Erinna opened her mouth to scream for Kane, but a warm, callused hand wrapped around hers, pulling her through the doorway, before yanking the door shut behind them.
“Miss me?” Kane quipped through heavy pants.
Erinna couldn’t help it—she laughed. The sound was foreign to her own ears after everything they’d been through. “Only in your wildest dreams, Atwater.”
Kane chuckled and bit his bottom lip, as if he was trying to keep himself from unleashing another retort.
Sure, he was a deadly pirate captain, but Erinna was starting to believe the most dangerous thing about him was how easily hemight irritate her to death. Or how easily her guard seemed to be slipping.
She pressed her hand to her chest, willing her rapid heart to steady. They were safe; they could catch their breath. They were almost home.
Erinna held a hand up to a smooth, glass-like surface on the wall, and a track of soft white light illuminated the rest of the cave.
They stood in a stone hallway, the cramped, curved walls of the witchstone vein gave way to constructed walls and rafters for support.
This was the last remaining tunnel that originally extended from palace to sea, built as an emergency escape for the old royal families from generations ago. The earlier portions had caved in, but the remains gave the Yarrows advantageous access to the sea. It was the reason they built their shipyard where they did.
Carvings near the ceiling had faded in time, but she could still make out some of the more preserved scenes. Monsters rising from the depths and a warrior brandishing a glaive.
She didn’t like to stare at them for too long. They felt blasphemous somehow.
Kane tapped the witchlight. “Smart. Your father put these in?”
“No, we don’t touch this place. Just make sure it doesn’t cave in on us,” she answered.
Inez’s body finally gave in. She slumped against the wall and slid to the ground with a light thud.
Erinna was at her side in an instant. She tucked the coat around Inez’s shoulders and gave her arm a squeeze. “Thank you,” Erinna whispered. If it hadn’t been for her Talent, Erinna was sure they would have all perished at the hands of the construct.
“We have to keep moving. There isn’t much time,” Kane barked as he strode again, not waiting to see if they followed.
“You don’t know where you’re going, Atwater,” Erinna called. As anxious as he was to keep moving, Inez—the person just who saved both their lives—needed a moment of rest.
“It’s a hallway—there’s only one direction, Yarrow.” His voice echoed off the walls.
“Not the entire way,” Erinna countered. It was a half-truth. Most of the passages were blocked by rubble and cave-ins. While a few could still be traversed, the best route was indeed straight down the hallway.
He was nearly engulfed in shadow. “You’re a terrible liar.”
“For godssake, Kane, let her rest,”
Inez remained slumped against the wall, her breath jagged, and Erinna wondered if the exertion was mostly due to using untrained Talent. Practice was key to success as a mage. Like a muscle, Talent could atrophy from lack of use. It increased the risk of burnout as well, she heard.
Finally, he prowled back to them with a look of indignation.
“How kind of you.” Erinna gave him a mocking bow.
“Not like I have much of a choice,” he grumbled. His words were a harsh reminder of her circumstances. The curse. Her father’s bargain.
“About that,” Erinna started. “Why in all the heavens and hells would the infamous Captain Atwater be traveling with us?”
“Oh, so you’ve heard of me?” He smirked. “I was starting to worry my reputation would fall apart while I was imprisoned.”
“Cut the shit, Atwater. You know what I mean.” Erinna didn’t have the patience to entertain him.
Kane leaned against a wall, arms crossed over his chest. His silhouette was imposing even in the dim light.
“I’ve told you already.”
