I plucked the flower then brushed its soft petals down the angle of her face, over the raindrops, along the line of her jaw. Her dark lashes fluttered closed.
The quiet grew heartrending, and I needed to fill it, if only briefly. “Did you know that Anthemoessa’s wildflowers were a gift from Panos to Ligea when she took up her crown?”
Imogen flinched, then forced her face smooth. “I’m sure Agatha taught me that once.” Tears made her voice heavy. “It was Ligea in the pool.”
I sucked in a breath, furious with myself that I hadn’t guessed. “Imogen.”
“I’m all right—”
“You’re not.” I cradled her face. Rose up to bring her close. “Is she… alive?”
Imogen went still. “She was. Barely.”
Understanding hit me so squarely, I nearly lost my air.
“That pool and the veins in it kept Eusia and Ligea connected,” she said. “I expect the empress put Agatha in there to keep the whole thing alive—my mother included. But if Eusia was willing to sever herself from Ligea, she must feel very confident that she’ll get me.”
I pulled her closer, wrapping her in my arms.
Her chest heaved. “This is my fault—”
“Imogen, stop,” I said into her hair, fingers tightening around the nape of her neck.
“No.” She choked on a sob. “On that beach, the day I took the severing draught, I told Halla that I intended to kill Eusia. Halla must have told her mother. And the empress raced here so that she could whisk Eusia to safety. Halla has tried to convince me of her good intentions, she said she would help, and I—” Her tears cut her off.
“Shhhh.”
Imogen had come back to me with a small crack in her. Her pain leaked through it in drops, but now that crack was a gaping hole. Everything that she’d held back and shoved deep poured from her in a torrent of feeling. I held her steady through the purge, doing my utmost to hide my worry. If she knew how helpless I felt, she would surely feel the same.
Lachlan’s piercing whistle sounded through the air, calling for us.
Imogen pulled in a deep breath and dragged her arm across her sniffiing nose. She straightened her spine. It both impressedand pained me to watch her gather up all her pain and gulp it back down. She took on a sudden regality, her face uncharacteristically stark. Only her swollen eyes gave her away. But austerity didn’t suit her.
“Now, where did you learn to do that?” I tucked the purple bloom behind her ear. “Not from me, I hope.”
“You’ve managed to endure.” Her eyes creased up—not quite a smile, but something sadder. “Perhaps I will too.”
22
Theodore
We trudged through the dead meadow all the way to the line of the beach in silence.
Lachlan stood beside the launch as the sluggish waves lapped at his boots. He’d already settled Agatha on the center bench, and now he ushered a solemn Halla onto the bench across from her. Through the swirling haze, I could just see theEleuthios’s hulking outline.
I reached out a hand to help Imogen into the boat, but she paid me no mind. She was already in the brown waves to her knees, a hand over her stomach, her eyes searching the water.
“Get in the boat,” she said without looking up.
I did. She was stunningly terrifying in that moment; all focus and swelling concentration. I could nearly feel her power as it spilled from her and into the lagoon. Her eyes fell shut; her head tipped back toward the turbid sky. Deeper into the water she went until it licked at her thighs, until her fingertips brushed the yellow spume. A shiny tentacle broke through the surface before her, the too-large mass of organs and gills and suckers curling around itself as it drew closer to her, closer to the shore.
Lachlan and I dipped the oars into the water, but before we could drag them through, a current propelled us toward the ship. A breathless mix of horror and wonder filled the boat as every single one of us watched Imogen urge the heaving, grotesque mass of flesh from the lagoon and onto the beach, ensuring that we could pass safely.
Agatha let out a harsh breath. “I suspected, but I never thought…” She let the thought die as Imogen dived through the next wave and into the lagoon. Agatha watched on in amazement and distress. Clearly, neither of us would know peace until Imogen did.
The launch bobbed beside theEleuthiosas we secured the pulley ropes to their hooks. Imogen had swum alongside us, and now she sat in the boat’s hull, arms wrapped around her knees, eyes on her feet. She leaned her shoulder into Agatha’s knee, taking the meager comfort. I wished to give her more.
The pulleys gave a protesting squeal as the sailors hoisted us up.
