Skye came to her secret loom often, and it brought Crow joy to watch her weave. To see the look of peace on her face as her fingers worked the threads. To see the way her mouth curved when she finished. He had given her a good gift. And the knowledge of it made a brand-new feeling glow within him.
Happiness.
And though he sometimes saw the hunger in her gaze when she looked at him, sometimes felt his own wanting chewing at his insides, for a time, it was enough.
Eleven
When the door swung open, Safire jolted upright in her chains. Eris stood in the frame. Her face seemed wan and thin, her mouth set in a hard line, and her shoulders drooped with exhaustion. As if she’d walked a hundred leagues in a day.
But they were in the middle of the sea, so that was impossible.
Wasn’t it?
In one hand she held a covered platter; in the other, a goblet of wine. She set both on the table, on top of the map, a few feet away from Safire. Rubbing her hand over her face, she lit the lamps, then closed the door.
“Hungry, princess?”
Safire’s stomach growled in response, and she cursed her body for giving her away so easily.
Eris studied her. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Hoisting herself onto the table, she lifted the platter lid to reveal a stale-looking loaf of bread, a lump that looked something like pickled herring, and an apple.
“The captain has your keys.” She nodded to the manacles keeping Safire’s wrists bound to the ceiling. “So I’ll have to feed you.”
That sounded terribly humiliating. But Safire’s stomach was pinched with hunger. So she said nothing as Eris pushed herself to her feet, ripping the stale bread and dunking it in the wine to moisten it.
Eris stepped up to her, raising an eyebrow.
With her hands locked at her temples, Safire opened her mouth, glaring as she did.
“If you bite me,” Eris said as she put the wine-soaked bread between Safire’s lips, “you will regret it.”
Safire chewed the bread. When she swallowed, Eris did it again. And again.
The wine began to warm her. After going so long without food, Safire’s thoughts soon turned fuzzy at the edges.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” she whispered the next time Eris stepped back to feed her.
Eris smiled a little but said nothing. Just lifted the next wine-drenched piece of bread to Safire’s lips.
Safire opened her mouth. Eris pushed it in, her fingers brushing against Safire’s lips this time. Her touch was like a spark, and Safire sucked in her lower lip protectively.
“I went to Firefall today.”
Safire stopped chewing.What?That was impossible. The ship hadn’t changed course. As far as Safire could tell, they were still in the middle of the Silver Sea. Nowhere near the coastal city of Firefall.
“You lied,” said Eris, her gaze lifting to Safire’s. “Your cousin left weeks ago.”
Safire swallowed, her appetite suddenly lost. She steeled herself for some kind of blow. A retaliatory lash of frustration.
Instead, Eris asked, “Why would you lie?” She lowered her hands, her gaze searching Safire’s. “I told you he’d kill you if you lied.”
She seemed actually puzzled about this. As if she couldn’t understand why someone would risk her life for someone else.
“If I told you the truth,” Safire said, “you’d be hunting her down and dragging her back to that monster you call a captain. Of course I lied.”
Eris opened her mouth to respond, then stopped. She was silent a moment, looking to the porthole, which had grown dark.
“I promised Jemsin I’d locate the Namsara by tonight.” She returned to the platter and tore off another piece of bread. “You need to tell me where she is.Now.”
