Page 98 of The Stolen Crown

“Hopefully.”

“Hmm. I don’t appreciate the uncertainty.”

I chuckled. “Then, yes. Absolutely. Keep a weather eye on the horizon, Vicious. The Ever approaches by nightfall.”

Mira pulled her feet from the tides and crouched beside the curved sliver of wood. “The shadows tell you which direction we’re sailing?”

“It works better at night. When the stars align, I will be able to use the constellations with more ease. The skies are different in the Far Seas, but thankfully Voidwalker will be with us.”

Mira grinned. “He does travel.”

“Every sky it seems.” I lowered to one knee and pointed out the notches I’d carved in the wood. “He is bonded to several star chains from what I’ve noticed. The Far Seas”—I pointed to the new angle of the warrior constellation—“the Ever will show him with his arrow pointing the way.” I dragged my finger to a notch of three stars. “When he reaches the earth realms, his arrow points to an odd cluster of stars. To me, it looks like he is aiming for them.”

“What does the star cluster represent?”

I lifted my gaze. “I don’t know. It’s your sky, not mine. You’ll need to tell me his story when he steps into your heavens.”

Mira’s smile widened. “All right. Well, I say the Far Seas are”—Mira tapped one finger against her chin—“it seems like the spiral could be a scroll. It is his map, the beginning of his warrior journey. This is where he nocks his arrow. Then, in the Ever, he spies his treasure.”

“And the cluster in the earth fae realms is…what?”

Mira tilted her head. “His heart, Hearttalker. His arrow points him toward it and he finds it there.”

Like me. The thought was fleeting, but I could not deny it felt true. “And would said heart search for him much the same?”

Mira traced the tops of my knuckles. “No question.”

There was little to do in open water on such a small vessel. We attempted to fish off a simple line tossed over the side, then argued, laughed, jested, and rowed. After another chime, I raised the stone.

Dammit. Nothing but a few sea leaves wrapped around the knot.

In the Ever Seas, small creatures with gelatinous bodies swam near the surface. Small enough they were rarely noticed or even seen, but when something like an anchor or a stone dragged through the currents, the moment it surfaced, hundreds stuck to the sides. When air struck their skin, their jellylike form hardened and turned a vibrant cerulean shade as they died.

I was confident we sailed in the direction of the Ever, but with unfamiliar seas, I could not puzzle out how long it might take to reach my kingdom. After losing some supplies during the first length, if we rationed food, we would have, perhaps, five days. Water, a few days more.

Surely, the Sea Void had not been knocked off course so violently.

Mira snaked her arms around my middle and propped her chin onto my shoulder. “You’ve gone back to surviving again.”

I covered one of her hands with my palm. “I was not. There is nothing on my mind.”

With care, Mira rounded me to stand in front, careful not to knock us into the sea. “I’ve no doubt you’re going to get us home safely, although I am sorry about your little clock.”

“You know it’s called a pocket watch by now, right?”

“Are we really going to have this argument when I was about to drape you in sweet words?”

“No.” I grinned. “Drape me, Vicious.”

“As I was saying…” Mira hooked her arm through mine. “Do you ever recall me questioning you on the isle?”

“Many times.”

“Let me rephrase.” She cleared her throat. “Do you ever recall me telling you that I did not think we were going to survive? Hmm? No, you didn’t, because I never doubted I would survive with you. We’ll get there.”

“And if we run out of food?”

“We’ll fish.”