The curse. Iprix’s death. It was all too close, too connected to be a coincidence. Erinna’s hands trembled as she searched the study. There had to be something. Anything.
She tore through his desk—ledgers, correspondence, a locked iron box she couldn’t open. Nothing that could give her a clue on what her father was hiding and why the Yarrows would be embroiled in a bloodline curse. She thought back to the stars, to the constellation that was permanently etched in her skin.
Why was hers different? Why was she still unaffected by it when the rest of its victims had been sleep-bound?
“If you want to know more, I suggest you find yourself a witch or a very old mage.”Kane’s words echoed in her mind.
He said it was old magic. Erinna turned the phrases over in her mind, forcing herself to think through the ever-growing panic. What did she know about old magic? Where would records of ancient curses be kept?
Iprix’s library.
Fort Solitude.
It was the most comprehensive collection of magical texts in the known world. Knowledge the mage had spent decades gathering and protecting behind the impenetrable wards keyed into his very life force.
Wards that would have fallen the moment his heart stopped.
Erinna looked down at her father’s sleeping form, the terrible opportunity of it clicking into place. The library would be unprotected now, vulnerable until the new Chancellor Haru Tyril was officially anointed.
Erinna would need to cross Talon Bay to get there and navigate around the old military installations of Fort Solitude that surrounded the library.
Fortunately, she knew a man who was reckless enough to try it.
If answers existed anywhere, they existed there. It was the best chance she had.
Erinna knelt by her father’s magical coffin, planting a soft kiss on his forehead before whispering, “I’ll figure this out. I’ll wake you up. Just stay safe. Please.”
She grabbed the items and the half-packed bag beside her father’s enchanted tomb. Maybe with more time, she could rifle through the contents and start putting the pieces of this nightmarish mystery together. Erinna didn’t spare time to pack her own things or change from the wet clothes that clung to her body. Information would be more important; she would endure the suffering.
In the last moments, she gathered the papers from the desk and burned them to ash above a candle before snuffing out the flames. After one last search, Erinna grabbed the leather cord that held her mother’s wedding band and clasped it around her neck. Tears sprang once more and burned her eyes. Erinna clenched her fist around the metal and allowed herself a few sobs before drying her eyes and cheeks. She could cry more later.
By the time she was back at the dock, the pirates were nearly ready to set sail.
“Atwater!” she called, stepping onto the wooden walkway. She waited, scanning the ship until the pirate emerged from the shadows to stand at the rail. Kane raised an eyebrow in response.
Erinna planted her hands on her hips, forcing confidence into her stance.
“Fort Solitude, right?” Her heart hammered in her chest, hands growing clammy in fear. It could all end here if he refused to help.
“Excuse me?” Kane stuttered, shock evident in his eyes for a moment before he regained his composure. Erinna took thesmall victory with pride. She hadn’t known Kane for very long, but she could tell he wasn’t easily caught off guard.
“You’re heading to Fort Solitude. I’m coming with you.” Erinna took a risky step forward.
Kane cocked his head and stroked his chin in thought. “Asher,” he called over his shoulder to the woman adorned in gold. “Is Inez settled?”
Erinna seethed at his blatant disregard for her hurry.
Asher’s stare darted from Erinna to Kane. The corners of her mouth twitched in what Erinna could guess was amusement. “She’s below.”
“Good,” Kane sighed and turned his attention back to Erinna. “You should know, I will not be coming back here. Once we land, you’re on your own.”
Erinna nodded and tightened her grip on her pack as she climbed aboard.
“And no more questions until we’re docked at Fort Solitude,” Kane said before returning to the duty of assessing the ship for voyage. Erinna assumed that was as much permission as she would get. It took effort to keep her legs from shaking when she made her way onto the ship.
The events of the day churned through her mind. It was a waking nightmare, each moment bleeding into the next with sickening speed. Erinna tried to focus on the sway of the ship, the saltwater air that caressed her cheeks and ran through her hair, but nothing was working to calm her nerves.
Dusk had just surrendered to night on the horizon, the first stars peeking through the deepening blue overhead. Erinna could hardly believe it had all happened in less than a day. The morning felt like it belonged to someone else’s life. Someone who wasn’t cursed or aiding and abetting a pirate.
