Esmyra swallowed, her hands gripping the fabric of her shirt nervously. “It could kill me if the curse isn’t removed properly.”
It could kill me.The words echoed, clawing at the inside of his skull.
Draevyn stepped toward her. “You think I’d let that happen? You think I’d risk you like that?”
Esmyra met his gaze with a quiet strength that nearly undid him. “I think if the only way to save me meant risking everything—evenme—you’d do it.”
The truth of it hit Draevyn like a blow, because she was right. If allelse failed, he would tear this poison out of her with his teeth if it came to it, even if it killed him to do so.
Because regardless, if the substance was left in her, she would perish. Living without her wasn’t an option, and he would never forgive himself if he didn’t try everything possible to save her.
Jak’s jaw tightened, his eyes burning with the same helpless rage. “So, we find a way. We don’t rush it. We don’t touch it until we know how to cut it out without…” He trailed off, unable to finish.
Draevyn nodded slowly. “We’ll find a way. I don’t care what it costs.”
“My cousin may still be able to help us.” Jak rubbed the back of his neck and swallowed as their attention moved to him. “Jenli is a… scholar of sorts. She’s spent her life digging into things she shouldn’t have.” His eyes went distant for a moment. “Or things others want buried. Lost magic, forbidden practices, ancient curses.”
Draevyn’s eyes narrowed slightly, weighing the words. “You think she’d know how to remove it?”
Jak’s jaw worked, clearly choosing his words. “I can’t say for sure. But if there’s a way to cut this poison out without it destroying you, I’m pretty positive she’d know it.”
“Well then I’d say she’s our only option,” Esmyra chimed in.
Her first mate nodded. “Jenli is a little…oddin everything she does. But for this—” he gestured toward her back, his hand trembling just slightly, “—I’ll make sure she hears us out and knows how important this is.”
Draevyn’s jaw tightened. “Whatever it takes, we’re getting this out of her. But what do you mean she’s odd?”
Jak turned to face Draevyn, his eyes seeming to pleadjust hear me out.
A humorless smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Odd may not be the right word. Perhapsinsanedoes her more justice. Jenli doesn’t see the world the way most people do. She never has.”
Esmyra was silent for a moment as her eyes roamed over them both, but then her lips tilted upward. “I like her already.”
“Aye.” Jak sighed. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
His gaze drifted briefly, as if caught in some distant memory. “When we were children, Jenli was selected by the priestesses of Terrana and taken to the temple to be raised as one of them. Our family was proud and considered it as the highest honor. She spent years learning the ways of the gods, swearing herself to their secrets and knowledge forbidden to the rest of the realm.”
Esmyra shifted on the desk, seeming intrigued. “And then?”
“Priestesses are allowed to leave the temples only once every ten years to visit their loved ones. It was the first time I had seen her since she was thirteen, and she was…no longer the Jenli I remembered. She begged me for help.”
Draevyn’s brows furrowed. Terrana’s priestesses were different from his kingdom’s, but then again, his father had cleared the temple since Irah granted him and his brother power. Lephyrin’s priestesses now had a new place of worship in the center of the capital city.
“Help with what?” Draevyn cut in.
“It’s a long story.” Jak sighed. “But I helped her escape. Jenli fled, running away from everything she’d been taught and everything she’d sworn to. And in turn, she broke her vows to Villaem, Terrana’s god. The act is punishable by death because the secrets she carries with her make her dangerous.”
Esmyra’s eyes flared. “Did the rest of your family help?”
Jak scoffed. “Our family couldn’t forgive even thethoughtof her fleeing. They cast her out, willing to let her die in the name of Villaem. It’s why I left my home kingdom in search of something else, and eventually chose to sail onThe Night Wraith.”
“So, she’s an outlaw,” Draevyn mused.
Esmyra grinned. “Just like us.”
Draevyn couldn’t help his smirk at the mischief in her eyes despite their situation.
Jak nodded, a grim glint in his eye. “Exactly. She lives by no one’s rules, similar to us. And while the world considers her knowledge to be dangerous, it’s exactly the kind of knowledge we need.”
