Page 26 of Black Sea

“What will you do when you get back to your home?” I asked.

His king would likely host a grand banquet to celebrate his commander’s safe return. I could already picture Amlach entertaining the guests with our story, showing off all his charm and certainly tweaking some parts to look like a hero in their eyes.

Who knows what he would say about me to his comrades when he got back to the barracks? I was pretty sure he would make up that he saved me.

“Hmm . . .” Amlach had a brooding expression on his face. “I very much think I’ll just get drunk until I collapse in my bed, from which I won’t get up for at least two weeks.”

Oh, I felt him. When I returned to Aegel’s Palace, I would first soak in a warm bath. After that, I would lie in my large bed and finally get a good sleep, free from the buzzing of mosquitoes, the sound of waves, and the bird calls.

And free from the need to suppress the constant urge to go lie down next to Amlach.

He poked my leg with his foot. “Do you elves get drunk?” he taunted me with a smirk.

I hit his thigh with the end of the oar to put him in his place. “Sleep,” I ordered with a ghost of a smile.

His low, sensual chuckle was like a balm that eased my sadness. I started rowing again, knowing this would be one of the last times I would hear it.

14

Warmth. On my skin, inside my flesh, in my bones. I had the impression of being sucked into a magma abyss. I felt dizzy. My muscles were numb. The last thing I remembered was having breakfast with Amlach as we watched the sun rise over the exact line where the sea meets the sky. He then had told me I could close my eyes for a while if I wanted to.

And against all logic, I had accepted.

Why? I didn’t need to rest, so why had I lain down where he had slept all night and ended up falling asleep?

I touched my ear, wincing. Every sound was muffled, and it took a few seconds for my hearing to return to normal. Yet, even as it did, I quickly realized something was off. The noises around me didn’t reach my ears with the hyper-accurate clarity that elves were used to.

Something was wrong.

Then, suddenly, Amlach’s thunderous voice burst into my ears. With a start, I sat up and turned around. He was on his feet, looking tall and broad like the trees in the Forest of Witches. He was wildly waving his arms, making the raft swing dangerously.

“This way!” he was shouting.

“Amlach?” I said, confused.

He turned to me, beaming. “There’s a ship! Over there, look!”

I stood up but inexplicably lost my balance. Amlach quickly sneaked an arm around my waist and pulled me against his strong body to steady me. I blushed violently, bewildered by how familiar that gesture felt.

By the fact that I didn’t instantly jerk myself away from him.

“It’s way far, and I can’t tell if it’s my folks or yours, but I’ll be damned, that’s a ship.” He grabbed me by the shoulders and gave me a joy-filled shake. “A ship!” He laughed and started waving again. “We’re here! Hey, over here! Help!”

I followed the direction of his gaze and spotted a dark dot on the horizon. My eyesight didn’t fail me, as my hearing had a moment earlier, and I recognized the unmistakable shape of a galleon with broad, billowing white sails.

And a black flag that gradually faded to red at the flapping end.

My eyes widened. In a snap, I jumped on Amlach to hold his arms down.

“What the heck are you doing, Elf?” he yelled, trying to wriggle away.

“Stop it,” I ordered, tightening my grip on his wrists. “ Stop it.”

“This way, they’ll never see us!” he bawled, desperately glancing toward the ship.

“They mustn’t see us,” I hissed. I let go of him to grab one of the oars and pressed it against his chest. “Take this, sit down, and row as fast as you can.”

“Why?” he protested, staring at me as if I had gone mad as I seized the second oar.