Page 113 of A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty

Rythos and Galon seemed to know what they were doing, because they threw out orders to Cavis and Marth, ignoring the rest of us. Within moments, we appeared ready to depart.

Masts creaked overhead, and a glittering pattern sparkled in the sun. “What are they?” I asked.

“Glyphs. They harness the essence of the winds. This is just one ship in the fastest fleet you’ll find anywhere on this continent,” Lorian said.

He leaned forward, caging me against the railing, and pressed a kiss to my neck. I arched for him.

“I hope you weren’t planning to steal this ship without me,” a voice said. My heart jumped into my throat, and I wiggled out of Lorian’s arms.

A man stood behind Rythos, his head canted. While he boasted the usual fae beauty, he was short and slight, his fair skin barely flushed. But his eyes were surprisingly dark, and they glinted with fun.

Rythos tensed, slowly turned, and took in the other man. “Fendrel.”

“You left me behind last time, you bastard.”

“You’ll be staying behind this time too,” Rythos said. But a slow grin spread across his face, and he crossed the deck in three strides, pulling Fendrel into a hug.

The two men embraced, but Rythos pulled back quickly. “You need to go.”

Fendrel’s face fell. “That’s the first thing you’re saying to me after you left me last time?”

Lorian cleared his throat. “If I remember correctly, your father threatened to disown you as well if you went with him.”

His unsaid words hung in the air. Rythos had been disowned and left. Fendrel had chosen to stay.

Fendrel waved that away. “A mistake. I’ve wanted off this island ever since, and clearly, fate has stepped in if you’re stealing my father’s ship.”

“His father’s ship?” Asinia asked.

Fendrel gave her a wide grin. “Aren’t you a beauty? And yes, my father’s ship. Rythos has obviously just learned that his own father’s ship is currently in use.”

“You can’t come with us,” Rythos murmured. “We’re heading into dangerous waters.”

“Dangerous waters are my favorite.”

Next to Lorian, Marth rolled his eyes. “The most dangerous waters that man has experienced were in his bathtub.”

Fendrel shot him a glare.

Galon reappeared from below deck. He shook his head at the sight of Fendrel, but his gaze was already flicking to Rythos. “We need to leave now,” he said.

Rythos took Fendrel aside and murmured quietly to him. It didn’t seem to go well. A dull flush swept up the back of Fendrel’s neck, and he stomped from the ship. Was he the kind of man who would lash out? Report us for this theft? Rythos didn’t seem overly concerned, although he watched Fendrel leave, heaved a sigh, and stalked to the ship’s helm.

He nodded back at Lorian, who stepped out from behind me and lifted one arm.

It started with a slight breeze against my skin. And I shivered at the feel of Lorian’s power caressing me. I shot him a look and he grinned back at me, a tendril of his power dipping lower, beneath my shirt.

Lorian’s grin widened. Something warmed inside my chest at seeing him havefun.

The wind picked up. The ropes securing the ship to the dockside loosened, slithering back to coil neatly upon the deck. Slowly, the ship began to inch away from the dock, the water beneath us frothing and churning.

More wind. The air around us grew charged with energy, the glyphs above our head stirring until they glowed. We pulled away from the dock even more quickly than I could have imagined. Behind us, shouts rang out, and my stomach churned.

Rythos’s expression was stony. His family had already disowned him, and he’d done this anyway. For me.

A ward appeared in front of us. Someone was attempting to stop us. Rythos waved his hand, and it broke with a twang.

Lorian’s wind pushed us on. I was so used to seeing his lightning, I’d forgotten he could control other elements. His brow was slightly wrinkled in concentration, those green eyes a little blurred. The wind wrapped around him, until I could see the outline of his chest muscles beneath it.

---