Page 219 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

A muffled shout flies through the air.

My head snaps up.

“What is⁠—”

“Shh,” Anders hisses.

He adjusts his hold on the straps over his shoulder. His nostrils flare, and his narrowed eyes scan our surroundings.

I hold my breath. My heart beats hard against my sternum.

Long seconds pass until the tension rolls off Anders’s back. “The wind must’ve carried the sound from the city.”

I sigh, but concern for the innocent citizens immediately grips my chest. “Why would pirates attack Virendrell?”

As children, Lev regaled me and Ferria with stories of the seafaring criminals who roamed the seas long before the Shadow War.

He painted them as roguish men and clever women who stole from wealthy merchant ships of faraway lands, not villains who attack unsuspecting cities at night.

“I don’t know.” Anders keeps his gaze forward. “But the mayor’s soldiers are well trained. They should have no trouble stopping their invasion.”

Should.

Not will.

I chew the inside of my cheek.

We approach a cliff wall. I pray to Olyra that Anders isn’t going to insist we climb the rocky surface.

Then, like an answered prayer, the waves roll back into the sea, revealing a sliver of beach.

“We will have to wade through the water.” Anders looks pointedly at my fancy footwear. “You may want to remove your sandals.”

“Okay.”

He releases my arm, and I kneel and hike my skirt to my knee to access the clasp at the top of my shin.

A choked cough sounds overhead.

I lift my chin.

Silver moonlight reveals the dark hue coloring Anders’s cheekbones as he averts his gaze.

I suppress a grin and get back to work.

Only, I can’t get the clasp open.

“Gods’ curses,” I grumble when the delicate metal pinches my finger.

Anders clears his throat. “Allow me.”

He kneels in the sand and motions to my leg. “May I?”

I nod and drop my hands.

Strong, slender fingers hover over my skin before his thumb and forefinger press on either side of the tiny metal contraption. A zip of Anders’s power jolts through my shin.

My magic flickers, and my gaze snaps up as the clasp opens, and the straps wrapped around my calf give way.