The ship rolled steeply now, and the brass key to the door clanked against the wall where Lachlan had hung it. There was no trace of him in the cabin, no weapon nor scrap of armor. I searched the rickety chair and the foot of the cot for my clothes. On the little desk in the corner sat a bowl of cold fish stew and a slice of bread. Beside it was a small wooden crate.
I inched toward it. A mother-of-pearl comb and a small glass box of hairpins sat within. Nemea’s crown sat beside them. There was a bar of vetiver soap that smelled like Theodore and a little pot of rouge. I removed them from the crate and set them gently on the desk. My gaze was riveted on what was beneath.
I ran my fingers over the neatly folded heap of black, shimmering fabric. “Oh, you ass,” I whispered, as I lifted the silk bindinggown into my hands. A scrap of paper was tucked into one of the creases of the bodice.
Theodore’s scrawling words were smudged, like he’d written the note in haste.
Your Majesty,
I am aware that you have given this gown up before, but I thought I’d gift it once more, as it is all I have to offer. If you find it unacceptable, which I expect you will, a new sailor’s uniform can be procured. Simply send yourguardfor it.
Signed,
His Majesty, Theodore Ariti of Varya
I balled the note in my fist and snatched the chemise from the bottom of the crate. A low, eerie melody seeped through the cracks of the ship as I took off the sleep shirt and pulled the chemise over my head. I jerked the laces of the stays that had been made special for the dress and knotted them. Then I pulled on the binding gown, letting my golden chain and rings rest atop it, right between my breasts.
Seething, I turned the hanging lantern up and stood before the looking glass bolted to the wall. My color had improved, and while my eyes were rimmed in shadows, they were bright and clear. And angry.Good.I ran my fingers through my wild hair and tried to comb out the strands I’d lost from the spell as best I could.
My plan to keep away from Theodore had crumbled like sea-battered stone. Suddenly, I wanted to meet him face-to-face. I wanted to scream at him for his audacity and relentlessness. For hissullen note. For marrying Halla and agreeing to give her a Godsdamned child. For being sogood,even though that was precisely what I’d come to love about him.
I set Nemea’s crown atop my head, took the key from the hook on the wall, and threw open the door. The gun deck bustled with sailors, some at work cleaning cannons, some at makeshift tables eating their evening meals. Lachlan sat at one of the tables nearest the hatch. When he saw me, he sprang to his feet.
He looked me up and down. “You look better.” Then, tentatively, he said, “You look mad.”
“I’m both.” But once I’d said it, it seemed a lie. In truth, I was crushed. My muscles were weak and tender, and I was plagued by a deep fatigue. My pain was gone, which left room for me to feel the rest of what ached. I started for the ladder that led to the main deck, where a heavy fog had fallen through and shrouded it in white.
“Where are you going?” Lachlan downed his ale and rushed to my side.
“To find Theodore.”
He barked a laugh and grabbed my arm. “No, no, no. Just this morning you made him bleed.”
“If you hadn’t—”
“You nearly killed his chancellor, Imogen.”
“After hestabbedme.”
“You are not to be left unattended ever, with anyone. And need I remind you how you begged me to prevent you from being alone with him?”
“And a fine job you’ve done of it!” I scanned the space around me. Strapped-down crates, hooks with tools and harpoons. From one of the nearby hooks, I took a loop of thin rope. “You’ll stand guard.” I shook the rope in his face. “And we’ll take precautions.”
Lachlan pressed a hand to the middle of his forehead. “What’sropegoing to do?” He made sure his sword and dagger were secured and followed me up the ladder.
The main deck was a wall of white fog. From what I could tell, it was just past sunset, and blooms of swaying lantern light made the mist glow. I’d slept the day away. The strange music was louder up here, bent and twisted by the thick, damp air. A harp, a lute, a flute played somewhere to my right, sounding low and slightly off tempo.
The fog changed the laughter and voices of the people milling about the deck too, muffling their words and shielding their whispers from being easily heard. The shapes of courtiers dancing, of sailors tending lines, of groups in conversation were shadowy silhouettes for a brief moment, before the fog shifted and hid them once more.
I stepped toward the mainmast and stopped when I heard a peal of laughter and congratulations. Lachlan stood close at my side. “It’s the wedding feast, isn’t it?”
In Seraf, this custom was the same. The wedding feast was always held the day after the ceremony and consummation.
Bloody Gods.
“Mmm-hmm.” He gave me a tense and sidelong glance. “You sure you want to see him?”
Now that I’d taken in some air, I thought better of it. I feared my impulses—I fearedEusia—but if I meant to keep Theodore truly safe, and keep my heart from breaking further, I would need to set a hard line between us. “I’m sure.”
