Page 3 of Songs of Retribution

“Of course.”

He twined his fingers with mine, like he didn’t want to let go either, and pulled me across the deck towards a door. I braced myself for what we might face, but whatever it might be, I wanted to be at Elisa’s side if she needed me.

CHAPTERTWO

SAI

Neia layacross a cot that was soaked through with her blood. I'd helped roll her shirt up so the ship's siren could attempt to work her magic over the wound. She’d pulled the gash back together, but the scar was puffy and dark, as though blood pooled under the skin. When I’d reached out to touch Neia’s forehead, her flesh burned mine.

“What more can you do?”

The siren looked up at me from where she sat on the cot. Sweat stuck bits of her creamy hair to her face and, even in the warm lamplight, she appeared pale. “I’ve done all that I can.”

“It’s not enough,” I growled.

“I agree.” She looked back at Neia once before returning her gaze to me, the lines between her brows furrowing. “But I am one siren, only moderately strong in magic. I’m drained, and this woman is a human.”

My shin slammed into the wood frame as I stepped close enough to her that my nose nearly touched hers, and she cowered away. I was acting every inchthe prince of darknessmoniker the Seelie had given me, but I couldn’t help it. Desperation wrenched through me with the same force of the winds that pounded the ship. Sailing through a typhoon was fucking foolish, but we didn’t have any other choice.

My voice came as a whisper that threatened a slow, painful death. “Are you telling me you don’t believe human life is valuable?”

“N-no. That’s not it, I swear.” She shrank down farther, and I pulled back. I didn’t wish to terrorize her. I just wanted her to keep Neia alive until we could get her home and into the arms of the sirens at the palace. “Humans are more difficult to heal. They take more magic, and it doesn’t work as well. I’ve used everything I have.” Her lip trembled. “I’m sorry.”

I turned and smacked the wall so hard it echoed through my bones. I empathized with her exhaustion. The last day had also drained my magic down to the dregs. It’s why I hadn’t been able to react fast enough to Jessamine’s attack. Neia had shielded me which had possibly cost her life. I wanted to scream my misery, unleash my shadows until the world turned as dark as my thoughts. But that wouldn’t help Neia.

I turned back towards the quivering siren and nodded to the door. “Go rest. Thank you for your help."

She sniffled and edged along the side of the room, before slipping out as quickly as possible. I dropped onto my knees beside Neia, reaching for her hand. Her skin had turned paler than Lira’s. It was like I held the fingers of an icy doll rather than a human. But her heart still beat weakly, and she took a few slow, rattling breaths each minute. She held onto life by the fingernails. I brushed my thumb over the back of her knuckles and clenched my teeth. That’s who Neia was—a fucking fighter.

I should have known drawing a human into our schemes would cause this. How could a human keep up with fae, especially a fairy like me, caught up in dangerous jobs and politics? I’d doomed Neia the moment I met her. She’d been so damn fast, though. The first time I’d seen her, she snatched a bag of coins without drawing a single eye in the crowd. I struggled to keep up with her while she dashed and leapt through the marketplace as she ducked into shadows and slipped past alleys.

Folklore held it that humans descended from fae who’d allowed their magic to weaken—that humans were really fae without magic, which left them dying at a younger age and more prone to illness. I believed it, and I thought I’d seen a spark of what magic Neia might gain should we change her into a fairy. According to Shaan, Lennox had the final heart stone, and now Neia would die right as everything she fought for all these years came to fruition. I couldn’t imagine how Elisa would handle it. It was going to destroy her and me both.

“Neia,” I whispered, “I need you to fight with every fucking thing you have left. I know you are the scrappiest of the bunch of us. It’s time to prove it. Please. We can’t lose you.”

The ship lurched. Orman had unmoored it and set it into the dangerous waters. That meant Lennox and Elisa were on the ship. I clutched Neia’s hand tighter. “We especially can’t lose you over me. Oh, Goddess, Neia, why did you sacrifice yourself? It was damned foolish of you.”

If she had been awake, she would have scowled at me and pinched her lips.You're fucking welcome, Sai.

She wasn’t awake, though. She lay pallid and motionless, her body appearing small on the lumpy mattress. The only thing that seemed alive was the red-hot injury on her stomach. The door opened, and Elisa and Luz stepped in. Elisa dropped to her knees beside me, so close her sopping clothing soaked mine.

“Oh, God.” She clutched trembling hands over her mouth and tears spilled out of her eyes and dripped along her fingers. “Nei.”

I moved over so Elisa could shift closer. She hovered a hand over Neia’s stomach then shifted it to her face, brushing a strand of hair off her cheek. Sobs wracked through her, and I pulled her against me, clutched her hard so that the vibration of her crying shook my bones.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered past my own tears. “I’m so very sorry.”

Luz met my eyes. Their nose had flared, a hopeless expression filling their face after taking in the scene. Neia was half a dozen shallow breaths from the grave and everyone in the room could feel it. The door opened again, and Lennox stepped in, Shaan behind him. Lennox’s mouth gaped at Neia, and he shifted to Elisa before his eyes met mine.

Anger curled within me, thrumming through my shadows and itching at me to unleash what little magic I had left. It wasn’t fair, really. Lennox hadn’t caused his and Elisa’s fall, hadn’t hurt Neia, and it wasn’t his fault Neia fought for her life. But perhaps blaming him for shit had become a reflex of mine. It felt easy. I struggled not to glare at him. Elisa threaded her fingers together with Neia’s. Neia remained perfectly still for a few heartbeats before her chest rose such a small amount that I doubted a human could perceive it. I stood and stepped over to Lennox.

He dipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the heart stone, offering it to me. “Shaan said to give this to you,” he whispered.

I took the sapphire jewel and let it tumble over my palm. This was supposed to be a moment of victory for our team. Five years we’d fought and bled and been imprisoned and had bones broken and abandoned time with our families all for this.

And Neia's plight tinged it with so much grief and defeat, I couldn’t hold a pinch of gratitude. I tucked the stone away and offered him a nod. Shaan gave me a look filled with pleading.Please treat him with civility.I didn’t have it in me, though. Not when Neia laid dying on a ship that creaked and rolled as it pushed through a storm. Not when I'd nearly spent my magic because of Jessamine’s machinations, and we likely still had another pirate ship chasing after us—wanting the heart stone to hand to my mother or my head to give to Carrington. Either way, it was my fault Neia was dying.

I shifted to Luz as Lennox took a few steps across the room and dropped beside Elisa, tucking an arm around her. She leaned into him as her cries picked up again. Shaan crossed his arms.

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