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“Keep in mind”—Rowan’s voice rang loud and clear over the water—“if things don’t change soon, we’ll make them change.”
I looked back at her. “Just give me a little time, Rowan. It’s not worth risking the lives of your people just yet. Thingswillchange, I promise.”
I turned away and continued through the water that had gone from cold to icy. I’d made plenty of promises before and none of them had gone as planned.
Later that afternoon,I sat on the stern of the boat with the rough wood of the tiller under my palm and the patchy cloud cover continuously shifting the sunlight from cool to warm as we continued to Tramore.
Cait and Lachlan rested on the bow together. They never broke away from each other’s touch, and they seemed far more interested in searching each other’s eyes than the ocean. Cait leaned her head on Lachlan’s shoulder as they spoke in hushed tones.
If it had been any other couple, their affection might’ve made me a little queasy. But I couldn’t blame them. It had been threeyears since they’d seen each other, after all. And besides, they’d come to support me. They could’ve chosen to remain on Gellor if they’d wanted, but Cait had proven her loyalty and insisted on staying with me, even after she’d found Lachlan. And I was grateful.
Still. I looked away from the couple, focusing on the western horizon.
“Which island is that?” Cait asked, pointing over the port side of the boat.
A dark lump in the distance sent a shudder down my spine and a dull ache into my nearly healed bullet wound.
“Ash Island,” I said softly.
“Ah.” She nodded. “So, that’s where those Enforcers got stranded?”
“That’s the one,” I said. Over the past few days at sea, before Lachlan joined us, I’d told her everything I thought she should know about my previous journey to Tramore.
Cait raised both hands high in the air, extending her middle fingers in a very non-Class A gesture, blasting the distant island with colorful obscenities.
Lachlan laughed. “How many Enforcers are stuck there?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “I never saw how many arrived in the boat the islanders stole.” I eyed the island, wondering if the Enforcer who’d shot me happened to be watching our boat pass from the shore, begging for rescue, but we were too far away to tell. I smiled at the thought of the nobles trying to forage for mushrooms and sleep in damp caves.
“Where are the islanders that stole the boat?” asked Lachlan.
“No idea,” I said. I’d often wondered the same thing. After Keane and his men dropped us off on the shores of Tramore, I’d wondered where they’d gone.
Cait grinned. “Wherever they are, they’re gonna be a nightmare to the Academy.”
“Tramore is almost two days away,” I said. “We’ll need to take shifts to get through the night. Can I trust the two of you to stop gazing into each other’s eyes long enough to keep us on course?”
“Sure,” said Lachlan.
“Nope,” said Cait. “It’s best to just let me sleep.”
I laughed. “You’ve spent the past three years sleeping, my friend. I know what prison’s like. Bad food and long naps.”
“I know, I know,” she said. “I’m not completely serious.”
“Are you ever?” I shook my head. “Somehow, you seemed so dignified back in prison.”
She snorted. “Only compared to the rest of them.”
“She was never your average Cambrian,” said Lachlan with pride.
“Yes, she’s very tough.” I raised an eyebrow at Cait, suppressing a smile. “And that’s why she’s taking the first night shift.”
The next twodays ran together, until the backlit hills of Tramore loomed in front of us. The sun sat low in the west behind the island, casting a shadow over our boat as we approached.
I stood up on the bow, the waves carrying us closer and closer to the island and my moment of truth. It seemed like a lifetime ago when I’d left Graham trapped in the pit here. And yet, I still hadn’t come up with the right words to say, both to him and to those who held him prisoner. But my words shouldn’t matter. The fact that I was here had to mean more than anything I could say.
We sailed around the island until we came to the western shore. Humble, thatched houses dotted the hill in the rosy light of sunset, the village extending to the water’s edge. We anchored the boat in the shallows, but my feet seemed to merge with the wooden deck, afraid to move.
