Page 85 of His Noble Ruin

“No.” I pushed it away. “Take it to Graham.” At that moment, I didn’t care if he saw Cael. I only cared that he survived.

Cael pulled back the barrel but didn’t stand. Instead, he sank lazily to the rocky shore, smiling with tight lips. “Hm . . . no. I don’t see any reason to do that.”

“What?” I was too weary to put the anger behind my words, but I felt the burn of fury all the same. My hatred for him returned, stronger than I would’ve thought my body could contain.

“You changed the plan on me,” he said. “You bloodyknockedme out and took my boat. I had to steal one from a fisherman to come after you!”

“I thought . . . I thought you’d kill him.”

“I wasn’t going to!” he shouted. “But now that you’ve done this”—he gestured with both arms at the situation—“I think it’s fair if I make a few changes to the plan myself.”

“No,” I said, reaching for the barrel. “You can’t let him die.”

“Yes, I can,” said Cael. “It will savesomuch trouble. We could just go home. The job would be done.”

I gripped his shirt, a sudden surge of energy in my veins. “Help him.” I shook him and shouted in his face. “Help him!”

He peeled my fingers off the fabric. My shaky arms couldn’t fight back.

“Well,” he said, “I’ve hardly slept in days, so it’s time to say goodnight. You should have enough strength to find more water when this is empty, as long as you don’t waste any on him.” He stood up, brushing off his clothes. “I’ll be watching you. So, do the right thing, okay?”

He walked along the shore, into the darkness.

“Come back!” My voice was hoarse and desperate, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t strong enough to get the barrel to Graham on my own. “You can’t do this. If you walk away, you can forget your reward!”

“Oh, yeah?” He turned, shaking his head. “Do you think I’ll keep your secrets if you don’t follow through?”

He wouldn’t. I’d always known that. My threats were meaningless.

“Also—” Cael reached for something in his belt. “If he does live, and you don’t finish the job, I will. And I’ll do it the way I’ve always thought it should be done.” Moonlight revealed a pistol in his hand.

I shook my head. I’d taken his pistol when I knocked him out and couldn’t imagine how he’d found another one, but I didn’t doubt he’d use it. “No. I’ll do it!”

“Good.” He tucked the weapon into his belt and turned around, fading into the night.

ChapterTwenty-Nine

I reachedfor the water barrel Cael left behind and forced myself to stand on trembling legs. The rocks scraped and trapped my feet in their crevices. I stumbled to the ground. Sharp rocks tore my knees and I dropped the barrel. Crawling forward, I wrapped my arm around it again and continued across the moonlit shore.

Each step sent a bolt of pain through my head. My burning eyes fought to stay open, even in the darkness, and my vision dimmed until I couldn’t tell if they were open or shut.

I need more water,I thought.

No,a voice in my mind argued. Graham won’t have enough.

If I don’t, we’ll both die.

He might already be dead.

Don’t you dare.

Please.

Don’t.

I uncorked the barrel and took a sip. The smooth flow enlivened me enough to move my feet a few more steps. My vision cleared to reveal glossy black water up to my knees.

I trudged through the water to the side of the boat. The barrel wasn’t hard to toss onto the deck, but my weakened body wouldn’t be so easy. I reached my hands up and gripped the boat, but my fingers felt limp. I lifted my feet out of the thigh-deep water, searching for footholds in the wooden hull. My arms shook, and my heart pounded so fast that I thought it would burst.

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