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She eyed Phoenix with judgmental eyes, as if the falcon should have stopped me from haring off across the ocean without her.
“Of course I’m all right,” I said. “But the town—”
My words cut off as a creaking sounded from the boat behind her. I leaned sideways to get a better view just as the entire vessel collapsed into planks of wood and flotsam that floated on the surface of the harbor.
My mouth fell open and my eyes widened as I turned to Amara, noting again the signs of exhaustion on her face.
“How long have you been holding that together with power alone?” I asked.
“Since we got caught in the storm two nights ago,” Luna said in hushed tones.
“Two nights ago!?” I stared at Amara. “I know you did wonders in Eldrida, but even you couldn’t expend that much power for days and nights without break.”
She smiled back at me. “Which is why it’s a very good thing I had help.”
“Help?” I looked over my shoulder at the rest of the group, my eyes landing on Costas. “Oh! Of course!”
Costas smiled wanly. Now that I was properly focusing on him, I could see even more obvious exhaustion on his face than Amara’s.
“It was actually nice to feel needed and appreciated for once.” As soon as he said the words, he winced, looking reflexively uphill toward the manor, as if the reminder of his family and past was painful.
“You came back,” I said quietly. “Thank you, Costas.”
He met my eyes. “I’m sorry for running like that. I was in shock and not thinking clearly. I was most of the way to the mainland before I realized I had stranded you on the island.”
“You never thought I was to blame?” I asked, surprised. It had been one of my biggest regrets that I hadn’t been able to explain what happened that night to Costas. Out of everyone he most deserved to know about his family’s end.
“I knew you weren’t involved.” He shot a dark look at Nik. “It was clear you were just as shocked and horrified as me. In fact, it looked like you’d been attacked as well. I’ve been berating myself for days for not taking you with me when I fled.”
Nik stirred, as if he wanted to protest. He would certainly not have allowed Costas to haul me off and shove me on a boat. I sent him a warning look. Until the whole story was explained, the best thing he could do was stay silent. From the way his eyes slid from mine, his tense muscles slumping, he understood the shaky ground beneath his feet.
Amara put a hand on my arm, examining me from head to toe. “There weren’t any injuries you couldn’t heal? You’re healthy now?”
“I’m fine. But it was a close thing. Ignatius ordered armed guards to attack me. Since their swords extended their reach so much, I couldn’t get close enough to make contact and use my power. I had to let them wound me enough that they thought they’d succeeded in wearing me down.”
Amara’s face paled, but it was Costas who spoke.
“Ignatius attacked you?” He sounded shocked. “Not Grey? It took me so long to find Nik that I was afraid Grey might have killed you before we got back.”
“To be fair, he did attack me first,” I conceded. “But Ignatius did far more damage.”
A slow light of understanding grew on Costas’s face, and he turned to give Nik another look.
“So that’s why Nik…” He didn’t seem able to finish the sentence.
I shook my head quickly. “No! Of course he didn’t! Nik isn’t the one who massacred your family.” Perversely, I felt incensed at the idea they had all been misjudging Nik, despite having made the same error myself.
“He wasn’t?” He raised both eyebrows, sounding skeptical.
Amara lowered her hand from my arm, but her face didn’t immediately relax. She looked across at Hayes. He nodded slowly to confirm he had sensed the truth of my words with his ability. Only then did relief fill her features.
“I was hoping there was a different explanation,” she said. “I felt sure there must be.”
“As did I.” Hayes narrowed his eyes. “But I’d like to hear the truth from Nik himself.”
I flushed at his oblique reference to the possibility that I had been taken in by Nik.
“I did not commit the massacre that happened that day,” Nik said in a level voice.
