent behind his words pulse between us. It sent a thrill coursing through me despite my exhaustion.
One of the crew shifted aside, and Caylus stepped past him. Like Kiva, he had scratches along his forearms and on his face, but he was otherwise unharmed. Completely oblivious to the tension of the moment, he said, “I managed to get Talon belowdecks. He’s with his sister,” he said. “Everyone else’s injuries are manageable.” He lifted a hand, offering me my bow. Relief washed through me. “Kiva took it back from her,” he told me with a smile.
“And nearly got stabbed again for my trouble,” Kiva muttered.
I looked toward Malkin’s retreating ship, making slowly for the waiting blockade. More than one had been abandoned, destroyed by Res’s magic.
I did that.I expected the thought to turn me raw, but I felt only a hollow pit of exhaustion. People were dead because of me, because of Res’s power, and yet some part of me had actuallyenjoyedthat battle. Unleashing Res’s magic, getting revenge on the Illucian soldiers who’d shattered my home—it’d feltgood.
It’d felt powerful, and that scared me.
“Will they follow us into port?” I asked Ericen.
“No, not without dragging Trendell into this war,” he replied, and for the first time, I really looked at him. He wore a simple tunic and black pants, leather vambraces pulled tight at his forearms. The twin swords usually strapped to his back were in a heap at Kiva’s feet. He looked exhausted. “My mother’s not prepared for that.”
“According to you,” Kiva said, tilting Sinvarra threateningly. “I’d say the same thing if I wanted my enemy to be unprepared.”
“Yes, what a fantastic strategy,” Ericen snapped back. “Rescuing my enemy from raging seawaters in the middle of hurricanes. Keeps me fit.”
“He did save me,” I noted.
“Because Razel doesn’t want you dead,” Kiva replied.
“So she traded us her son as a bargaining chip?”
Kiva shrugged. “Wouldn’t put it past her.”
Something sharp flickered through Ericen’s gaze, the emotion shut down as quickly as it surfaced. He held out his hands. “Let’s skip to the part where you jump to conclusions and go straight to the cuffs, shall we? We’re almost in port.”
No one protested as exactly that was done. Even I couldn’t argue that leaving one of the most highly trained soldiers in Illucia unrestrained wasn’t a good idea, even if he had saved my life. Ericen’s loyalty had been called into question too many times for me to vouch for him with total confidence.
By the time we docked, a small crowd had gathered on land, murmuring among themselves. They probably wondered what we’d done to incur the blockade’s wrath.
Caylus, Kiva, and I gathered our supplies, Caylus tucking a folded bundle into his pack that I didn’t recognize. Something about him seemed different, like he stood a little bit taller.
When I pulled him aside to ask how he was, he looked almost guilty. “Is it wrong that I’m happy he’s dead?” he asked.
I didn’t know how to answer. Malkin had torn Caylus’s life apart. He’d tortured him mentally and physically and murdered his younger sister.
Instead, I squeezed his hand, only to find that it wasn’t shaking.
Samra planned to come with us, leaving what remained of the ship under her first mate’s command. Onis had been locked in the brig. She’d wanted to turn him over to the Trendellan guard or at the very least strand him in Terin, but I’d convinced her he’d only been afraid. In the end, she ordered the crew to let him go with his money and belongings after we were out of town.
Luan tended to my shoulder and back. The cuts weren’t deep; only the one on my shoulder needed stitches, and even then I wasn’t sure it was necessary. Once Res recovered, he could heal me.
We gathered together as two crewmen lowered the gangplank, Res moping along beside me like a kicked dog. I brushed my fingers along his neck, wanting to comfort him, but he didn’t respond. The moment we had a second of quiet, I’d talk to him.
Kiva had happily volunteered to take first watch of Ericen, one hand settled on Sinvarra. He didn’t seem to mind, far more fascinated by the crow towering over him.
