Page 166 of Reign

Emma hesitated, then took it. As Billy placed his other hand atop hers, his eyes rolled back, and he began chanting in an unintelligible tongue. At first, Emma remained unchanged. Then her eyes widened, her pupils swelling until her irises turned blacker than coal. Saliva beaded on her bottom lip, tears streamed down her cheeks, and a thin trickle of blood dripped from her nose.

For a long, tense moment, she remained frozen in that pained expression. But as Billy withdrew his hands, light slowly returned to her eyes.

Emma clasped her head, gasping as though she’d barely escaped a predator.

“Are you all right, love?” Margaret asked, rubbing her back in tender concern.

“Yes,” Emma whispered, peering through her fingers—an innocence etched into her frightened eyes.

“What did you see?” Jane pressed, eagerly leaning forward.

Emma wiped the blood from her nose with the back of her hand. She hesitated, her gaze flicking from Billy to me, then to Bash, before locking eyes with Margaret.

“Well?” Billy urged.

“Nothing,” Emma managed to squeak out. “Nothing but endless black. I mustn’t have the gift of visions like Regina.”

“Very strange,” Billy muttered, tapping his hairy chin thoughtfully. “Perhaps I needed to be blind for it to work after all.”

I nodded, finding his assumption plausible.

“Excuse me,” Emma said, stumbling to her feet. “I’m parched.”

I watched as she bumbled her way to the bar, her gaze distant as she placed a tankard beneath the keg. After a moment, ale overflowed and spilled onto the floor, jolting her back to the present. I wondered why she appeared so unsettled after claiming she had seen nothing—perhaps being faced with eternal darkness had stirred questions she wasn’t ready to confront.

“If you’ll give me a moment,” Margaret announced as she rose, gathering Fitzroy’s battle plan. “I’m going to review this in my private chambers.” With parchment in hand, she ducked beneath the curtain.

“Anyone want another ale?” Jane asked, strutting toward the bar.

“Please,” Bash replied, trailing after her. “Smith?” he called back.

I shook my head, craving a moment of fresh air.

Stepping into the cooling night, the door closing behind me muffled Fletcher’s loud voice—his attempts to coax Billy into a card game fading as I walked along the wooden planks.

I took a seat at the end of the dock, my legs swinging over the edge as I savored a rare moment of stillness. During my months at Cambas, I’d grown to find comfort in the sound of the rolling waves—the tide sweeping inland, carrying away the remains of the day and leaving the beach a clean slate.

A moment later, the creak of approaching footsteps caught my attention. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Bash settling beside me. I didn’t mind his interruption; his company was a comfort.

“I cannot wait for this to be over,” he murmured. “I don’t want to spend another night in Cambas.”

“Me too,” I agreed, watching the sea shimmer under the gentle glow of the moonlight.

Bash leaned back, resting his hands behind him as he stared up at the stars twinkling overhead. I mirrored him, my hand landing close to his—our fingers almost touching.

“My father used to say those blinking lights are the eyes of the gods,” Bash said, looking skyward. “Always watching over us—they see everything we do, both good and bad.”

I thought of all the misdeeds the gods might hold against me. Yet my mind lingered more on the wrongs I’d done to Bash.

“I promise I’ll never lie to you again,” I whispered, tracing a cross over my heart with my fingertip. “I swear that everything that happened between us—every laugh and kiss, all those nights I stole your warmth—it was real. Every moment of it.”

Tears welled in my eyes, guilt burned in my chest, and worry twisted my gut. I hoped—prayed—that I hadn’t lost my grip on him entirely.

“I believe you,” Bash said, wiping away the tears clinging to my chin.

A deep breath escaped me, relieved that he was so understanding. Even now, after everything, I still felt at ease in his presence. There was no company I preferred to his. I wanted to spend every second near him.

“Do you remember when you promised to take me to the Headlands?” I asked, my thoughts drifting past the battle on the morrow to the future—one I hoped he’d be a part of.