Page 72 of The Stolen Crown

I did not know if Mira believed such lore, but the way she looked at me, almost insistent, I could not find the will to disappoint her.

I propped my arms on the tops of my bent knees. “I trusted him.”

Mira faced me, studied me as though she searched for something in my features, but didn’t speak.

“My trust is not given easily, but Boneseer always had it.”

“Is there a reason?”

I cleared a scratch from my throat. “He stood between me and Harald during the war.”

“I don’t understand.”

“After the first battle,” I said, voice rough, “my father was frustrated over our losses. He blamed me as he always did, but that day was different. Harald had no restraint, and I still believe he would’ve sent me to the Otherworld if Boneseer had not stepped between us. He stood against my father, a lord. He brought other crewmen. He defended me.”

Mira blinked rapidly and looked at the dead man on the shore. Her lips tightened, but again, she said nothing.

I’d never spoken to Boneseer about that day, nor mentioned how I had admired him since childhood. But all at once it was as though the lone admission created a sieve and my words flowed out.

“He was the one who taught me how to tie down a sail.” I chuckled. “I was horrible at it, and I never knew anyone could curse so much, but he didn’t pass me off as hopeless. He kept teaching me until I got the knots just right.”

Mira freed a watery laugh. “He likely wrote a shanty about all his frustrations.”

“The Boy Who Ought Never to Sail.” My hesitant grin faded after a breath. “When it was obvious Harald…kept putting hands on me, Boneseer was the one who told me it was a coward’s way to beat someone weaker.”

“Tait.” Mira’s palm moved like she might reach for me, but she curled her fingers into a fist instead.

Familiar tension knotted behind my neck. I did not want pity, and I did not want to speak of what Harald Songtaker did or did not do any longer.

I stood and brushed sand off my trousers. “I’ll send him to the gods properly.”

Mira didn’t try to stop me.

Somewhere while untangling Boneseer from the rigging, Mira joined me. She provided a mat of dry leaves, sacrificing a few of our prepared boards from our skiff, and helped me lift Boneseer on top. Mira stood by, silently humming the tune to the Ever Ship’s shanty while I lit a fire stick.

If we’d been in the Royal City, Boneseer would’ve been positioned in a skiff, surrounded by offerings of the crew, then set out to sea, where archers would ignite his body in flames.

A funeral pyre on the shore would have to do.

Once more, Mira sat at my side, closer than before, and watched the fire devour the dry leaves and wood.

“Tills vi ses igen,” she whispered. With a somber smile she peered at me. “It means ‘Until we meet again.’ ”

My mouth twitched in the barest of smiles. I studied the flames, arms propped on the tops of my knees. “I will look forward to seeing you again one day”—I paused—“my friend.”

22

The Illusionist

His hair was as dark as a moonless night, face pale and sharp. Cruel. Those eyes that were dull as the dead held me captive, trapped.

“What a lovely little girl.” There was a low, violent rumble to his voice. Malice and venom, like a creature from one of the hells had risen from the depths.

Maj tried to hide me, but those long icy fingers coiled around my wrists and pulled me away from her protection. All I could do was scream. Tears, panic, terror, all of it throttled me around the throat.

Daj burst in. Rage, violence, fear. I would never forget the horror in the eyes of the man who loved me from my first breath. He held a sword. The creature capturing me, stealing me away from those who loved me most, only mocked my mother and father.

His laughter needled through my skin into my veins and flowed like ice. Shadows engulfed me, and I was ripped away…