“Did you enjoy your choice?” Mybrother’svoice shouts over the waves.
“You jerk.” I yank my arm free and arc it into a collision course with his chin. My knuckle cracks, but I still the curse from spilling from my mouth. He deserved that, and more.
“Take her.” My two guards seize me, much harder than before and bully me, grappling with my limbs as I kick and twist. They end up half pushing, half pulling me to the end of the flat of the rock, where a small boat is moored half on the rocks. Theyshove me over, where the older man who stopped to talk with my brother braces my fall.
“Sit.” He points to a small bench, notched into the side of the hull.
Without any other option, I cooperate and sit. And wait.
The rest of the party, six in total, all file onto the boat and take up positions along each side, pulling out the oars into the water.
With the waves breaking against the base of the cliff, I have little hope we’ll be going anywhere but joining the rocks at the bottom of the seabed.
But apparently, my brother isn’t the only one with magic.
The woman, seated at the front of the boat, which looks similar to the karve boats from Sunatora I’ve seen in history texts, raises her hand. Her coppery skin glows against her dark hair, and as the sea begins to quieten, I wonder if she’s a Natural and can influence the water. But there’s a difference between being able to make it rain, like Ravi could, and silencing the sea.
My eyes cast around each of the other men on board, but I discount the two that escorted me, as neither of them has given any indication of power.
With the woman seemingly calming our path, we start to move, travelling away from the cliff and farther out to sea. Looking over the edge of the boat on either side, it’s like she’s channelled a path through the waves themselves, pushing them away from us, and smoothing the water for us to glide through.
We make surprising progress, given it’s just a few people with oars. They set into a rhythm that keeps us moving, all the while aided by the woman’s magic. As the sun overhead beats down on us, the welcomed relief of the icy water is now out of reach, the water only lapping against the bow.
The sun is the only indicator of time, and its position high in the sky tells me the day is far from over.
At some point, I must have drifted to sleep because my eyes fly open when the boat jostles, tilting me off balance in my seat.
We’re in the middle of the ocean, the sea seemingly calmer here, but I twist my body, looking back, and can just make out the tall silhouette of a watch tower along the cliff in the distance.
As I turn back around, I also notice what I’d missed when I first woke—a much bigger ship, now appearing out of the gloom of dusk. It’s twenty times the size of the boat we’re in, dwarfing us as it blocks out the sun and plunges us into cool shade.
The men moving cause a jolt as they rig ropes that attach the boat to the side of the ship, tethering us to it.
“Time to go.” Mybrothercomes to stand in front of me, tilting his head to the side to encourage me.
I turn back, twisting in my seat to keep my eyes trained on Kirrasia—the place I didn’t even know of a few months ago. Now, I feel torn between wanting to go back, but knowing that things were not all what they appeared. That with every new truth, a deeper secret is unearthed.
Ten is banished; no sign of him. No sense of him.
And all those I’d call friends now have a target on them.
After this evening, when Aslendrix’s power returns, so will my own. I just need to stall for time, and then I can fight. Then I might stand a chance.
Until then, I can play along.
I stand and immediately split my footing as the rocking of the boat shocks me, and I refuse to hold my arms out for support.
“Do you need my help this time?” He can’t keep the smile off his face, obviously referring to the trip down the cliff.
“I’m fine,” I grit out.
“Great. Up you go.” I look up and see the feet of one of his men climbing up the ladder, hugging the hull of the ship. I shake my head, but I climb, careful with each hand and foot placement until I reach the summit.
Surprise, surprise, the two men who’ve shadowed me are waiting, poised to secure me once again.
My boots hit the wood, and I glare at them before my eyes wander to the rest of the deck.
I’ve never seen the ocean before today, let alone a boat or a ship. Half a dozen people litter the deck, all keeping their attention on their own tasks. I catch a glimpse of the other companions from our crossing, heading through a door at the end of the ship. Sleeping quarters or rooms, maybe?
