Page 71 of The Storm of the Empire

But then it clicked. Jaxus was unknown. Could Faolan have come from elsewhere like him? I searched her face for the same realization, but it didn’t come because she didn’t know. While she knew Jaxus existed, she didn’t know where he came from. She thought he was a one off.

“Will you be back?” I asked, trying to keep the plea from my voice.

“I doubt they’ll let me fly with the army even if I found this place. I don’t have a ryder, remember?”

“So that’s a no?”

She shook her head, not meeting my eyes. “I don’t think so.”

We stood in silence.

“How long are you staying?” she asked at length.

“Until I figure this out.”

“Fine.” There was a bite to her tone, but I wasn’t entirely sure why she was angry with me. It could be a myriad of reasons.

“I’m sorry,” I offered.

“No you’re not.”

Then she turned, not giving me a chance to argue and threw herself off the dock.

TWENTY-THREE

LUKA

“Where’s your friend?” Faolan asked the next morning when he found me with the crew, checking and repairing sails.

I tied off my needle and glanced up at him. “Ill. Her head is unhappy after all the spirits we drank.”

Faolan eyed me suspiciously. Either he knew I was lying, or he had another bone to pick with me.

Would he be able to smell her several decks below? Did he know she wasn’t here anymore? I should have asked her or done my homework about how well their noses worked. It was a total blind spot in my plan, if scrambling to cover her disappearance could be called a plan.

I knew her leaving would cause a problem. Now I had to worry about both of them not trusting me. This job required a lot of trust, and I could be left ashore at our next port for less.

“I hope she feels better quickly. We’re leaving as soon as the tide turns, which won’t help.”

I made sure my surprise didn’t show on my face. “Earlier than expected? Great.”

“Yes. Plans have changed.”

Was this because they noticed she’d left? Did I walk into a trap?

“What can I do to help? These sails can wait.” I kept my voice and breathing normal while my heart sped up. Could he hear that?

He inspected me with those dragon eyes, considering my words. How had I not seen the beast in him before? It was so clear now that I knew. “You can check to make sure all the crew know. A couple of them were at the port last night and never made it back.” Was this his subtle way of telling me he knew Hazel wasn’t aboard?

“Sure,” I said, resisting the urge to shrink away from the predator I now saw in him. I couldn’t believe I didn’t notice before. He moved just like she did, watched just like she did, and there was an unnatural air to him.

“We leave at the turn,” he said definitively and stalked off.

I handed off my work to one of the other guys and stretched. After being bent over a sail since dawn, my body wasn’t happy with me. I made my way off the ship, checking the usual kinds of places for crew who didn’t make it back aboard after a night off, finding a few males sleeping it off where they passed out. After rousing them and getting them on their way back to the ship, I dipped into the makeshift tavern to buy a drink.

Maybe Hazel was right to dip out before we were caught. Staying here might have been a huge mistake—one I’d pay for with my hide and the kingdom could pay for in blood. There had to be a way out of here, but I couldn’t come up with one, not if I couldn’t get to the other side of the island, but that would either involve climbing the sheer rock face along the docks or swimming. Both of which would end with me in the sea, smashed into the rocks as soon as the tide turned.

I finished my ale and paid the male, deciding to do one final sweep for crew. I still had at least a candle mark. I wondered aimlessly through the tunnels and open cliff face that made up this side of Damona Island. It was bigger than I’d imagined when we arrived, supporting at least a small community.

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