Page 11 of The Song of the Void

“Would you prefer I lick the sweat off your neck?” It sounded more degrading out of my mouth than the threat I thought it was in my head. I pressed my lips against his ear. “Or maybe I’ll just put some holes in your throat and drink your blood. Sirens do that to evil men, you know.”

We didn’t do that, but I wanted him to be at least a little uncomfortable. It didn’t work.

“Stop threatening to bite me. You’re not an animal.” Despite the sweat that rolled down his neck and back, Reiven seemed to enjoy the heat, but that was probably because I was miserable and wilting.

The rhythmic creaking of Ashkade’s wagon beside our horse reminded me I had one other—particularly influential—person to get pity from.

“Ash, tell him to give me water.”

“Give her the water, Rei.”

Ashkade wasn’t so bad. At least he was more pliable than his bodyguard. His grip on the reins from his seat on the covered wagon was so tight, I would have been surprised if he had feeling in his fingers. Motion sick, poor guy. His face was as pale as a shark’s belly.

“How much further?” he groaned.

“You can see the city right there. It’ll be an hour, tops. Probably less if you stop whining.” Reiven actually unhooked his waterskin and whacked me in the face with it as he flung it over his shoulder. I guzzled some of the lukewarm water, exhaling in relief as it brought me new life and energy.

Ash squinted up at the sun. “I’m gonna die.”

“I’ve had enough of both of you complaining to last me a lifetime.” With a click of his tongue and a flick of his wrists, Reiven urged our horse into a gallop towards the city. The burst of speed as I tilted my head back for another drink knocked the waterskin out of my hands, spilling its contents all over me. I had to throw my arms around Reiven to keep from flying off, and I could have sworn I heard him chuckle.

Bastard.

As we blasted away from him, Ashkade moaned for us to slow down, but the wind whipping through my ponytail drowned out his weak voice. And inside that wind, I caught a whiff of something I hadn’t smelled or tasted in years.

Saltwater. The ocean.

By the time Ash caught up to us, Reiven and I had dismounted our horse and were in the middle of arguing about how close I had to stay to him. We had tested the limits of the Druinnic binding during our journey across the desert, and the memory still burned in my mind: Reiven sauntering off all smug, while the chain manifested to yank me by the throat towards him the moment he was just a black smear against the burning desert sky. Pretty sure I still had grains of sand in my nose from face-planting in the dunes.

I thanked the heartless Spirits for the few hundred feet of separation we were allowed, and I accepted—begrudgingly—that I was doomed to stay with him for now. But Reiven seemed to want to take things a step further. As in, not-letting-me-out-of-his-sight further.

Ash climbed down from the wagon bench on shaky legs and leaned heavily on his crutch as he hobbled over to get in between us and our argument.

“Ash!” I cried. “I just want to look at the ocean, if your shrimp-for-brains bodyguard tries to keep me⁠—”

Poor kid couldn’t even let me finish before losing his lunch—for the fifth time on our journey so far—all over the road of packed sand that made up the major thoroughfare into Porscana. His bodyguard grabbed a fresh waterskin out of the wagon for him while I rubbed his back and whispered, “If you give me some money, I’ll buy some herbs I know of that will help with your motion sickness. You’re going to be miserable on the ship if you don’t take something for it.”

Natural, under-sea methods of healing had been one of my passions when I was younger, and even in captivity I found myself fascinated by surface-dweller medicines. One of the attendants at Nightwhisper had taken a shine to me and taught me a bit about plants that could be used medicinally and for fragrance. Lavender, chamomile, primrose, sage… She always gave me a bottle of the infused water to wash myself with when she discovered some new herb or flower.

“Or she could poison you,” Reiven cut in as his young employer swished out the taste of vomit from his mouth and spat the water on the ground.

Ash’s eyes flicked up to mine, and he gave me a grin. He had a sweet, warm smile, nothing like Reiven’s cocky smirk.

Don’t you dare let this boy worm his way into your good graces, Zephra. You’re going to kill him, end of story.

“We’re going to travel ‘cross the ocean for months, y’know. You’ll see it soon, Zephra.”

At least he actually called me by my name, while Reiven stuck with his completely unoriginal nickname.

“Rei, give her some money. Feel free to get anythin’ else you need while we’re here.”

All I had to my name were the clothes on my back. But if the Timebreaker was going to give me an opportunity to spend his money and potentially acquire an item Reiven might find dangerous in my hands, then fuck yes.

“Rei,” I said, my voice layered with thick, false sweetness as I used Ashkade’s nickname for him. “Your boss just told you to give me some money.” I held out my palm expectantly.

“What are you going to buy?”

“I could use some new undergarments, something with a lot of lace. Are you going to follow me around the shop and watch me try them on?”