Weston would send me home.
My body feels numb just thinking about it. He knows who I am, knows what I left behind in Blackwood, and that the fate of my kingdom, the kingdom he swore an oath to, lies with me. The First Guard would never let the leader be removed, which means if I am successful, if I bring that dust back with me, he won’t hesitate to send me back.
And he would stay.
He would never choose to return to our world over giving someone else in his crew the opportunity. He would never leave knowing there were people here that still needed protection, even if it meant breaking his oath and not being there to protect the king. He’d sacrifice the life he envisioned to make sure someone else had a chance at theirs.
And I would never see him again.
Or Sig, or Stassia. Jorn and Auralie.
Fin.
My breaths grow shallow and tears prick at my eyes. I can’t get emotional about this. Both Brynne and Weston constantly remind me I fight with too much emotion, and stealing the dustmight be the biggest fight I’ll ever be part of. I have no choice; I have to win.
“We have a problem though,” I say, thinking back to what Taril told me yesterday.
Sig waits quietly for my answer.
“Mara. She’s trying to convince them all that I’m a traitor. Taril said Dane doesn’t believe it, but I’m going to have to deal with her. There’s no way she will believe anything I say.”
The spark of an idea glitters in her eye. “What if we make it look like you escaped?”
“How would we do that?” I ask, my brows narrowing at her. “She saw me protect you and run away. She’s going to see right through it.”
Sig steps closer, excitement rising in her voice. “You could convince them it was all a ploy, that you were trying to make us believe you were on our side so you could escape. You can do to them what you tried to do to us.”
“That could work,” I say slowly, thinking through the plan. “If we make it look like I escaped, I could use that to convince Mara that it was all an act. I could pretend that I was discovered and imprisoned again, but finally got away. That way, they really wouldn’t have any reason not to believe me.”
“For this to work, you would have to get close to Dane again.” She meets my eyes, imploring, trying to read my emotions. “Are you alright with that?”
I know what she means by close, and it isn’t just in proximity of camp.
Close.
My stomach churns just thinking about having to pretend with Dane, having to act like I know nothing of the lies he’s spewed, the manipulation and coercion. The thought of kissing him, touching him, and having him touch me makes my skincrawl, especially since I haven’t been able to stop thinking about another man’s lips and touch instead.
“I can handle it.” I don’t need to say anything more. Sig knows I will do what needs to be done, despite my feelings for Weston, feelings I know I haven’t been able to hide from Sig. She sees right through me, and I know that’s why she asked.
“This could work, Lennox.” I see a sparkle in her eye, and I recognize it immediately.
Hope.
Weston keeps saying he won’t give up hope that we will find the dust, or how it is replenished, but what ifthisis the hope we need to have? What if we have to take action, and the island has been making moves, pushing us in certain directions to allow it to happen?
“I think it could,” I say. “I just have to get Weston to believe in me.”
And let me out of his sight, which has proven to be the most difficult task of all.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
“Lennox! Come with me!”
Fin’s voice carries across the room, pulling my focus from the book I’m reading. I look up to find him dragging Weston by the hand up the stairs to the first deck. He extends his other hand out toward me, flapping it up and down.
“Come on!” he calls out, then flashes me with a toothy grin.
I close the book and set it on the chair, only for Stass to snatch it out from behind me and flip it open to the first page.
