He remained quiet for a moment. “WasAlana. When did you transition? How old are you?”
I blinked. “Transition?”
Thaan said nothing.
“I’m twenty-two,” I said. “My birthday is in a week or two.”
"Or two? You do not know your birthday?"
My teeth clenched.
“Who performed the ritual on you?” he asked, so frustrated his lips barely moved.
I stared at him, hands open in confusion. “What do you mean? I’m not a witch.”
He frowned, tilting his head. Seconds passed, our quiet breathing the only sound blooming through the air. Behind me, a chair creaked. Kye still hadn’t moved. I resisted the urge to turn and look at him. Thaan held my gaze like a net, waiting for me to swim in and trap myself.
“You’re nota witch,” Thaan said slowly, tilting his head in the other direction. “Yet the island’s complaints of you contained specific witness accounts that are indicators of witchcraft.”
I hesitated, hands flat on the table. “I did kill my uncle,” I murmured, my chest tightening at the words. “He threatened me with a knife, and I somehow got it away from him.”
A flash of a knife.My fingers curled into the wooden table, bracing for impact.The sound of shattering ice. Sticky, warm blood under my hands...
I licked my lips nervously. “But I’mnota witch. I didn’t seduce anyone.”
“Yet, six men have disappeared from your island. Have they not?”
“Yes.”
“So, I ask you,” he said, his lips curling, “who performed the ritual?”
“I’ve neverseduceda man,” I hissed.
“Are you quite dim? I'm not referring toincantation.” His eyes roamed over my face and clothes, taking in my hau bark skirt and tapa shirt, my bare shoulders, my dirty ankles. He moved toward me, and I stiffened as he took the long rope of my hair, draping it down past my collar. His hand curled around my chin, lifting it left and right as he studied me. My face itched under his touch.
From the corner of my eye, Kye had gone so still I wasn’t sure if he was breathing.
“So, the six missing sailors just happento be coincidence?” Thaan asked slowly. “And you’ve neverincantedanyone? Never hypnotized or charmed a man?”
Body rigid with anger, I turned my head, freeing myself from his fingertips. His nails dug into my jaw, but he allowed me to smoothly wrench away. I fixed him with a scorching stare. “I don’t know what happened to them.”
“And you’ve never transitioned?” he asked. I said nothing. Near the limit of my patience, I could only glare.
“You don’t know what I’m talking about?” Thaan asked. A dark smile curved his mouth, but he quickly dropped it. “Let's try something else. What Naiads do you know?”
My mind briefly went blank before the flare of a new wick ignited. Naiads.
“Nori and Olinne,” I breathed, eyes wide. Instinctively, I felt the side of my neck, where the welts from Nori’s nails had since healed.
“Ahh,” Thaan said, smiling. “They failed to explain it to you. Because you’re human-born, I assume.”
His eyes veered across my face, understanding flashing behind his pale eyes. I seethed at his obvious amusement, having lost my grip on whatever game we’d been playing.
“Explain what?” I demanded, though internally I listened, rapt with focus on every word.
“And they never finished it. They didn’t complete the ritual. You’re stuck in the in between.” He watched me, smug. Satisfied.
“What do you mean?”
