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“Things like…what?” I asked. “Healing?” I laughed as I said it, but Ida didn’t smile back. My own smile fell away. “You’re joking. Grey doesn’t heal people?”
She considered my question. “I suppose he probably heals himself. And perhaps there are others, though I’ve never seen it.” She shrugged.
I stared at her, appalled. “But why? He’s a strong mage! He could easily heal something like this without straining himself. How could you just live with it when he had the means to offer relief?”
“The healers on the island would have fixed me soon enough.” She patted my knee. “Don’t worry. I’ve endured far worse in my past, and I could endure far more to make it to our new life. You’ll see. It will all be worth it.”
She excused herself with further thanks, and I watched her go, unsettled. Was Grey truly so uncaring about his followers, or were they the ones putting him on a pedestal, not telling him about their needs?
I sat alone for some time, wrestling with the thought, but eventually forced myself to move on in search of the next person. Grey had asked me to check everyone which meant he must have some care for them. Worrying about how far that care extended was purposeless when he was the only chance we had of defeating the islanders. My support for him stemmed from need, not from any admiration of his character.
I had to remind myself of that fact again when I sought Grey out to report my completion of my task. I found him berating one of his younger followers for accidentally smashing a barrel and spoiling the provisions it had contained. The poor boy was cowering before him, although Grey hadn’t actually lifted a hand against him.
I could understand the boy’s reaction, however. I was only a bystander, and even I felt shaken by the look in Grey’s eyes. When he saw me, he calmed, however, his expression changing into a rueful smile.
After drawing a deep breath, he apologized to the boy for losing his temper and gave me a remorseful look.
“With our departure approaching, I fear we’re all on edge, and I’m worst of all. But have you had a chance to check on everyone’s health?”
Hearing the question calmed my agitation somewhat, reminding me that for all his flaws, Grey did have some consideration for his people. I might wish he had more restraint, but I could accept worse flaws if it meant saving an entire kingdom.
“Everyone is in good health,” I reported. “I’ve just completed my final examination.”
“Excellent!” Grey rubbed his hands together, his smile becoming broad and genuine. “In that case, we are clear to sail with the dawn tide.”
“Really?” I cried, relieved I hadn’t attempted to leave the camp. “Already?”
Even the boy smiled at the news. “May I tell the others?” he asked, and Grey nodded graciously.
The boy hurried away, and a buzz of excitement soon filled the camp as the news spread.
Phoenix, however, seemed unsettled by the commotion, fixing one of his eyes balefully on Grey, his small body tensed, as if ready to launch into flight.
I angled my shoulder away from Grey, hoping he hadn’t noticed the bird’s attitude. I had been carefully staying quiet about both Ember and Phoenix, hoping Grey wouldn’t attempt to bar them passage aboard his ship.
“Can’t you try to be a little friendlier?” I asked the bird after Grey hurried off for a final check of the restored ship. “I know he isn’t our favorite person, but he’s in control of who gets to go to the island.”
To my dismay, Phoenix responded by launching himself off my shoulder and disappearing into the sky above the crevasse. I watched him go with a sinking heart. It wasn’t a normal time of day for him to hunt, but perhaps he’d spotted some appealing prey.
I only hoped he hadn’t decided he was ready to be a wild bird again. I had grown used to his weight on my shoulder and his company during the day while Ember slept—not to mention the way people treated me with increased respect now I came with a sharp beak and claws attached.
As the evening bore down and he didn’t reappear, my worry grew. But there was nothing I could do about it. The people around me were all rushing hither and thither, packing their personal belongings now that the ship was finally readied.
I had so little to pack that I was soon at a loose end, my wandering feet taking me deeper into the crevasse, following it all the way to its tip. The greenery grew thicker as I went until I felt entirely ensconced in plant life, separate from the bustling camp that lay behind me.
Once I was sure I wouldn’t be overheard, I crouched down and murmured into a particularly lush bush.
“Nik.” Just speaking his name sent a pang through me, but I was glad he could hear everything and would be able to take a message to the others. He could explain my disappearance and the danger hanging over us all.
“I’m assuming you already heard about the islanders and the threat to Tartora. Obviously I have to go, but I’ll return as soon as I can. Please tell Amara that I’m not abandoning her or my apprenticeship—I’m just completing the task she assigned me.” I hesitated again. “I’ll miss you,” I finally added on a whisper.
The last three words might have been too quiet for him to hear, but I couldn’t bring myself to repeat them. I was talking to a group of leaves right now, and I already felt foolish enough. I intended to be back sooner rather than later, and the rest of the conversation could be done in person—if I hadn’t remembered by then exactly why it was a bad idea to have this conversation with Nik.
I hurried toward the ocean much faster than I’d meandered away from it, my cheeks burning. But by the time I reached the communal table, I had calmed enough to appreciate the feast being laid out on it. Every scrap of food that hadn’t been packed was ready to be consumed by the excited camp of travelers.
Grey signaled for me to sit beside him yet again, patting my hand in an avuncular way when I took the place he’d indicated. He seemed in good spirits now that our departure had arrived, and the rest of the faces at the table matched his. Ida was on my other side, news of the dawn sail having brought a glow to her face and eyes. She had always been friendly, but she had carried a reserved air along with it. That reserve was gone now, and she seemed positively animated.
I expected her to talk about the island, but as one of those with an elements affinity, her immediate focus seemed to be on the voyage. I tried to nod in the right places, not really following her complicated talk of tides and rips and currents, and the other threats lurking beneath the surface of the ocean. I did gather enough to understand it was a dangerous voyage, and we would be relying heavily on the route charted for us by Grey’s mother.
