I don’t know whether I want to kiss him or strangle him. Possibly both. Although at the thought of the first option, I have to look away, my fingers curling into the bedspread.
Logan, luckily, cuts in. “The seas surrounding this island are deadly. There are sirens, cyclops, and creatures that have been killing sailors for millennia.”
“I know. I’m coming with you,” I say without missing a beat.
Logan’s eyes widen. “Absolutely not.”
“Oliver didn’t leave this island voluntarily.” I stand, squaring my shoulders. “I’m going to find out what happened to him,and if that means sailing through monster-infested waters, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
“And I’m going with her,” Kieran says before Logan can protest. “The more people we have, the better our chance of survival.”
Logan’s hands clench on his knees. His expression is torn, conflicted in a way I’ve never seen from the usually composed proctor.
“I’ll tell Jade,” he finally says. “And we need one more person. Someone with skills none of us have, who can help ensure we survive the crossing.”
“Who?” Kieran asks.
And then Logan says the last name I expected.
JADE
The passages are colderthan normal tonight.
I’ve been sitting on a crate of stolen food, my back against the rough stone wall, rearranging my rings so much that my fingers would swell if I didn’t have accelerated healing. In a few hours, I’ll be on a boat—not a ship, not a yacht, but aboat—sailing through monster-infested waters while I run from the Council, the academy, and everything I’ve known since T dropped me into this insane world.
But that’s not the craziest part. Because three months ago, I was an Ivy League reject with a trust fund and no direction. Now I’m a fugitive with lightning in her veins and a boyfriend who can rewind time, and somehow, this is the version of my life that makes more sense.
Finally, footsteps echo from down the passage, and I’m on my feet, electricity crackling at my fingertips.
“It’s me.”
Logan rounds the corner, bringing the smell of cold night air and smoke, his eyes finding mine in the flickering torchlight.
My electricity dies, no longer on high alert.
“I was starting to think they caught you.”
“I had to make sure no one was following.” He closes the distance between us, and suddenly he’s right here, close enough that I can see the sharpness in his face and the shadows under his eyes. “Are you ready?”
“Ready to sail into almost certain death? Ready to leave behind Evie, Felix, Nina, and everyone else who might care if I live or die?” I ask, although I hesitate for a second, unsure howNinagot onto that list. “Sure. Let’s go commit maritime suicide. Sounds fun.”
Logan’s expression shifts, the careful mask he wears developing a crack. “Speaking of your friends, there’s been a complication.”
My chest tightens. “What kind of complication?”
“Evie put it together that I already knew about your lightning magic, since we’ve been training together in the Circles.” He holds up a hand before I can spiral. “She went to Kieran for answers, and he brought me to her. It turns out she and Kieran were already planning to leave and search for Oliver. So now, they’re coming with us.”
For a moment, I just stare at him, waiting for a punch line.
It doesn’t come.
“Evie’s coming with us,” I deadpan. “On a boat into the monster-infested sea.”
“Yes.”
“And Kieran Cross, who threatens us with blades before breakfast, voluntarily teamed up with my bookworm roommate.”
“Where Evie goes, Kieran apparently follows.” The dryness in his tone is almost human. “We also need someone who can sail and navigate, whose family has connections with the group that’s going to help us.”
