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“Nik.” I met his eyes, all my feelings for him bubbling up and filling my face.
He saw my expression and stilled, reaching to take my hands when I held them out.
“I’m sorry,” I said, anguish creeping in.
He stiffened, but it was too late. The skin of his hands was warm against mine. I sent my power into him, and he collapsed into immediate, unnatural sleep.
He dropped in slow motion, crumpling downward. I only just managed to break his fall, preventing his head, at least, from hitting the ground. There was no time to place him in a more comfortable position, though. I had to get out of here before the searchers found us.
Blundering back through the greenery, I called loudly as I ran.
“I’m here! I’m here! Sorry!”
I stumbled straight into the arms of a small group of searchers, all of them looking tense and irritated.
“Sorry,” I repeated, reaching for an excuse for my absence. I didn’t find one, but it didn’t matter. None of them cared enough to ask, all their focus on getting us aboard the boat.
I hiked my pack over my shoulder and let myself be swept up the gangplank and onto the deck of the ship. Most people were already aboard, but a few other searchers streamed on after us until at last the visible parts of the crevasse were still and silent.
Grey stood beside the wheel, annoyance on his face as he watched the final stragglers. I looked up at him with what I hoped was an appropriately apologetic expression, and he gave me a nod. Apparently I’d succeeded.
I was struggling to catch my breath, though, still swept up in the suddenness of my decision. I’d had no time to think it through and make a measured choice. I’d simply seen one way forward and acted on it. I still didn’t even know for sure if I’d be able to stop Grey.
But my instincts told me that, for some unknown reason, I was essential to Grey’s plan. His behavior had certainly seemed to suggest it. So if I was necessary for whatever he was planning, then it also followed that I was exactly the person who could most successfully sabotage it. I just needed to continue to play the part of a duped fool and wait for my opportunity.
A shiver ran through me. Alone. I had to wait alone.
All the way here, I’d always known that Nik was in the shadows protecting me. Even when I’d gone to Grey’s camp, I’d been aware that he was nearby, tracking my movements. And I’d had Ember and Phoenix with me, as well.
My earlier panic after waking and finding Ember still gone hit me all over again. I had never intended to board this boat without my loyal companions. But neither could I regret leaving them to stand guard over Nik’s unconscious body. I was alone, but at least I’d chosen it for myself. He’d been abandoned.
The boat lurched and groaned but didn’t immediately move away from the shore. Several unhappy glances were sent my way as mutters passed back and forth about tricky passages and missing the opportune moment. But no-one spoke too loudly, and I caught a number of surreptitious glances sent toward Grey.
Strangely, their antagonism bolstered my spirits. It seemed I was right in assuming I was important—important enough to delay the launch and important enough that Grey’s followers dared not criticize me too loudly.
Surely that meant I was important enough to destroy Grey’s plan from within. I just needed to fool him long enough to do it.
ChapterTwenty-Two
There were fewer women than men among Grey’s followers, and we were assigned a large cabin to share. It had bunks built along the walls, as well as hammocks hanging from the center of the room. By the time I found my way there, only one of the hammocks was left unclaimed.
I took it without complaining, already self-conscious about the ill feeling I had accidentally engendered. At least we had finally managed to get underway, and water was foaming around the prow of the ship as we sailed before an unnatural wind.
I would have liked to be on deck, but almost everyone else was there, and they apparently needed more time to forgive my early morning disappearance. Rather than stay where I wasn’t welcome, I’d retreated to my cabin. But there I found two girls I’d barely spoken to previously. From the look they gave me, my presence wasn’t wanted in the cabin either, so I fled again.
Without anywhere else to go, I ventured deeper into the ship, holding my skirt as I climbed awkwardly through an open trapdoor and down a rough ladder. Setting sail from the middle of the desert, we’d had no livestock to take other than a large collection of chickens. They were all housed on this deck, along with our supply of fresh water in barrels, and a collection of bags and crates.
I greeted the chickens, checking their health for something to do, although their companionship seemed lacking now that I’d become accustomed to Ember and Phoenix’s constant presence. When the chickens could no longer hold my attention, I wandered the hold, exploring its nooks and crannies.
Both ends had a closed trapdoor, and I grew curious enough to pull one open. Another ladder led down into a second hold, this one apparently without portholes, given the darkness. I nearly gave up on the idea of further exploration, but two lanterns had been placed next to the trapdoor, inviting use.
After lighting one, I navigated the climb down the ladder one-handed, wondering what I was going to do with my time for the rest of the journey if I was already driven to this on the first day.
The deeper hold had even less of interest than the top one since it lacked the chickens. All I could see in the circle of my light were more bags and crates. But to my surprise, my power caught the presence of another person and two animals, deeper inside the cavernous space. What were they doing lurking down here without a light?
I held onto the edge of the ladder, not quite willing to let go of the sense of escape it provided, even as I held up the lantern and peered into the depths of the cavernous space.
“Is there someone there?” I called, although I already knew the answer. “Are you in trouble?” Perhaps they had somehow lost their light and were stuck here. Given the way we’d lurched through the first part of our passage, someone down here checking on the cargo might have fallen and been injured.
