The prospect of exploring that oily, burning power filled me with terror, especially with Theodore so close, but his nearness also gave me a dose of courage. I closed my eyes and, as if crossing the threshold to a boarded-up wing of a rotting house, searched inward.
Intention,I thought. That was what guided Eusia.Wantwas what fueled her and her magic. I searched through that uncomfortable writhing inside me; I turned to the place in my mind where her voice would sound. It was a shock to realize that what I’d thought had been a barrier built from something solid and impermeable was in fact tissue thin. It was naught but a veil.
When I passed through it, I felt something burst inside me. Something squirmed. I could feel the undulating water, could feel the chaotic winds. I tightened my hold on my intention and willed the world around me to calm.
In Fort Linum, when I’d dipped into seawater for the first time, Eusia’s voice had been a faint call. Near the sea, when she spoke through the nekgya, her voice rang, clear like a bell, between my ears. Now it was as if my own throat vibrated with her words.
My jaw loosened, my mouth moved as if guided by her hand. “Dear girl, look how far you’ve come—”
Somewhere in the periphery of my consciousness, I could still feel Theodore’s solid body at my side, could sense his warmth. Could hear him shift and grunt. “Imogen.”
But the rest of me had been transported. Plunged into a dark and murky pool of acerbic water. My back pressed against the very bottom of it. My hair floated around my face and an orb of misty light hung above me. Cold limbs bumped into mine. The whole pool seemed to thump as if I were inside a heart… or a womb.
My mouth moved again. “Nearly home… I’ve waited so long.”
Hard hands gripped my wrists; something struck my spine. The jolt ripped me from that awful water and threw me back into my own body. I opened my eyes, gasping.
Theodore was against me, the whole of his weight pressing me into the rail, hands pinioning my wrists to the wood. Threescratches along the length of his neck oozed bright blood. Lachlan had his dagger near my throat.
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m so sorry. Theo, I—”
He was stunned, gaze locked with mine. “Your eyes.”
Lachlan lowered his blade in shock.
“What about them?” I asked.
Theodore swallowed hard. “For a moment, they looked like… like the Mage Seer’s. Like Rohana’s.” A milky, flickering white. Disquieted and keeping his hold on me, he finally glanced around. “You did it. It stopped.”
The ship was still, I knew it was. The wind had calmed, but I couldn’t take my eyes from the three bleeding lines I’d carved into Theodore’s neck. They knitted themselves back together as he released my wrists and stepped away from me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I don’t know what happened.”
Rather than leave me where I stood, he came to stand beside me once more. I clung to the rail, knuckles white, and he rested his hand right next to mine, so our small fingers touched. I looked up at him as he stared out at the glossy black water. He looked brutal, disheveled, his large body tense and his brows at a steep slant. He looked…changed. The man—the king—I’d met on that parapet at the top of Fort Linum had been sure. Immovable. His world had been black and white, and he’d known precisely where he’d fit within it.
At times, I still found myself expecting that old king’s ire, but Theodore offered me quiet support instead. With just a touch he told me all was well.
I see all the parts you hate and wish to hide, and I love you still.
“Queen Imogen.” The captain’s voice rang loud. She stood behind me, red cheeked and serious. “You and yourproofbrought us here. You’ll use your power to guide us safely into the lagoon now too.” She spun back toward the helm without waiting for my reply.
The crew was fast at work trimming the sagging sails, ensuring that the ship was worthy of the crossing, but I felt their fearful anticipation.
“Aye, Captain,” I said as I untied my tether and made for the bow of the ship. Theodore followed. Lachlan’s sword rang as he pulled it from its sheath.
“Fucking Gods, Lach,” I heard Theodore grumble.
At the bow, I stared out at the yellow haze that swirled around the outer reef’s towering stones. I squinted, searching the lagoon and Anthemoessa’s shoreline, but there was nothing to be seen save one gap in the rocks that was wide enough for theEleuthiosto pass through.
I blew out slowly, taking stock of myself. My stomach still twisted and knotted. My power roiled, waiting.
“Lachlan,” I said, “Take Theodore to the other side of the deck.”
Neither of them argued. I didn’t look over my shoulder to watch them go before I let my focus dive back down into that squirming pit in my middle. The heat that burst through me was instant. Suddenly, it was as if the ruined sea rushed through my own veins. Eusia’s voice came again like a chant—like a song—warming my throat.
“Home. Home. Home.”
My intention was crystalline, and though my eyes were shut, I knew the ship floated serenely through the jagged rocks at my command.
