AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I let out the air I’d been holding.
“I’m sure you’re tired,” he said. “I’ll keep an eye on things.”
I nodded and jumped up awkwardly. “Uh, thanks. Wake me when you’re ready to sleep.”
“Goodnight, Bryn.”
It was his turn to rest, and we both knew it, but I could hardly bring myself to say another word. I mumbled goodnight and crawled into my cabin, but I didn’t feel as tired as I should have. My heart was beating too fast. Warm energy burned in my hand and my emotions seemed crammed into a box tighter than this space. Nothing fit. Nothing felt right. Each day since I’d met Graham, another layer of guilt had settled in my stomach. It was getting heavier by the hour.
I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could force out tears, but they remained bottled up inside—my first symptom of dehydration. I needed something to release the pressure in my heart, so I focused hard, replacing my doubts with thoughts that would push me forward.
My family. My people.My mother.
My father.
It didn’t matter how hard this was. I repeated my motivations through my mind until the doubts eased just a little. Regardless of what I’d just told Graham about bad decisions, trying to continue on to Tramore was myonlychoice.
ChapterTwenty-Eight
When I opened my eyes,I knew I’d slept too long. I shot out to the deck, the unforgiving sun already high. I turned back toward my cabin to see Graham sitting on the stern above it, his hand on the tiller and his eyelids drooping.
He blinked. “Good morning, or afternoon, I suppose.”
“Have you been awake all this time?”
He stifled a yawn. “Yes, but I’m fine.”
I laughed. “Liar. You’re exhausted. Take a drink.” I gestured to the barrel.
“No, thank you. I drank not long ago.”
I frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He smiled to reassure me, but a red line appeared in the center of his cracked lips. “Perhaps I’m a little tired.”
“Good. Go to sleep. Now.”
“Yes, Imperatrix.”
“Shut up.” I took the compass from him and he went into his cabin. I should’ve thanked him for the sleep, but I could hardly look him in the eye.
I drank only when I couldn’t swallow without the moisture. There was little cloud cover and no rain now that I wanted it. Until we made it to an island, our water supply would have to do—and we’d already finished half the barrel.
I kept sailing northwest, as I hoped Graham had, but the view throughout the day was the same. Ocean on every horizon, with a few stray clouds drifting through the sky. The sun was the only thing that changed as it fell lazily toward the sea.
Alone on the deck, I waited, watching for a sign of land. When night fell, the vast blackness surrounded me. I kept sailing, my body weakening, each hour more hopeless than the last.
* * *
By late afternoonthe next day, the dryness in my eyes turned to a burn. I sat on the deck, taking cover in patches of shade cast by the sails. I picked up the water barrel and was about to take a sip when I realized it was almost completely empty.
I’d been drinking while Graham slept for hours. He’d gone too long without water.
I squeezed into his cabin and nudged him. “Hey, when’s the last time you had a drink?”
He squinted through one eye and groaned. The crack in his lip was deeper now.
I lifted his head and put the barrel to his lips, pouring water into his mouth before he could stop me.
