Page 69 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

And as we draw closer to the fabled land where Fae and humans live in harmony, one terrible question settles in my chest.

When Virendrell’s leaders sense Rian’s interest in me, will they offer me protection?

Or use me to punish their enemy?

14

My back muscles scream from sitting upright. My eyes burn from fatigue. Sleep hovers within reach, but I don’t dare take it.

I don’t know what waits for us in Virendrell, and the not knowing coils tightly, keeping me alert.

Minutes stretch into hours as the boat slices through dark water. The sea is calm now, yet my stomach churns all the same. But this nausea has nothing to do with the waves.

It’s him.

Rian’s attention continues to pin me in place even as his oars move in rhythm with Silas’s.

Our pace is steady, our distance from Draven and Darius’s dinghy consistent. Ahead, the white ship cuts through the water with impressive speed, moving farther away with each row from its crew.

I shift on the wooden bench. My hands twist. Waiting is tedious, made worse with Rian’s loaded stare.

Maybe I can pass the time reading the diary?

Before I reach into my satchel for the leather-bound book, I change my mind.

I won’t be able to focus on anything I read while Rian watches.

The markings on my arms lie dormant, but their shape pulses against my skin, their presence an oppressive reminder of promises I made and what my fate will be if I fail. My eyes unfocus, and my thoughts drift.

Lightly calloused hands caress my cheek. Warm brown eyes crinkle at the corners as Lev smiles.

“I care about you, Elara. I want you to be mine.”

My adolescent heart, the one that’s craved acceptance from my peers for so long, soars.

I lean into the most admired boy in town’s touch. A shy smile pulls at my lips. “I want that, too.”

His grin widens, and adoration shines from the depth of his gaze. “Can I kiss⁠—”

A seagull’s cry slices through the memory. Raucous cheers rise from the distant longboat.

I blink, forcing myself to ignore the pain in my heart when I think of Lev’s betrayal.

Ahead of me, Silas twists in his seat, glancing toward the white ship before groaning.

“Thank The Mother,” he mutters. “Finally.”

I peer over his shoulder, squinting. At first, there’s nothing. Only Darius and Draven’s dinghy and the longboat cutting through the water.

Then a thin white line etches itself along the horizon, so faint it nearly disappears into the seam of sea and sky.

I focus on it. The line thickens. Solidifies.

My fingers curl hard around the edge of the bench.

We’re here.

The white structure takes shape. It’s a seawall. Its glittery surface shimmers under the sunlight just like the longboat.