He peeled away, assessing the shaking of her limbs. Tears spilled from her eyes, and her breaths came out as small gulps.
He sheathed his dagger and scanned her neck to be sure he hadn’t cut her. “What in the realm were you thinking?”
Amaris grasped her arms and gazed up the ladder into the dim passageabove. “Adelaide needed our help,” she said softly.
Where is her fiery spirit?Theo’s hands curled into fists.
“Did you really think you’d stand against soldiers?” Esaias snapped, leaning against the ladder and releasing an exhausted breath as he wiped more blood from his eye.
Amaris narrowed her gaze at him. “What happened to you?”
“A story for later.”
“We have to go—”
Amaris was silenced as footsteps carried from above. She shoved them against the wall. Her breaths were ragged beside Theo. She bent down, pulling something from her boot and thrusting it into his hands. It was a leather necklace with a key.
“I swiped it from the…captain.”
More footsteps echoed. Theo grabbed Amaris and Esaias, and they moved deeper into the darkness, allowing it to swallow them in its infinite shadows.
“We need to go this way.” Amaris pointed toward a ladder heading below deck and didn’t look at Theo or Esaias before she scurried down to the next level.
Theo grabbed a lantern hanging several paces away. He and Esaias followed her, each turn quick and methodical. She’d gotten herself lost in the manor daily, but now she was able to direct them without hesitation through the ship. Interesting was hardly able to describe the kind of woman she was.
“Where’s the brig?” Theo asked.
Amaris jumped off the ladder, stepping out of sight. Theo lifted the lantern. Hammocks hung around them.
“One more deck down,” she said.
“Why did you think it was a good idea to go after Adelaide?” Esaias asked. “You aren’t even trained. What if someone attacked you?”
Amaris grimaced. “Why are you here?”
“Obviously someone needed to rescue you two.”
“I was doing fine on my own,” she lied, biting her lip. Her teeth released their hold, and her nostrils flared as she caught sight of Theo eyeing her tell. Someone was chasing after her.
“How were you planning to get off the ship?” Esaias asked.
“I was figuring it out.”
“Sure,” Esaias scoffed.
Amaris pushed farther, pulling away from the light, from Theo. He wanted to grasp her hand and hold it to his heart so she could feel how it raced within his chest and know she wasn’t alone.
“You did that on purpose!” Esaias shouted, crashing to the ground.
Theo quickened his pace, finding Esaias twisted in a hammock.
“You’ll be fine, you big baby,” she spat.
“Amaris, I can barely see a fucking thing,” he seethed, untangling himself and ripping the hammock from where it hung.
She turned on him, grabbing his cheeks and assessing his cut. He winced at her touch. “Stop squirming.” Amaris wiped the blood running down his brow and prodded at the swelling around his other eye. “The swelling will go down.” She pulled out a roll of cloth from her satchel and wrapped the bandage around his head. “That should hold for now.”
“How much farther?” Theo asked.
