And there was the matter of those strange cuffs. What if Kor didn’t deliver her in time and they severed her wrists?
It was a dilemma.
In the end, Safire decided to take Eris with her. She’d seen maps of the Star Isles when the empress first invited Dax to visit. Once she oriented herself, she would make her way to the capital, hand Eris over, andthenfind Asha.
All she had to do was stay watchful and alive. She would play along. Be a good, obedient captive. And once the opportunity for escape arose, she would seize it.
Suddenly, Eris woke, jolting upright and breaking Safire’s concentration. Safire fell back against the floor, breathing hard now while her muscles relaxed.
“Do you hear that?”
Safire watched Eris from where she lay on the floor, her warm cheek pressed against the wooden planks. “Hear what?”
“Sea spirits. They’re singing.” Eris rose to her feet and started to pace. “Hells.”
Safire sat up, watching her. Trying to hear what Eris heard.But the only sounds were the shriek of the wind and the croaking of the ship.
With her wrists clasped, Eris banged on the door, shouting for someone to open it. When no one did, she shouted some more. “Listen, you morons! He’s sailing us straight into the wrecking grounds! Let me out!”
When they still didn’t respond, she began kicking the door hard with the sole of her boot.
Finally, it swung open. Kor himself stood in the frame.
Eris shrank back, cheeks rosy, breathing hard. Safire got to her feet, standing behind her.
“That landmass straight ahead? It’s Shadow Isle,” she told him. “Shadow Isle is known for its wrecking grounds. Thisseemslike a shortcut to Axis, but it’s actually a—”
“You’re a thief, not a sailor,” he growled. “Leave the navigating to me.”
“There are spirits ahead, waiting for idiots like you!”
His eyes narrowed into slits. “Sea spirits don’t exist, Eris. They’re tales made up by delirious scurvy-ridden sailors. And who says I’m taking you to Axis, anyway?”
Eris frowned, going suddenly quiet.
“If I have to come down here again,” he said, stepping in close, “you will regret it. The empress may want you alive, but she never said in what condition.”
Eris backed up, straight into Safire.
Kor stared Eris down until she looked away. For a moment, Safire thought he might come through on his threat right then. But when he remembered the girl standing behind Eris, his eyesmet Safire’s and he stepped back.
Finally he turned and slammed the door behind him.
As the lock clicked, Eris’s hands curled into fists. “I grew up on Shadow Isle. I know what’s waiting for us beneath the water.”
As if the sea itself heard her, the ship gave a shuddering shriek, followed by the buckling and breaking of wood. The floor seemed to rise as the boat pitched forward and came to an abrupt stop, throwing Eris and Safire into the wall.
Alarmed shouts echoed above them. Footsteps clomped loudly overhead.
“What in all the skies... ?” murmured Safire as water began to creep under the door and across the floor.
“It’s called shipwreck alley,” said Eris, who, after finding her balance, began to bang both her manacled fists on the door again, “for a reason.”
The water seeped to the other side of the room, then slowly started to rise.
Safire joined Eris, making noise along with her.
Soon, the door swung open again. Two pirates came in, and with them, a rush of salt water. Safire was forced out first and shoved down the hall. The moment she hit the deck, she gulped in salty air. The wind whipped her hair across her face and Safire fought it back with her fingers, looking north. Not far from the ship, glistening black rocks rose like jagged pillars out of the mist. Just beyond them, Safire saw the outline of chalky gray cliffs.
