Page 68 of A Storm in Every Heart
The desert kingdom is on the other side of the continent, and we’d have to sail all the way around Hydratta to reach it. “That’s likely to take over a week.”
The girl shakes her head. “Not the way Captain Connell sails.”
I scoff. “He could be the best captain in the world and still not be able to affect the weather.”
“Shows what you know,” she says snidely. “Captain Connell is the only man in Ellender able to sail through the Strait of Scylla.”
My eyebrows raise and my mouth falls open. “You cannot be serious. That’s a death sentence.”
“Shut up!” She hisses, looking alarmed.
I scowl. Sailors are superstitious by nature, but I’m not jinxing them by speaking the obvious truth. Years ago, I recall hearing my father and Mercer talking about the Strait of Scylla. The passage is faster than any other route between Hydratta and the mainland, but no one dares to sail there since it’s full of carnivorous sea monsters.
“How much longer until we reach the strait?” I demand. “How long have we been sailing? How?—”
I break off as a sudden loud bang rattles the deck above us. Both the girl and I look up in unison, startled, as the muffled shouting grows louder.
My stomach does an anxious flip. What if we’re already in the middle of the Strait of Scylla and the ship is being attacked?
The captain might not be able to die, but he’s going to get the rest of us killed.
Well, I won’t die.
Even if this ship sank, the moment I touched the ocean I would transform into my other form.
If that happens, I might prefer to die.
“You jinxed us,” the girl hisses angrily at me. She drops the plate of food on the ground outside the cell and turns on her heel to run back up the stairs.
Before she can make it ten steps, the door at the top of the stairs opens again with another loud creak, bringing with it the unmistakable sounds of chaos from above.
Footsteps thunder down the stairs, and my breath catches, before I hear the unmistakable sound of a familiar voice. “Dessa?”
“Over here!” I shout, confusion and relief washing over me.
Jett reaches the bottom of the stairs and runs toward me, boots slipping slightly on the filthy floor.
The servant girl’s face flushes with panic; her eyes dart between us and the stairs like she’s weighing how fast she could make it past Jett and whether she’d survive.
Clearly deciding to risk it, she darts forward and shoves Jett hard in the shoulder and bolts for the stairs.
“Stop her!” I yell. “She has the key!”
He changes direction mid-motion and lunges for the girl. She shrieks as he knocks her to the ground and grapples for the keys at her belt.
“Just take them!” the girl yells. “Let me go!”
Jett snatches the keys from her and jumps up, not sparing a single backward glance as he charges toward me. “Alright in there, Dessa?”
“What are you doing here? How did you find me?” I nearly wail, my grip on the bars the only thing keeping me upright.
“Long story,” he gasps, breathless, his eyes scanning me for signs of injury. “I’ll tell you once we’re safe. Are you okay?”
“More or less.”
“Thank the fucking gods,” he breathes, relief obvious on his face.
With trembling hands, he fumbles through several keys, each failed attempt heightening the tension until finally, the right one clicks. The lock releases, and I stagger out of the cell, tears streaming down my face as I fling myself into his arms. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
