Page 39 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

I stiffen, then scowl. “I’m not⁠—”

“That wasn’t an insult,” he cuts in. “You lasted longer than I expected. Stubbornness can be a weapon, too. Use it well.”

“Oh.” My shoulders slump. “Thanks?”

He huffs an inaudible response and moves to sit on one of the crates tucked along the railing. I follow and plop onto the crate next to him with a heavy sigh. The ache begins to drain from my legs as I stare out at the open sea. There isn’t a speck of land in sight, and the ocean’s surface is gentle and smooth.

Draven’s low voice cuts through the working sailors’ muttered conversation. “How’s the nausea?”

“Better.” I wipe a damp palm against my skirt. “Jaxon gave me a tonic for seasickness.”

The moment my eyelids parted this morning, I’d braced myself to face Rian, but he wasn’t in the cabin.

I told myself I wasn’t disappointed.

Still, I’d scanned the room, searching for any sign he lingered, but all I found was the tonic set on the captain’s desk, along with a note from Jaxon explaining what it was. I couldn’t pour it down my throat fast enough.

“Good.” Draven produces a waterskin from the weapons belt on his waist and takes a long sip.

He holds it out to me.

I take the offering without a word and gulp down half its contents. I almost feel bad until I notice the Fae hasn’t even broken a sweat, and the feeling evaporates.

“Thank you.” I hand back the waterskin and gaze out at the sea again. “Will you tell me where we’re going?”

“South.” He caps the waterskin and reattaches it to the loop in his belt.

“Obviously,” I mutter. “But where?”

“I’m not at liberty to say.” He tilts his head back and closes his eyes, basking in the sun.

“Then who is?”

“You know who.” Darius appears, as he always seems to do, grinning at me and his brother.

His eyes lock on my heaving chest, and he whistles low.

“Woah, brother,” he drawls as the sporadic breeze ruffles his dark strands. “You certainly put sweet Elara through her paces. She’s soaked through.”

A shadow whips out from nowhere and strikes Darius in the back of his head. The way the marks on my arm slither in response tells me exactly who they came from.

I scan the deck, but Rian isn’t there.

Draven growls. “Why are you such a pest?”

“Someone’s gotta push him.” Darius’s grin turns wicked. “And with my recent illness, he’s less likely to punish me for my insolence.”

Draven shakes his head. “Idiot.”

I press my lips together and avert my gaze, catching the stare of a pair of sailors coiling rope along the railing before they swiftly turn away.

“I’m hungry.” I slide off the crate and face Draven. “Can we train more tomorrow?”

A spark of approval glints in his dark gaze. “See you at dawn.”

I stifle a groan. I barely slept last night, my nerves frayed by the presence of the Shadow Prince sleeping feet away, half afraid the markings on my arm would pull me to his side in the middle of the night.

But I must’ve fallen into a deep sleep at some point, considering Rian managed to sneak out without waking me.