Page 54 of A Curse of Salt

I secured the rope around my waist with a grim smile, trying to ignore her eyes burning into my back. My mind screamed that she was right, but there was no time to listen. Where was her loyalty now?

I clambered on to the wooden banister and stared out at the depthless sea. Then, with a great, resounding breath, I dove.

The ocean enveloped me, cold and unforgiving as the sky above. Desperation filled my lungs like seawater as I swam, thinking only of the king whose death-bound body had shielded me from fire. Enough monsters had died for one day. I wouldn’t be the cause of another.

I’d learned to swim in the rivers and brooks that wound through the rolling landscape of the north, and I’d learned well, but fighting against the tide was like trying to swim upstream. With my petticoats weighing me down, I struggled against the current, the rope dragging through the waves behind me.

The salt stung my eyes, the rain making it almost impossible to see, but I could sense Sebastien nearby. Something drew me to him, like the ocean pulling me through its veins towards its own pulsing heartbeat.

Finally, when my muscles burned from the exertion, my frigid fingertips grazed the torn folds of his coat. I tugged the King towards me, tasting the tang of his blood in the sea on my trembling lips, sharp as steel.

Kicking to keep afloat, I untied the rope from my waist and wound it hurriedly around his unconscious body. I knew I’d glimpsed only a fraction of the creatures that lurked in these waters, and I had no desire to encounter any more. Feeling somewhat lighter, and fuelled by my desire to get back to the safety of the ship, I gripped the rope between my frozen hands and began the gruelling return to the Blood Rose.

My legs dragged as I pulled myself along its length, the sea stealing the fight from my body. Just when the last of my strength leached from my bones, the rumble of voices sounded through the rain. An icy relief washed over me, pushing me through that final, agonising distance.

A rope ladder tumbled down the hull and I grabbed hold with numb fingers. Hands lifted me from the sea, pulling me aboard, drenched from head to toe and shivering like morning grass.

I stumbled through the small crowd, my skirts sopping and clinging to my body, barely registering the planks beneath me. Pirates shambled to the rail, nursing their injuries and wincing with every step, their clothes wet and ragged. I watched on, dread trickling cold as the seawater down my spine, as they dredged their king from the depths. The sight of Sebastien’s rope-bound body being hauled aboard chilled me to the core.

The deck was already slick with rain, but it was he who brought the ocean flooding, sodden and black-cloaked as its sunless depths. Through the blur of frantic activity and the shouts of his crew, I saw only him.

It took half a dozen pirates to carry him, blood and water dripping in their wake. The last shreds of his hooded cloak fell away as they settled him on the dark red canvas of a fallen sail.

Voices called out to me, hands grasping my shoulders, trying to pull me away, but I heard nothing, felt nothing. More voices – louder, brasher – argued over my head as I slipped between them, falling to my knees at the King’s side.

Droplets cascaded over his features, down sloping cheekbones to full lips rimed with salt. I pushed the hair back from his forehead, seeing him at last for what he really was. A man. Sebastien – cruel and heartless, but made of flesh, not stone.

There were no gills, no horns, no scales. His brows were strong, furrowed. Dark as the curls clinging to his temples. A single raindrop rolled down the rugged line of his nose.

My frigid hands grasped his shoulders, trying to pull him back to consciousness, to me. Finally, Sebastien’s chest rose and, with a great, shuddering breath, his eyes flew open.

The world around us stilled, then disappeared all together, as my gaze met that of the Heartless King.

17

His eyes were black as starless nights.

Nestled beneath thick brows, even in his lessened state, Sebastien’s gaze shone with a dark power that made my skin crawl. His eyes were glassy, fluttering shut again a moment later. He hadn’t seen me, but it was too late. I’d seen him.

The chaos around us returned and the crew reached for their king, pushing me out of the way as they lifted the sail beneath him and carried his body from the storm.

Rain battered the deck, washing away remnants of detritus and gore. I stumbled along behind the crew as they carried Sebastien through the doors of the navigation room, filthy shirts plastered to their skin. I watched from the doorway as they laid him to rest on the great bed, seeping blood and salt into the furs.

A firm grasp on my wrist tugged me back to reality. Golde’s face swam before me, sharp cheekbones cutting through the fog of my vision.

‘Get outta here, lass. Ye’ve done enough.’

I looked down, eyes fixing on a spot of red on the top of her boot, watching it grow. Dark liquid dripped steadily from Golde’s wounded arm, but when I glanced up to point it out, she was already gone, bent over the King’s bedside.

I swayed on my feet, wondering how the moments had slipped away, why each blink seemed to eclipse more than just a heartbeat.

You always think you can fix things, but you can’t. The scathing voice in the back of my mind sounded unsettlingly like Aberdeen’s. I shook my head, but I couldn’t escape the buzzing words that clawed at my skull.

What did I care if Sebastien pulled through? He’d saved me and I’d done all I could to return the favour. I didn’t owe him more than that, surely. But I knew the lump that sat heavy in my throat wouldn’t dissolve until I saw him wake again.

The bustling room shifted and I caught sight of Aron standing by the bed. A breath of relief escaped me as our gazes met. He looked tired, wet, with a jagged wound running down his cheek, but he was alive.

I shoved my way across the room until his arms closed around me, pulling me tight against him. He let me stay there for a long time before pulling back with a reassuring smile, but his expression quickly slipped into one of concern. It took me a moment to realise that he was talking, but the words never reached my ears.

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