Page 30 of A Wrecking of Salt and Fire

“Are you sure? The rumbling would seem to say otherwise.”

She would not eat—not with this man watching her every move. Not when he refused to tell her what she was doing aboard this ship. It was probably poisoned anyway. Or drugged to put her back into a dreamless slumber.

His crystal eyes darkened, pulse throbbing the vein in his neck with a steady beat. “You need to eat.”

“I do not and I will not.”

He took a step toward her, reaching out his hand just slightly before he pulled it back. “You can barely fill out those clothes. How can you expect to kill me if you can’t even hold a sword steady with those flimsy limbs of yours?”

Her skin went ashen. Yes—she saw it earlier, after she bathed and went to get dressed. How her face became sunken. Her normally full cheeks now sharpened like granite, her spine showing through the thin shirt she wore. It wasn’t that Katrin did not eat. She had. Or more so indulged in certain sweets and loaves of bread, but those were not nourishment. Guilt would come creeping in and she would run until she felt overworked, until she threw up the unhealthy food she devoured. It lulled that pain and anxiety she housed—for a moment, at least.

“I said I wasn’t hungry and I meant it.” Lies. Absolute lies. The smells of the hot food in front of her were still making her mouth water and Katrin desperately wanted to eat every bite of everything on that table.

“So you would rather starve yourself than eat with me?” Ander whispered.

“I would rather fling myself off this ship and let the Fates decide my life than eat with you.” A muscle in Ander’s jaw feathered and his whole body stiffened. Katrin walked mere inches from him. “You lied to me! You took me against my will! You think I want to be anywhere near a person who could do something so horrible? Someone who would disregard the needs or wants of another so blatantly?”

“Fine. Have it your way.” He dragged his palm over his face, shaking his head.

“Giving up that easily, are we? Aren’t you supposed to be some vicious and feared pirate?”

He did not grace her with a change of emotion, no witty reply. Ander’s hand gripped the handle of the door. He paused there, but did not turn back to face her.

“I left a pile of books on the shelf by the bed. I thought—well now you don’t need to stare off with nothing to do all day.”

He pushed the door open and slammed it shut behind him. There Katrin stood. Alone. Again.

She swallowed, almost shameful for her outburst. But why should she feel bad about the words she flung so effortlessly at him when it was how she really felt?

Saving you. What if he really thought that was what he was doing? But what would he be saving her from? Only Nexos was a threat and the only way to show them that Alentus would not bend a knee was to hold the Acknowledgement and crown Katrin as queen. The Acknowledgement that was tomorrow. One she would not be at.

Sweat began to bead along her temple even as sharp chills set up her spine. If Kohl and Ember could not find a way to postpone the ceremony someone could call for the Wrecking. That had to be why she was here. So that the succession could be in question. So that someone else could take her place.

Blood boiled in her veins, her very skin feeling like it was on fire. Katrin tried to quiet her mind, tried to control her breathing, but it was not helping. If Ander was trying to prevent her from taking what was her birthright, there was no amount of food or books that could placate her. Her nails dug into the chair as she sat back down.

Nexos. Always that gods-damned isle.

A faint glow began to hum over her skin, her eyes brightening until they were all but a blinding white. Water glasses on the table began to shake and crack. Her spirit was trying to claw its way out, trying to dull the pain and hurt and despicable feelings that swirled inside her gut. It scraped its way from the bottom of a pit within her until it reached the surface. Smoke began to rise from her palms, singing her nostrils with the smell of burning wood and flesh.

A rustling sound came from the corner of the room, over by where Ander left the books. Katrin’s fiery white stare darted to the sound. Something curious sat in the corner, its yellow eyes meeting hers through the shadows. A small creature sat perched on the shelf, long white hair sparkling in the bright glow that radiated off of Katrin. Long white hair except a stripe of gray that went down the center of its head, looking like it was smudged with ash from a seer.

The animal cocked its head to the side, pointed pink ears and small pink nose twitching as it took in the surroundings. Its plush tail flapped back and forth in an almost indifferent way, like the glowing goddess in front of her was little to fear.

It jumped down from the shelf, slinking its way over to Katrin, weaving its body between her legs as she sat, still fuming with emotion. Katrin’s eyes were glued to the way in which it brushed against her leg, a low purring escapings its mouth, urging her to breathe, to calm. The glow around Katrin simmered then dissipated as her hands unclenched the chair and her eyes returned to their brown hue.

Bits of her power showed over the years, but nothing like this. She never lost control, never showed her true nature so obviously. Her twenty-fifth birthday was approaching in less than two months and those who were god-born or blessed tended to get reckless with their powers close to coming of age. At least, that was what she was told.

“I’m sorry, little lady, did I startle you?” Katrin leaned down, scratching behind the cat’s ears. It nuzzled against her again before turning and jumping up on the low lying table where Ander left the food.

The cat turned back toward Katrin, lifting one paw up and swatting at a plate of food. She shrugged, Katrin was pretty sure most cats did not eat human food, but who was she to tell this creature otherwise? At least she would know the food was not poisoned. Animals in the isles seemed to have a sense of this.

Another rumble left Katrin’s stomach, this one even louder than before. It would be a waste to let the food just sit overnight. No one else would be eating it, the crew already ate their dinner, and the little cat surely could not eat everything on the table.

“Looks like I’ll be having dinner with you, little one.” Katrin stroked her hand down the cat’s back, rustling its fur.

She dug into everything, from the fish to the bread to the mixed bowl of cucumber, tomatoes, olives, and a block of salted cheese. It was delectable. Days went by without her eating a full meal, and this was a much needed reprieve from the pangs of hunger she felt.

Katrin had never tasted spices like these before, wondering where the crew could have gotten them from. Trading with Anatole was halted in the last few years due to the blockade around Nexos. Even the royal families of the western Mykandrian Isles could not come by them easily.

---