He nodded, and, at the same time, understanding poured into both of us. If Sereth sent the ship to kill me and destroy the ship, sheknewthe twins were on board that very ship. Which further sealed the truth of the letter she ordered me to deliver with the twins: she was done with them too. She was trying to dispose of them.
“She was trying to kill my kids!” The man stood and let out a scream, stomping away and grabbing his hair.
I stood too, rubbing my forehead and looking out to sea. My head was spinning: Prince Elias and the kingdom of Corallure were not the enemy at all.
It was Sereth. Snow White.
She’s fooled all of us.And then it hit me: if she was so good at framing this man, his children, and me, how much more would it take for her to frame Malia?
Malia, the soft-spoken herb witch who wouldn’t ask me to stay because she feared it she was an inconvenience. Who cared more for others than herself.
Water misted the distant air and my eyes latched onto a whale breaching in the dark water. The distinct white tailcaused my heart to stir: it was the whale that saved me from the ambush.
I should’ve died. I should’ve drowned after the cannon hit.
Yet… I looked up at the stars, and, for the first time in my life, felt something stirring deep inside of me.
What have I done?
My addiction and thirst for power, for control… it released its hold on my heart. All my life, I was terrified of becoming weak–just as my father had been weak–that I was blinded to the truth, to the tender mercies of Akua right before my eyes.Hehad always been in control, not me.
The whale was proof of that.
While everything felt wildly out of my control at the moment, therewasone thing I could control–and that He probably wanted me to control. And that was me and my choices.
And I choose Malia.I didn’t have to figure out all the details about where we’d live, my career, business, working out our differences, and all of that. I loved her, and I wanted to choose a life with her.
If she’s still alive.But hope had been sparked inside of me, and the aching to make things right… not just for me but for Malia, this man I just met, the twins, and even Prince Elias.
Elias!I had blamed him for everything, and now he was the only person I could turn to. I looked down at the whalebone necklace hanging from my neck. For so long I’d held onto this one aspect of my life, not daring to let go.
I’m a whaler,I thought.A huntsman.I’d always be one, or so I believed.
But Akua has other plans for me.He always had, and Ididn’t know what the future held, but I knew I would give up everything for her. Even whaling. I pulled the necklace from my neck and tossed it as far as I could. It splashed into the water and disappeared beneath, never to be found again.
“Whoa!” I called after the man as he paced, struggling to breathe through his sobs. “Your children are still alive, and we might have time to find them and Malia.”
“Malia?”
“The witch whose cottage I was at.”
The man nodded and wiped his face. I held out my hand. “What’s your name?”
“Jonah.” He shook my hand and the enmity and bitterness of our past was resolved, feelings of understanding, compassion, and forgiveness replacing the anger and hurt.
“I have an idea,” I said and Jonah looked hopeful. I sheathed my dagger and turned to the island. “And if we can move quickly enough, we might reach them before it’s too late.” Because I hoped, with all of my might, that it was not too late to save any of them.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
MALIA
Darkness.
The ship, where I was imprisoned, rocked back and forth, but I could see nothing. The guards had not bothered to cover my eyes, masking where we were going, because I couldn’t see anyways. It was dark, and I struggled to tell where anything was.
But I was sure only a few hours had passed since the twins and Sereth’s guards came to get me. Lilo had the scent of the poisoned apple on her cloth and when she put it to Alaric’s nose, he passed out.
Alaric.I couldn’t stop thinking about him, hoping, praying that he was alright.
