Page 11 of Cursebreaker

“Oh, come on, boys,” drawls a familiar, lilting voice.

A shock of relief floods my veins, and I almost lose my footing.

“I promise I won’t bite,” Titus croons. “Not unless she asks nicely.” I can almost hear the smirk when he adds, “Although, I can’t speak for him.…”

I shove past Gabriel, stumbling down the last few steps. Behind me, Henry lets out an exasperated sigh, but the quiet bickering between him and Gabriel fades beneath the steady pulse of a heartbeat as I come to a halt in the aisle between the cells.

The cell to my left holds Titus, propped casually against a barrel, eyes closed as if he were asleep.

My chest swells at the sight of him. I knew that once we obtained Morana’s blood, we would have to capture Titus so we could force him to take the cure to free him of her compulsion, and until then, he would continue to act on Morana’s orders, killing the very people he’s sworn to protect. But now he’s here, and there’s a lump in my throat I can’t seem to swallow.

Henry coughs, and my attention snaps to the cell to my right.

My gaze meets Will’s, and suddenly the room is too small, and there’s too much space between us.

I want to run to him. I want to run away from him.

I don’t move at all.

Will keeps his back pressed against the boarded-up wall, his jaw clenched as he searches me for injury. Both he and Titus are bound in chains of Elysian Iron, hindering their ability to control Manan, but after what happened aboard the Mythslayer, when Will lifts his hand…

I stagger backward a step, toward Titus’s cell.

Will’s face twists in a tormented expression. Tears cut through the thick layer of blood that masks his freckles. He opens his mouth—closes it.

He keeps asking for you. So why doesn’t he say anything?

“I’m getting the feeling you didn’t come here just to see me.”

The low, rich voice comes from the third cell at the end of the row.

I force myself to look away from Will to where Diana sits atop a barrel, kicking her prosthetic leg, and locate the source of the voice standing beside her, draped casually against the iron bars.

The man’s dark brown skin and warm ochre eyes reflect the amber glow of the lanterns as he stretches his arms, looking almost as bored as Titus when he flashes a familiar, languid grin. “Lovely to see you again, princess,” he says smoothly, slipping his hand through the iron bars as if to shake mine.

I recognize him—the tall, lean human Lewis rescued from the Mythslayer.

When I reach for my dagger, the man brings a hand to his chest in exaggerated offense.

His eyes glitter with mischief. “You mean, you don’t remember me?”

“Give it a rest, Rook,” Gabriel huffs. “You’re hardly worth remembering.”

Rook. The member of the Starchaser’s crew whom Titus saved from the gallows the day Will first brought my family ashore—the same pirate who pretended to be Captain Shade the night Will ran a blade through his chest.

“A lifetime of friendship, and this is how he treats me,” Rook says, lips pursed in a mock pout. “Oh well, I suppose I can’t fault you, darling. I don’t believe you’ve ever laid eyes on my true form. What do you think?” He winks, and it’s as if a veil lifts, revealing the tapered points of his ears. “Worth the wait?”

I glance over my shoulder at Gabriel, who merely rolls his eyes. “Is he…?”

“The most charming elf in the Known World?” Rook offers.

Gabriel lifts a brow. “Insufferable? Yes.”

Diana laughs, cracking her knuckles. “Insufferable doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

I tap my fingers on the hilt of my dagger, but Rook raises his hands, as if to surrender.

“Relax, princess,” Rook coos, offering his hand once more. “I’m only flirting with you.”