Page 74 of Seas the Reckoning

“Awhale?” Ji-hwan shouts.

They’re taking it about as well as I anticipated.

“That’s what Cannon said in his text. Malcolm knows a blue whale shifter who can take us to where we need to go.”

“And we’re going to, what, ride on its back?” Jackal asks. His tone is more teasing than anything, but I still chew my bottom lip.

“Um, not exactly. We’re going to go in his mouth.”

They begin a debate as to how likely that is to end up with us perishing inside a whale, but I can hardly keep my eyes open.

“Rest, love. I’ll wake you when we get to the docks,” Jackal promises.

Starla’s already letting out soft snores across the vehicle. I’m back where I belong, and I have my friends, mate, and Pickles.

I let myself take a short nap.

When Jackal wakes me up, the horizon is bright and morning is beginning.

“Almost to the docks,” he tells me. “We took a pretty circuitous path to lose a few tails the councilman managed to sic on us, but we’ve been clear for hours now.”

The weekend is catching up with me. I’m still tired, and I’ll be happy to sleep once we’re in the water. Even on a whale’s tongue.

We park at the docks, taking the remaining bags that the guys brought from Zyra’s out of the trunk. Most of our fancy dresses are lost to Councilman Taylor’s manor, but I’m not sorry to be rid of them. They’re tied to the events of the estate.

Zyra, Starla, and I can do another shopping day for something more enjoyable in the future. Perhaps we can visit Camille’s café again. I’d love to bring the woman a gift in thanks for her help.

“My sister said to visit again, anytime,” Jackal tells me.

He’s starting to read my expressions as well as Starla.

“I’d be happy for a do-over,” I confess.

Starla is awake and moving, but she’s fiddling with her hands.

“My father won’t give up. He’ll send more people to follow us. He’s not going to take this well, you know.”

Exos looks murderous, cracking his knuckles.

“You saw to your end of the deal. No one will be taking you back anywhere you don’t want to go,” he promises.

He appears to have plenty of pent-up aggression after the past few days of watching Starla acquiesce to her father’s demands.

The witch smiles up at him, placing a hand on his forearm.

“My valiant knight,” she says. “Don’t forget. He’ll be after Leena as well. He won’t want family relations to fall through just because Claude didn’t get his plaything.”

Now, it’s Jackal’s turn to glower.

“Both your ancestors deserve to have a rock dropped on their heads,” he says. “Utter sheep’s shit, the both of them. Landing you on either side of a curse that caused this kind of calamity.”

“I heartily agree, although we’ve missed our chance to confront either, given they’ve been dead for decades. We’ll simply have to settle with righting their wrongs,” I say.

He lets out a breath, reaching for my hand.

“We’ll do anything necessary to make sure that happens. But, gods, a whale?”

“We’ve already had gods involved; the whale is up next,” Starla quips with a laugh. “Speaking of which, where is Feral?”