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Eyes closed, I tried to calm my mind, tried to reach her, desperate to hear the soothing tone of her voice. It never came.
“Are we . . . are we going under again?” Sander asked, a little breathless.
“No. We’re headed there.” I pointed toward the cliffs. “Gain your sea legs in the meantime. The lot of you can hardly stand upright.”
Sander glowered at me, but a grin played in the corner of his mouth when Tait shoved the prince’s arm and handed him a bit of hardtack.
“Eat. It helps.”
Sander took the cake, breaking it in two. “How would you know, sea fae?”
Tait shrugged. “It’s what our queen told me once.”
The mention of Livia was a harsh bite of pain across the chest. The longer we were parted, the more her very name was a blade, twisting deeper and deeper.
“Bloodsinger, I have questions.” Jonas stepped beside the helm. “Why, I’d like to know, am I not utterly drenched, when not moments ago the sea was digging into my brain?”
“Wouldn’t serve us well if we were always wet,” I said. “There are spells laced in every grain of wood, every thread of the sails, and every bone on this ship, for when we surface and dive again and again.”
Jonas inspected his damp tunic, a little bewildered. “No doubt Sander will tell you that is fascinating and will likely wish to read up on it, but I will not give you the satisfaction. It’s only mildly interesting.”
The man had beaten me, doubtless would’ve reveled in killing me, but, in this moment, I could see why Livia enjoyed his company.
He was tolerable.
“Is she really your queen?” Jonas asked, voice lower than before. Levity abandoned his features, only to be replaced with a furrow of disquiet. “You took vows? I’ll have you know every queen back home will be rather perturbed if you did. Especially my mother who has no daughters to help ready for vow ceremonies.”
My grip tightened on the handles. “Kings do not vow in the Ever, at least they never have. My word made her queen, but she is more.”
“More what, Bloodsinger? I want to understand you. How is it you come to our land, attack us,take her, then return with the same anger, same fire, only now it revolves solely around Livia?”
“Do you remember the war, Prince? The aftermath?”
“I’ll never forget it. I remember you.” He nodded toward Tait. “I even remember your cousin. Two boys, who looked so much like me, were all that remained of this great sea fae army.”
“I will never forget it either,” I said, voice rough. “I will never forget how an earth fae girl, the daughter of my father’s killer, came to my cell every night and tried to befriend me.”
“What are you talking about?”
I scoffed. “You think your little festival was the first night we ever met? You think it was happenstance I singled out the earth bender’sdaughter?” I reached into my tunic and pinched the silver swallow charm between my fingers. “Think again, Prince.”
Jonas’s eyes darkened. “I’ve seen this. After the battle, we made totems and Livie bought this charm and made . . .” He lifted his eyes. “But she had nightmares of you returning. I thought she feared you.”
“Perhaps she did, in a way. The night she gave me this, I vowed Iwouldreturn. At the time I thought it would be to kill the earth bender, but it all changed.”
“She never said her worries came because she bleedingknewyou.”
“Now you know.” I paused for a few breaths. “My heart has been hers for turns, not weeks. It has been bonded to her since the war. That is what I mean when I say she is more than my queen. She is my every thought, my every breath, Prince.”
Jonas tilted his head back, gazing at the clear blue of the sky. Muscles tightened in his jaw. I could not read if he was furious or simply boggled. After a moment, he cleared his throat, nodding. “So, where is this place we are going, and how will it help us find Liv?”
I arched a brow, tensed, and ready to fight with more venom for my bond. “That’s all?”
“What more do you want me to say?” Jonas cocked his head. “Livie is like my sister, and all I’ve ever wanted for her is a man who will always fight for her, always love her. Didn’t expect it to be you, of course, but here we are. I do hope I get to rot some of these bastards who betrayed you. I can, you know. Rot their brains with nightmares.”
“What?” Celine’s voice cut in. “What did you say?”
Jonas flashed her a white smile. “That’s right, lovely. Nightmares can be quite corrosive.”
