Page 81 of Untamed

Zichri walked in with a plate of forks and dumped them on the table. The top of his tunic was undone, and his skin glowed from exercise. He went back to the dining room and brought a chair which he placed beside Lucas.

Lucas snatched several slices of bacon and a small bread loaf and stuffed them into his mouth. So did Cosme and Fermín. This scratched at my sensibilities and screamed as almost vulgar.

“Well, since we’re all here, how do we findLa Lavia?” Cosme bit into his bread.

Fermín cleared his throat. “The better question is, what do we do once we encounter Whyzer Patro?”

“Minerva has subdued him before.” Zichri grabbed two loaves and handed me one.

All eyes turned toward Minerva at the opposite end of the parlor. I looked at Zichri who shrugged.

“She has.” Zichri almost grew excited. “I was with her. A bunch of us fought him off and imprisoned him. Minerva even took down one of his cronies herself.”

Minerva clasped her hands in her lap and kept her head tilted downward. “I do not wish to repeat such an event.”

“But our friends will die.” I struggled to keep the aggravated tremor from my voice. We should have leapt onto another galleon last night and followed the maps. “I’ve seen what they’ll do to Laude.”

Cosme reached for a strip of bacon. “I trust you had a vision, but I’m not sure of your interpretation. We’re correct to tread cautiously. That whyzer misuses his gifts and seeks power from other mediums.”

I clutched my bread, fingers pressing through the outer crust. “So are we going to sit here and debate all day long whileLa Laviamoves onward? Couldn’t Minerva or Lucas take us to the galleon?”

Lucas shifted forward. “We can’t.La Laviais a moving object. I agree with Cosme. In fact, we should travel back to Giddel and seek the advice of the queen.”

Resisting an urge to roll my eyes, I met Lucas’s stare. “Why Mamá? If we go back, she and Papá will forbid me from following the maps.”

“And for good reason.” Cosme forked several mango slices. “Honestly, I don’t see how else we’ll get another galleon.” He chomped on the fruit, juice dripping from the corner of his mouth.

My teeth bit on the inside of my cheek. My brother had a point about needing another galleon from Giddel, but I couldn’t agree with Lucas and Cosme if it meant I was left behind. Zichri had mentioned Pedroz, and they’d have galleons too.

“Could we not go to the port in Pedroz instead?” I massaged my forehead, impatient at our delay. Precious time ticked by while we stuffed our faces. “Why must we beseech Mamá?”

“Mamá worked for Whyzer Patro.” Cosme’s voice softened.

Monserrat harrumphed. “Here I was thinking the Queen of Giddel was some high and mighty lady.”

“Princess Monserrat.” Cosme tsked. “I wouldn’t be so quick to judge. My mother has been held captive by Whyzer Patro’s threats since youth. Lucas and Minerva also had similar misfortunes.”

The disheveled princess brushed her honey-brown curls away from her face and watched Lucas with an unreadable expression.

“It’s settled.” Cosme grabbed a few dumplings. He tossed one at me. “Eat up. We’re headed home, and you won’t get a chance to eat the best dumplings in all Agata again any time soon.”

I huffed, but Cosme walked out the doorway and deeper into the house. Fermín, Monserrat, and Lucas conversed amongst themselves about Whyzer Patro.

Zichri leaned closer to my ear. “We’re set to go to Pedroz and retrieve a galleon.”

I turned toward him. His full upper lip twitched with a hint of mischief. My gaze traced up the slope of his nose and the arch of a thick eyebrow, marked with a faint scar. When our eyes met, my breath caught. He was achingly handsome and had just eased this anxious heart from its torment.

“Take a walk with me.” Zichri’s deep voice stirred my heart like honey.

I nodded. At least one person understood my plight. He had just as much to lose as I did.

Zichri held my hand as we walked around Minerva’s home. Sun caught in the dark strands of his tousled hair and reflected off his tanned skin. I wanted to memorize every second of my time alone with him just in case this was all we had.

We stayed within the tall walls around Minerva’s home. Though the faint pink color of the walls was chipped at the edges and the grounds had overgrown plant life, Minerva’s home hadthe husk of a fancy getaway. How had a single young woman come to own such a decadent house?

I looked over my shoulder, seeing a sun-kissed yard with no one in sight. “How will we get another galleon?”

He tapped his index finger over his lips and led me through a back gateway with dark curled edges shaped into vines. The metal hinges creaked as they opened and shut. Before us stood a panorama of verdant mountains from afar and a lush valley below. Colorful houses sprinkled the mountainside.

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