Page 109 of Seaborn and the Seven Seas

“Fraya and I know, Yeri.” Jina, beside me, took my hand. “The Priestess told us.”

I expected the wide eyes and the too-many-words—since when and why didn’t you tell us?

None of it came.

“You’re still you,” Jina said. “That hasn’t changed.”

Something loosened in my chest I hadn’t known was tight.

I looked at Fraya. She gave me a single nod, the way Fraya acknowledged everything, without making a fuss.

“You can all take in the map later.” The Priestess folded it in half. “Some of you need proper fitting for battle. Then a proper meal. But Ranis leaves now.”

“How do I—” Ranis began.

The door opened. Selene stepped in and bowed to The Priestess, her blond hair falling forward with the motion.

“I called for her,” The Priestess said. “She will take Ranis in flight. She is faster than any horse.”

Selene’s eyes found Calroy’s across the room. “Your warriors await your order. They have assembled.” Then her gaze shifted to me. “The children are safe. Hope asks for you every day.” A small smile played across her lips. “She misses you very much.”

My heart dropped. “Thank you.” The words felt too small for what I meant. “For keeping them safe. For everything.”

Selene dipped her head. “It is an honor, My Lady.” She held my gaze a beat longer. “I have known who you were from the moment Calroy brought you to the tavern.”

“You knew?” I whispered.

A look of knowing passed between Calroy and her. “He never stopped looking for you,” Selene said.

Something tightened in my chest that had nothing to do with gratitude.

He had never stopped looking for me. That was true. I believed it without a doubt. But Selene had been there. On his ship. In his bed. If what I’d seen meant anything at all. I wouldn’t think about that now. There was no room for it.

Selene’s gaze moved past me to where Rowhan and Palto stood near the hearth. She went still in recognition. She bowed. “My lords. I didn’t expect to see you.” Then her gaze slid to Calroy and her expression said everything. You and I are going to talk later.

Rowhan and Palto said nothing, the indifference of gods who had been asleep for years and had no memory of one-winged woman among the many.

Selene stepped back out of the open door and released her wings.

They unfurled in one smooth motion—enormous, dark as night, the feathers catching the light with a faint iridescent sheen. They filled the room, tips nearly brushing the shelves on either side.

Jina made a sound that wasn’t quite a word. Minha’s dagger was halfway out before she caught herself. Fraya took one step back, knocked into Jina, and said nothing. Just stared.

“She’s going to—” Jina pointed. “You mean he has to—”

“In the air,” Ranis murmured, turning pale, his eyes on Jina. “She wants me to go in the air.”

“You’ll be fine.” Calroy gripped Ranis by the shoulder. Easy to say for someone who had wings of his own. “I’ll meet you at the sea, Crown Prince of Varen.” His voice dropped. “Tell your father what is at stake. Do not under any circumstance stand down. He doesn’t know what’s at stake, but you do.”

Calroy stepped back and gave Selene a nod.

That was all the warning anyone got.

Selene moved with swiftness, one arm hooking around Ranis’s waist, yanking him against her side before he could draw a breath. His eyes went wide. Then Selene’s wings beat once, twice, and they were launched to the sky. Ranis’s faint scream trailed behind them.

Jina gasped, but when she saw me looking at her, she shrugged and her cheeks turned pink. When I smiled, she knew I knew the connection between them.

Calroy watched the sky where Selene had disappeared, then turned back to the room. “We leave at first light.”