“It shouldn’t be far.” Amaris reached out, feeling with the tips of her toes as she walked and sliding her hands along the edges of the hammocks.
Esaias glared at Theo, his eyes swinging between them like a pendulum. Theo crinkled his lips into a snarl. Esaias could believe whatever he wanted to about love, but Theo refused to feed into his delusions that love wasn’t worth it.
“Last time—” Before Amaris could get out another word, she and Esaias fell through a hole in the floor with a loud thud.
“Are you alright?” Theo swung the lantern out, feeling with his foot for the ladder.
“Yes.”
“No,” Esaias whined. “She’s sitting on me.”
“You’re sitting on me!”
Theo found them in a tangle on the floor with Amaris seething as she shoved Esaias off her. Pulling from their bickering, Theo’s chest stilled at the sight of the cells around them.
“Amaris?”
“Adelaide?” Theo called out. He limped toward the sound of his sister’s voice, toward the dying lantern of the farthest cell. He begged for his body to hold out for a little while longer so he wouldn’t be forced to unleash the beast within him.
Adelaide leaned back on her hands, blood spilling from her nose and temple. Her skin was a shade paler than normal, but Theo’s breath halted as the light reflected small white scars on her arms.
“Adelaide,” he whispered. “What have they done to you, and what are these?” He grasped her forearm through the bars, rubbing his thumb over a small scar. She hadn’t had them when he left three years ago.
“You should seethem.” Adelaide pulled from his grip. “You look like shit, Esaias.”
“I could say the same for you.” Esaias leaned against the cell across from Adelaide’s. In the small bit of light, his cheeks appeared sunken with shadows, and his skin resembled a spirit’s.
Theo retrieved the key, and Amaris was beside Adelaide the moment he opened the door. They whispered, quickly assessing the state of her injuries.
“She likely has a bruised or broken rib, but I need to get her to the manor to further assess her,” Amaris stated plainly. The once-fragile composure was gone, and not a single tear welled in her eyes.
“Then let’s go,” Esaias answered for everyone, his voice coming in an airy pant as his hand trembled around his sword.
“Esaias, how are you feeling?” Theo asked, stepping toward him.
Amaris’s head snapped up from Adelaide, and she eyed Esaias as hestarted sliding down the bars. Theo rushed to his side, catching him under the arm before he hit the ground.
“Esaias has—”
“Mamat, I know.” Amaris took hold of Esaias’s chin, bringing his eyes to meet hers. “Are you trying to die tonight?”
His answer was a scoff and a roll of his eyes as his body grew heavy against Theo.
“I have to bear his weight.” He handed Amaris the lantern.
She snatched a sword from a table littered with discarded weapons and kneeled before Adelaide to offer it to her. Adelaide brushed her fingers over the braided leather of his old sword before winding them tight and gritting her teeth. She stood, wincing and grabbing a hold of her side. Theo reached for her waist, but she held up a hand.
“I can walk.”
With the lantern in hand, Amaris led the way. Adelaide followed, and Theo gripped Esaias’s waist, assisting him as they made their way through the ship. Adelaide attempted to stand strong, raising her sword at each corner they came upon, but he saw the winces and heard her grunts.
As they climbed the next ladder, Esaias further leaned into Theo. “I...need to...eat something.”
“I know,” Theo whispered, hefting him up to the next deck. “Just a little longer.”
Farther on, Theo leaned closer to Adelaide. “What happened?”
“I was waiting for Amaris and Esaias—”
