Page 84 of Those Fatal Flowers

Charles hears her fear, and, without thinking, he charges into the darkness to face the treachery Emme’s discovered. But all he finds is me, wide-eyed, as Emme slides behind him and, without a word, swiftly brings the heavy crock down onto his head.

The man crumples to the floor. The lantern behind Emme lowers to reveal Margery with a black cloak hanging off her left arm. She closes us into the gun room together, safe from any potential prying eyes.

“God’s blood, that felt amazing.” Emme laughs as she retrieves the conical gray hat from Charles’s head and hands it to me.

I grin.

“Everyone’s distracted by the storm,” Margery explains, as Emme retrieves the cloak to place it over my shoulders. “Cora’s room is in the cabin directly above us. Take the ladder just outside to the floor above, then knock on the door behind you. She’s waiting.”

“But—”

“They won’t be looking for you because they won’t know you’re missing,” Emme says. “We’ll drag him back out and lock the door. The sea was so rough, he simply slipped and hit his head—thank goodness Margery found him when she did!”

I nod. “Thank you.”

“Good luck,” Margery whispers, then reopens the door for me. The tension in my muscles springs me forward through the shadows to the ladder, and I scan the darkened room forstray eyes that might catch my ascent. But Margery’s right—most of the able-bodied men are above deck helping to rig the sails, and those who remain are terrified by the ship’s increased rocking. No one wants another problem to appear, so they aren’t actively searching for one. I almost laugh when my hands find the first rung.

Within moments, I’m at Cora’s door. I rap my knuckles against the wood once, then twice. With each second that passes, my heart races faster, but then there’s the blessed sound of a latch being lifted, of a door squeaking open.

Cora’s eyes widen, unable to discern who stands before her. The brim of Charles’s hat casts my face in darkness that the low lantern light can’t penetrate; I lift it slowly, my heart soaring as recognition melts her confusion into a slow smile.

“Thank God,” she says, pulling me into her arms and slamming the door closed behind her.

A particularly violent wave smashes into the ship and sends us tumbling to the floor. Cora crawls to her feet as quickly as she can, bolting the door behind her. When she finds me again, her face is twisted with fear.

I’ve seen ships tossed in waves like this from the sky, but the feeling of being inside one is a horror new to me. Only now, as water rains down on us from a leak in the wooden floors above, do I truly appreciate how fragile this vessel really is.

“W-what do we do?” Cora stammers, her eyes their own large, verdant planets. I reach for her hand, and she takes mine without hesitation.

“We have to wait it out.”

“There was a storm during our voyage from England. It nearly destroyed the ship—”

“Shhh, Cora, don’t think of such things. It’s not our fate to die here.”

I hope my voice projects the confidence that my heart doesn’t feel. In truth, I’m just as terrified as Cora, if not more so. Did Ceres discover our plan and, on the cusp of my victory, convince Tempestas to drown me instead?

“Come.” I wander to her bed and motion for her to lie beside me. To my surprise, she listens, and I slide my hands beneath her head to guide it into my lap. My fingers brush her hair gently, although I’m careful to keep their touch light—the last thing I want is to scare her away. Only now, locked safely away in her chambers with my hands in her curls, do I realize she’s just wearing a shift.

Slowly, she softens, and my racing heart follows suit. The waves still sway the boat, but, at least for now, they aren’t intensifying.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers up to me. I use the opportunity to lie down beside her; she slips her hand into mine again. “There was no way for me to go belowdecks without Thomas noticing. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” I whisper back. “Much better now.”

“I’m scared, Thelia.”

“Don’t be, Cora. Everything is going to be all right.”

“You can’t know that. Once Scopuli’s in sight, they’re going to…” She buries her head in my shoulder, unable to make herself finish the sentence.

I hold her there, stroking her hair. “I won’t let him hurt you.”

“Can we really stop them? There are so few of us.”

“I won’t let him hurt you,” I say again, this time more firmly. Cora cranes her head to look at me, and I feel tears welling in my eyes. “I’ll kill him, Cora. I won’t be responsible for another forced marriage. Not again.”

There’s a long moment where Cora says nothing. She simply stares at me, green eyes unblinking and expressionunreadable. But then she speaks, and her voice is as soft as I’ve ever heard it, as gentle as a spring breeze. “Again?”

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