Page 35 of A Dark and Drowning Tide

“Its hops?” Lorelei asked skeptically.

Sylvia seemed to be genuinely at a loss for words. “The mountains.”

“Ah.” Lorelei tilted her head back to look at them, mostly out of courtesy. With some displeasure, she noted that they were crowned in glittering white. If there was still snow this late in the season, perhaps it never melted. Fantastic. If they needed to cross or summit them, it would make their journey unpleasant and far more difficult than it otherwise would be. Someone would likely lose an extremity or two. “Indeed.”

It was, apparently, the wrong thing to say. Sylvia sighed unhappily.

Before Lorelei could salvage the conversation, the others arrived. Each of them was dressed for travel in fur-lined cloaks and tweed tucked into calfskin boots. Heike and Ludwig were arm in arm, giggling over something or other. Adelheid approached with Johann at her side. The very sight of him made her anger flare so hot, her hands began to tremble with the force of it. As if he sensed it, he met her gaze with a challenging glint in his eye. He did not, however, look surprised to see her.

Odd. Had he expected her to survive?

“Are we ready to leave, then?” Sylvia asked.

Each rowboat was meant to hold only two passengers, and they had already paired off. But this posed an opportunity for Lorelei to isolate Johann, one she could not let slip away. She had to be completely certain before she accused him of anything, or else risk the others turning on her.

Grasping for the first excuse that came to mind, Lorelei said, “I cannot ride with von Wolff. We’ll capsize the boat.”

Sylvia gawped at her, a look of pure outrage in her eyes.

Ludwig smirked, but his tone was all innocence. “I’ll go with you, Lorelei.”

Heike rounded on him. “Well, I can’t ride with her either.”

“Must we do this now, of all times?” Sylvia sounded genuinely pained, which admittedly pricked some at Lorelei’s conscience. “I am so tired of you making me feel as thoughI’m—”

“Insignificant? Unwanted?” Heike asked dispassionately. “Imagine that.”

“Enough. You’re all behaving like children.” Adelheid sighed wearily. “Sylvia, come with me.”

Adelheid andHeike—ratherpointedly, Loreleithought—didnot acknowledge each other. Clearly, their disagreement yesterday had driven some sort of wedge between them. Adelheid rescuing Sylvia from Heike’s petty barbs surely would not help matters.

Johann skewered Lorelei with a baleful look. “Let’s go.”

At least she had gotten what she wanted.

But in all her grand machinations, she had not considered the small issue of their heights. Both she and Johann were almost all legs, and she had to fold herself up just so to keep from spilling out of the boat. Neither of them spoke, but she could practically feel Johann’s displeasure pummeling her like a solid wave. Every now and again, he drove his paddle into the water with such force, it sent them veering into the banks.

She considered driving the paddle into the base of his skull but thought better of it. Neither he nor Adelheid would like it, and she didnot have a death wish. Instead, she dug her oar into the mud and pushed to right their course.

“Is my company that loathsome to you?”

Johann scoffed but did not reply.

Lorelei pulled up her oar and glared at the back of his head. “I wanted to return something to you.”

Johann turned in his seat, looking rather offended that she had spoken to him unprompted. “What have you stolen?”

“I haven’t stolen anything.”

Lorelei ignored his doubtful expression and pulled the button from her coat pocket. The brass gleamed in the sunlight. Johann took it from her and adjusted his glasses. For a long few moments, he squinted at it in confusion. No flicker of recognition lit hiseyes—onlya vague curiosity.

“Where did you get this?” he asked.

“I foundit—inmy room, as a matter of fact.” Lorelei could not keep the irritation out of her voice. She had expected some kind of reaction. “It’s yours, isn’t it?”

“No.” Johann frowned and handed it back to her. It honestly surprised her that he surrendered it without any fuss or accusations. Surely, there was some dark ritual she could allegedly perform with a button and a lock of hair. As though remembering who he was speaking to, he made his voice brisk and condescending once again. “Do you see the engraving? It isn’t from my battalion.”

Lorelei had no way of confirming if that was true. He had to be lying.