to the city gates. As I walk, I study the barren landscape I’ve known my entire life. After spending so many months in Renove, it seems even more dead and disheartening than before.
I find my men in the shipyard, speaking with the captain. I took Amalia aside to give them time to instruct the crew to keep our identity a secret. The chance of the princess discovering the truth becomes greater with every person we trust in our company, but there is no other way to cross the sea.
Amalia stands with the group now, hands clasped at her front, looking as though she feels thoroughly out of place. Her eyes drift over me, and I give her a tentative smile before turning to the captain.
“When do you believe you’ll be ready to sail?” I ask him.
The man bows his head when he sees me.
“Your Hi—” He stops abruptly at my sharp look and clears his throat before he changes course, saying, “Your company is very welcome, Captain Rhys.”
Captain?
I glance at Tryndon, who smirks at me from behind the man.
“We’ve finished loading the cargo for the voyage,” the sea captain continues. “We will take you to the ship whenever you are ready.”
“We’re ready now. Thank you for your consideration.”
He gives orders to his men. My knights, Amalia, and I leave the city once more, heading for the small port.
“It seems he knows you,” Amalia says quietly as we walk. “Does he think you’re a knight of Draegan?”
I glance at her. “The deception was necessary.”
Immediately, she nods. “I understand.”
Amalia is quick to forgive, but would she be as understanding if she knew the situation was reversed?
“In a moment, we’ll board a dinghy,” I explain, changing the subject. “We’ll be most vulnerable until we reach the ship. However, even though it’s always night on the sea, most of the creatures that haunt the waters are truly nocturnal and sense the changing of time. They should be sleeping. As long as we are quiet, we won’t draw their attention.”
Amalia gulps. “All right.”
“Also, don’t look into the water.”
“Why?” she whispers.
“The fairy lights are beautiful, but they’re no longer benign as they were hundreds of years ago. You can gaze across the sea, but if you look at them too closely, they’ll entrance you and coax you into their cold depths.”
“Setting aside the fact that I cannot swim, I assume the water is a place I don’t want to be?”
“Correct.” I glance at her, knowing she won’t like this next bit. “It would be best if you close your eyes while we travel to the ship. Resisting is more difficult than it sounds.”
We stop outside the dock. Amalia glances into the curtain of night, uncertain. “If you think it’s best…”
“Just until we’re on the ship,” I assure her. “After that, we’ll spend most of our time below deck.”
“All right,” she agrees hesitantly. “But first, can I take a look at the sea? Just a peek from the dock, no more than a step past the boundary?”
I give her a wry look.
“I promise not to look at the lights too closely.” She gives me that smile that seems to be for me alone, making me waver. “I just want to see them for a moment. And besides, you’ll go with me and keep me from leaping in, right?”
Reluctantly, I agree.
Immediately, Amalia reaches for my hand—like it’s hers to take whenever she pleases. And it is, but how does she know that?
Lewis shoots me a dark look, pointedly looking at our clasped hands. I ignore him, but it worries me. The men are uneasy, especially after Amalia kissed me in the Chasm.
If they knew about the sealed parchment I carry in my pack, they just might stage a mutiny.
Together, Amalia and I walk down the dock. The ancient boards bend and shift with every step we take.
She hesitates before the boundary between morning and night, and then she presses on, pulling me with her.
The princess gasps the moment night cloaks us, and her fingers tighten between mine. The daylight feels as if it’s on the other side of the world. Like the mouth of a cave, it’s distant and too bright against the darkness.
Billions of blue pinpricks of light glow from the inky water surrounding us. Stretching as far as the eye can see, they wink and ebb like true stars. Above, the sky is black. There is no moon, no stars—nothing but a dark void.
The princess is awash in the dim blue light, too lovely. She stares