Rhoswyn
“Eugh.” I heave, emptying my stomach over the side of the ship for the third time that morning. “Stupid boats.”
“I think you’ll find it’s a ship,” Lore says, grinning. “But by all means, call it a boat in front of the captain, and if he gets mad, I can stab him.”
Note to self, become fluent in nautical terms as soon as possible to avoid accidental deaths.
Groaning, I accept the water he hands me and rinse my mouth. “I suppose it’s a good thing the iron sickness kept me unconscious for most of the trip to Fellgotha.”
“A lot of the villages in the Summer Court are on the coast, or I’d suggest disembarking and riding the rest of the way.” Kitarni rubs my other shoulder soothingly. “I’ve got a potion brewing, but it’s going to take a few more hours, and by then, you might have found your sea legs.”
Given that I’ve been up half the night like this, I doubt that very much, but I nod anyway. No one planned for this because fae rarely suffer sea sickness. This unfortunate turn of events is entirely the fault of some quirk of my body.
“A bit of toast?” Bree offers. “You need to eat something.”
“I can’t keep anything down.” I’m not sure how toast is going to magically be the exception. “I just want to get off this stupid—” I cut off as I catch the tell-tale clacking of hooves on wood that announces our captain is on his way.
Great.
“Don’t worry, Nicnevin,” he booms, throwing his red scarf over his shoulder, only to roll his eyes as the wind blows it right back out of place. “Plenty of time to get your sea legs before we reach Siabetha. You won’t want to miss the view of the city from the ocean—there’s nothing like it.”
This terminally happy faun is going to be the death of me. At least he stopped flirting with me after Lore threatened to castrate him.
“Sounds great,” I murmur. “How long until the next shrine?”
There are still a few left in the Spring Court for us to visit along the way.
The faun’s lips break into yet another easy smile. “An hour, if that. Winds are working in our favour, Danu be praised.”
Danu be praised, indeed. Perhaps she’s taking pity on me.
Something on deck catches the captain’s eye, and he frowns. “Oi, keep your hands out of there!”
Then he’s gone, leaving me alone with my under fae Guards and the high priestess, all of whom keep shooting me concerned looks.
“I’ll be fine,” I promise. “Honestly, this is nothing compared to how things were before. I’ll take a little nausea any day.”
That doesn’t seem to make them any less concerned. In fact, Bree’s grimace only grows deeper.
“Let’s do something,” I say, casting about the deck for a distraction, only to draw up short. “I’ll feel better if I’m not thinking about it.”
The sailors are hard at work keeping our violet-sailed ship cruising through the roiling waves as Captain Byrne strides between them, shouting orders with a confidence I envy.
“I’ve got plenty of ideas to occupy our time,” Lore says, waggling his pale eyebrows.
I hit him with a blank look. None of them have made any serious advances since my fever ended, andnowhe says something?
“Lore, if we have sex right now, there’s a fifty percent chance we’ll be swimming in a pool of my vomit by the end.”
He shrugs. “Not the first time that’s happened. I have a very sensitive gag reflex.”
It takes me a second to work out what he’s said, but by the time the meaning of his words has hit me, he’s blinked up to the rigging, hanging upside down by his knees.
“What about more flight practice?” I decide. “I was getting so close before.”
“Not here,” Bree says, surprising me. “The wind is too strong at this time of year. It could lift you into the water if you’re not careful.”
I try my hardest to quell my disappointment, but it must show because Lore is back in front of me in a blink.
