Page 144 of A Sea of Fate and Starfire

The door closed behind me, and I watched my own hand close it. Shadows grew from the corners of the room, disappearing from behind the threshold. Static returned inside my head. Nonsense noise, like the fizzle of a flame or slowly ripping paper.

The door handle was smooth under my palm. I stroked it for a moment with my thumb. Considered opening it again, walking through and evicting Leal from his chair and staring at Kazimir’s Rivean fucking face until Maren decided she was finished.

Then I shook the thought away, leaving the door and its handle to sit with the shadows.

63

Maren

Leal had nodded off an hour ago.

His head rested against the wing of the chair’s backrest, legs crossed and hanging from the armrest. I suppose I should have woken him. Mihauna knew Kye would have expected me to.

But I didn’t.

I’d struck a nerve with Kazimir, and not one that led to any type of anger.

In the month since I’d begun questioning the Naiad, I’d learned to read his signals. Some things were easy for him to discuss, such as his early training with Oberon, who had intended to make Kazimir an assistant. The tasks Oberon performed leading up to his death. Where Oberon had been buried, and the few things that had been buried with him.

But I always knew when I toed too closely to a detail Kazimir was determined to keep veiled. He grew pensive, choosing his words like they were waves in a sea he was steering by ship, the safest route through dangerous waters.

“Where was Cerbin when Oberon died?” I’d asked, and he’d dropped his gaze to his hands as if they were less threatening than my eyes.

I let Leal sleep, knowing I’d glean more from Kazimir than if he were awake.

“In Verica,” he said, knotting his fingers together in his lap.

I studied him quietly, then transcribed the word. “The capital of Rivea.”

“Yes.”

“What was he doing there?”

A half shrug. “Learning to read, I think. We were kids. Five or six years old.”

Pen in hand, I propped my chin into my palm. “When was the last time you saw him?”

“Cerbin?”

Leal snored, startling me. I smiled into my hand, offering Kazimir a small nod to continue.

“Four months ago, I suppose. After the solstice feast in Verica.”

“Mmm.” My stomach growled as I pulled my chin away from my hand, rolling the feather pen between my fingers. It was nearly dark, and Kye would return soon, but a meal was still an hour or more away. “Did you meet him in secret?”

I’m not sure what made me ask, other than the way he navigated all my questions surrounding Cerbin as though they were something to be peeled apart and handled with care. His pupils dilated, the space between us sparking with surprise.

“I did,” he slowly said.

The ocean hummed outside the windows, quieter in my old tower than in Kye’s, which faced the open sea. I let it engulf the room for a few long moments, the only sound besides Leal’s snoring and our hearts softly beating.

My voice skimmed the soft silence. “Are you in love with him?”

“With Cerbin?” Kazimir laughed shyly, a glow lighting under his cheeks. He shifted, sitting up a bit higher, a bit firmer. His heel tapped the floor fast enough his pants rippled, though he didn’t seem to notice. His attention had returned to his hands, laced together in his lap.

“I don’t care if you are,” I reminded him, watching his foot. “I just want to find Selena.”

We’d agreed before he vowed in blood and I’d unlocked the cell door: Kazimir didn’t have to volunteer information, but he did have to answer my questions. With only truth.