Something shifted in his body. He straightened, gaze drifting over the sea behind me, and I followed his line of sight.
A ship sliced across the waves.
It was dark and wide—taller than any merchant ship I’d ever seen. Far across the turquoise water, it approached like a black hole over the ocean.
Kye sucked his breath sharply into his chest, his fingers curling possessively around my arm.
I stepped out of his grasp, studying the ship. There was something ominous about it. Grim. Haunting. Sixteen sails graced its masts, twice as many as any of the ships in the pier. A long, thin blue flag trailed from the tallest mast. The cables of the shrouds stood out like black cobwebs. Men climbed up them, little black spiders hunting for prey.
It was muscular, imperious, somehow elegant. It floated through the thrashing tide like a feather in the wind, sails lavish, black lacquer coat shining and clean.
Kye swore softly under his breath.
“Do you recognize it?” I asked Kye, my throat dry.
He nodded. “That’s the admiral’s flagship. It’s a frigate. A warship.”
“They sent theNavyfor you?” My voice broke in disbelief.
He seemed not to hear me as he cracked his neck, then scanned his little rowboat, massaging one hand with the other as he gathered his thoughts. “They’re a day early,” he said to himself.
I watched Kye cut across the beach, his movements smooth and sure as he grasped the rope that tied his boat to the rocks, though something in his eyes spoke of anxiety. “Come on.” He demanded softly, bracing the vessel still against the waves as he glanced up at me.
I stared blankly at him. “Back to Leihani?”
The thought of stepping foot on Leihani among the islanders sent my stomach a scatter like the beetles I collected from my garden and thrust into a bucket, swarming as they searched for escape.
“They won’t know to look for me here. Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
He said it with such certainty I almost believed him.
But I knew my people. There’d be an uproar if they saw me, and as much as Kye’s presence calmed my nerves, I doubted he could take on an entire island just to douse the fire that would erupt were I to set foot there.
I remained where I was, feet firmly planted in the sand.
In a fluid motion, Kye shoved off from the side of his boat, stalking toward me. “I’m not going to leave you here. You’re coming with me. To Calder.”
His words struck me speechless.
Leave the islands?
Without meaning to, I glanced at distant Leihani, then at the shady cliffs where the Naiads and I usually met.
It’s not as though the notion of leaving hadn’t ever occurred to me before. In fact, I’d spent years poring over the idea while gardening or hunting clams. My relationship with the other islanders had always left me wondering whether it would be bestif I found a way to leave. Board a ship and never look back. But my father and the Naiads had always kept me grounded here. A reason to stay.
Do you make people do things? Can you lure people?
My stomach twisted at the conversation I’d shared with my father.
How would he feel now that I’d killed his sister’s husband? His best friend?
And the Naiads—Mihauna, I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to see a Naiad again.
“Maren,” Kye said, snapping my attention away from the cliffs. I realized I’d curled my arms around myself. “I don’t want to leave you alone here. Not after—” He worked his jaw softly, chasing after the right words foryou killed your uncle.
Everything within me went cold. Hollow. “I can’t leave.”
He stared at me, his jaw hard. “You don’t even have to step onto Leihani. You can board the ship from your boat.”
