Page 50 of Pearls of Salt and Sacrifice

Calix curled his limbs around her fingers and began to purr. A sensation of unease rose in Reva’s stomach as she listened to the sounds falling from above them. “They’re up too early.” When her voice cracked, she thumped a fist against her chest and coughed. “Something’s going on.”

“I’m sure they’re looking for you.”

She winced and nodded. This would be a good time to say some sort of farewell, but no words seemed adequate. Calix squeaked as she held him toward Jareth.

“You best take him,” she said, unable to conceal the hitch in her voice. “I need to let my people know I’m home.”

Jareth’s eyebrows lowered, but he reached for Calix. The kraken shrieked and clung more tightly to her fingers, his suckers making loud pops as Jareth tried to pry him loose. Reva nearly changed her mind, listening to the tiny creature’s wails of distress. She’d gotten so used to him napping in her pocket, like a little fur-less kitten she could take anywhere…

No wonder Jareth’s pockets were always full.

But Jareth finally succeeded in sliding his hand across the top of hers to dislodge the baby. Calix continued to writhe and cry as Jareth slipped him into one of his own deep pockets. Only then did the man meet her gaze.

“Should I escort you to the castle?” he asked, stuffing Calix back into his pocket when the little blob managed to escape. Grimacing, Jareth secured the buckle and trapped the poor thing inside his vest.

Calix’s frustrated squeaking made Reva feel even worse.

“No, I think it would be best if we said goodbye here,” she said uneasily. “It’s a safe bet you won’t be welcome, and it may take me a while to explain things.”

Jareth flinched. “Will I see you again?”

I hope so, she thought, but her lips formed the words, “I don’t know,” instead. She cleared her throat and forged ahead. “I’m going to try to make arrangements for the children and elderly to come here temporarily. If you can give me a few days to figure out the details—”

“Reva.”

She stared down at her boots sinking into the white sand.

“Don’t do this.” Jareth’s hand twitched at his side, and she wondered if he would reach for her, but he didn’t. “Don’t—don’t marry Felix. Please. Is there anything I can say that will change your mind?”

There were a million things he could probably say, but she knew if she gave him an inch of encouragement, she’d never be able to stick to her plan.

Marry Felix. Feed your people.

“I’m sorry, Jareth,” she finally managed.

Then she spun on her heel and dashed across the sand, away from the sea, away from him.

Why did it feel as if an invisible cord were pulling her back? And why did she still feel like she was making a terrible mistake?

When Reva reached the stone staircase that would take her from the beach to the top of the first ring of cliffs, she nearly succumbed to the desire to look back. Faltering on the bottom step, she gripped the stone railing and gathered the last of her determination.

This was best for her people, and she needed to stay strong, no matter what it cost her personally.

And so she climbed.

The din inside the castle grew louder the higher she ran. Instead of taking the fork in the staircase that would lead to the main courtyard, Reva took the narrower path that climbed around the outside of the cliffs. It would lead her around to a side entrance that overlooked the western sea. It shouldn’t be as busy, and she’d be able to slip inside without having to explain to a dozen people how she had managed to get home on her own.

She hoped anyway.

Reva left the exterior staircase when it opened onto a small rock outcropping that served as a balcony. The castle warmth wrapped around her when she slipped through the back door, entering the narrow hallway that led to the servants’ stairway.

Loud voices clamored from the lower levels. Reva hesitated before turning and running up the staircase instead of down to the servant passages. She’d enter the backside of the guest wing, in the hidden servant stairs, slip through one of the rooms, and then enter the main hall that led to the royal family suites. Hopefully she would find Cassandra still in her morning toilette.

She didn’t want an audience when she faced her stepmother. Things were going to be said…and they wouldn’t be pleasant.

A faint thumping noise echoed down the stone staircase as Reva trotted higher into the castle. It grew to an incessant banging, interspersed with muffled yells. She hesitated at the end of the hallway and focused, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from.

It only took her a moment to discover the banging came from inside the third guest room from the end of the wing.

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