“How do you know?” I ask.
He smiles back at me and taps his heart. “She’s my little piece of heaven.”
I stay frozen to the spot. Within these walls are dangers like I’ve never experienced—the darkest and most vile creations of the Below—and I’m going to be led by an old human man trusting his heart.
Well, I’ve done stupider things.
I enter the labyrinth and follow behind George as we walk straight into the heart of evil.
CHAPTER 48
Rosalina
Waves crash against my mind in a gentle rhythm. Grainy sand coats my lips and cheeks. I flutter my eyes open, and it’s bright, so bright. Not just the sky, but white sand and brilliant green foliage. Disoriented, I slowly push myself up, sand clinging to my damp clothes. The scent of salt fills the air.
I take in my surroundings. The flotsam and jetsam from the ship lie scattered across the beach, wood and barrels and rope. I rub my eyes, trying to make sense of what happened. Memories flood back in fragments: the fierce winds, the roaring waves, and the desperate struggle to stay afloat. Dayton pulling me from the water.
Dayton.
“Day—” I gasp, voice hoarse. There’s a shape farther down the beach. I stagger to my feet. “Day!”
I run over, sink to my knees before him, and heave him onto his back. Damn, he’s heavy. Dayton starts to cough and sputter seawater on his bare chest. Relief washes over me.
“Hey, Blossom,” he croaks, dragging his knuckles across my cheek.
I can only imagine what I look like right now: waterlogged with wild sea-crusted hair, and ripped clothes.
“Any sign of the ship?” Dayton sits up.
We must have been out for hours. The sea is smooth as glass, azure water spreading as far as I can see, but no sign of any ship.
“Do you think they’re all right?” I ask.
A pained expression crosses Dayton’s face. “Most of them.”
It’s still hard to fathom. He jumped into the water, abandoned his crew, his mate, to save my life.
Dayton staggers to his feet and pulls me up as well. “We must be on one of the smaller Byzantar Isles. Most of them are uninhabited.”
Towering palm trees sway gently in the breeze. The beach gives way to foliage that leads up to a high point on the island.
“I could use my thorns to take us back to Castletree or Corsa Tuga,” I explain. “But I’ve never been to Hadria. There are no thorns there to travel to.” I’m sure Caspian has some about, but it would be too risky. That could take us right into the heart of Kairyn’s stronghold.
Dayton shakes his head. “If we go back to Castletree, the only way to get to Hadria would be on foot, and that could take weeks. Corsa Tuga will be in shambles after Kairyn’s attack. We’ll find no help there.”
“So, what do we do?”
Dayton turns his gaze from the sea to the middle of the island. “We’ll find high ground. Perhaps from up there, we can seeThe Deathly Sky Dancerand make a signal. We’ll also need to find food and water.”
From the position of the sun, it’s late afternoon, but the heat has almost already dried my soaking clothes and hair. My stomach twists. We’re truly on our own out here.
Dayton does a quick scan of the beach, looking for anything useful, but there’s nothing but driftwood and rope.
He leads us into the jungle. The beach disappears behind us almost instantly, and we’re engulfed in dense bush. Vines drape from towering trees, creating a verdant labyrinth. Yet Dayton seems to know where to go in an almost instinctual way.
About an hour into traveling, he motions for me to stop and then clambers up one of the trees, swatting down two coconuts with a stick.
“There’s an easier way to do that.” I smirk up at him. A golden briar shoots up from the earth, knocking the remaining coconuts free.
