Page 91 of Seaborn and the Seven Seas

Theron said nothing. He stared into the fire, lost somewhere inside the flame.

I had so many questions for Theron. Whether he had wings. Whether he was the one I’d heard land on his ship that night, dropping onto the deck when he thought everyone was asleep. Whether Selene had wings too, because I was certain I’d heard two sets of feet that night.

But I said nothing. Not here. Not in front of everyone. I filed it away in the back of my mind until he was ready to tell me. If he ever trusted me enough.

Jina’s nose crinkled. “If this Priestess has such power, why didn’t the Seelie queen hunt her down and take it for herself? She would be unstoppable.”

“The Priestess guards her own village.” Theron’s boot scuffed the leaves as he leaned back. “The queen has never found her. She never will.”

“Then how do we find her if the queen can’t?” Ranis furrowed his brow.

“Because of those.” Theron nodded toward my pocket. “The pure stones will lead us to her.”

The fire popped.

“You could have mentioned that earlier.” I jabbed a finger in his direction.

His mouth curved. “You didn’t ask.”

Ugh. He knew exactly what he was doing. I opened my mouth to fire back and came up empty. Because in truth, I didn’t want to argue with that mouth. I wanted to kiss him instead.

Stop thinking about last night.

Our conversation halted. Minha and Jina curled together under their blanket. Ranis pulled his over his shoulders and was snoring within minutes. Fraya stretched out with the ease of someone used to hard ground.

Theron just stared at the stars.

Eventually my eyelids grew heavy and I drifted off. When sleep finally came it dragged me under fast, and with it came pain.

I was dreaming—arm outstretched, fingers grasping for something I couldn’t touch. Wings spread wide behind a man, dark against a sky that burned. Fire blazed through my body, not from the outside but from within, searing through every nerve, like being torn apart.

I couldn’t reach him. No matter how far I stretched, he stayed just beyond my reach.

Then his voice, close and certain despite the distance.

“I will find you.”

I woke with a gasp, hand pressed against my chest, heart hammering against my palm.

The fire had dimmed. The flapping of wings brought me back to our makeshift camp in the forest. Everyone slept except Theron, who was nowhere to be found—at least not within view. Did that pirate never sleep?

A rustling from the bushes ahead pulled me to my feet. The fire had burned down to embers, throwing just enough dim light to see the ground in front of me. I moved toward the sound, one step at a time, the night air cool against my face.

I stepped closer, breath caught in my throat.

Hellena. Her enormous and powerful wings spread wide and silent against the moonlight, nothing like the beautiful things Fraya’s grandmother had described. These were built for distance. Built for survival.

She wasn’t alone. Five others stood with her in the clearing, faces I didn’t recognize, wings folded at their backs, speaking in low voices I couldn’t catch.

Then Theron stepped out from the shadows to meet them. No wings.

I pressed myself against the trunk when he turned toward the direction I stood.

He spoke to them in low tones, head bent. One of the winged figures reached out and gripped his shoulder. Theron nodded once. Perhaps they had escaped the Seelie queen. Perhaps Hellena had always been one of them—hidden, surviving, waiting.

And then I recalled what Theron’s mother had told him when they’d thought I was asleep. Look to the sky, son.

I hadn’t understood it when she’d said it. But watching them now—wings dark against the moon—his mother’s words clicked into place.