Rosalina
Ezryn’s kiss still bruises my lips, even as he fades into a speck in the distance, heading into the wilds of Summer with Delphia
and Nori. Our bond feels like a string pulled too taut—we’re not meant to be this far apart. I’m not meant to be this far apart
from any of them.
Only when I can no longer see the shape of him do I let go of the ship’s railing. Wrenley looks like a cat who got all the cream, sitting cross-legged behind the wheel, pointing her pretty face up to the sun.
Guess she’s over her seasickness. The late afternoon sun glistens off her dark hair. She opens her eyes and meets my gaze, her
own blue as the ocean. I swear I’ve seen that color blue somewhere before.
“We’re starting course to Hadria,” Dayton says, interrupting my thoughts. “We’ll dock at one of the bays outside the city and
sneak in. This ship would be too noticeable in port.”
He’s talking to me without looking at me. It’s the first thing he’s said since I accidentally walked in on him and Wrenley
kissing.
The thought sends a wave of nausea through me, and I quickly push it away. Of course Dayton would kiss his mate. Of course
he should.
“I don’t love the look of the sky,” he murmurs, teal eyes narrowing. Wispy gray clouds cut across the horizon.
Dayton leaves to speak with the crew, to get us on course, and do whatever it takes to sail a ship. I need to find some space
to think. I head to the bow and sit on a crate beside the railing. Misty water sprays up to coat my heated face.
I feel so far away from so many people I care about. Farron, Caspian, Kel, and Papa are in the Below. Ezryn, Delphie, and
Nori are in the desert. I can’t do anything to protect them.
Heavy footsteps sound, and I look up to see Dayton walking toward me. He’s lost his shirt, skin glowing bronze in the
orange light. A striped bandana is wrapped around his head, holding back the tangles of his golden hair.
“Trying to look like a proper pirate?” I can’t help but smirk.
He grabs one of the ropes and smiles back. “Just trying to fit the mood. I’ll be a gladiator soon enough. The arena I know
even better than the sea.”
“You seem to know the sea like the back of your hand.”
“I do, but the arena ... The arena I know down to the very marrow of my bones.” His voice is a deep fever, and a wildness
sparks in his eyes.
“Do you really think I can do it?” I ask. “Fight with you in these games?”
“You took down an airship. A few monsters from the Below won’t be a problem.”
“I won’t be able to use my thorns, though,” I remind him.
“Right.” Dayton sits on a crate beside me. “There will be bows though, and we’ll go over your sword work. I’ll be there the
whole time.”
This is okay, talking to Dayton about our mission. This I can handle. “Aren’t you nervous? You’ll be competing in front of
your people, most of whom haven’t seen you in a long time.”
His smile only broadens. “Kairyn is an idiot. He’s trying to twist the Sun Colosseum into his own dark playground. But he
can’t hold domain over a place he hasn’t shed blood. I fought in the games my whole life. Most royals do one or two big fights
to show their worth, but my family couldn’t get me out of there.”
“Why’s that?”
“In the arena, I felt alive. There wasn’t any worrying about the future. You make a decision, or you die. The crowd may be
screaming, but for me, it’s the one place where everything is quiet. Kairyn can hold his games, but he can’t control what
happens on the sand. And he doesn’t know something very important about me.”
Dayton’s hair is a wild storm as he speaks, blue eyes flashing with memory and mirth. “What doesn’t he know?” I ask.
“I’ve never lost a game in that arena. I’m the only one in the entire Vale who can claim that.” He reaches across and grabs
my hand. “I don’t plan to start losing now. We’ll win the three matches and get your bow. Then you’ll blow apart the sky.”
His words set my heart to a gallop, but instead of getting caught up in it, I pull away. “Wouldn’t you be more powerful in the
arena with your curse broken?”
Dayton stiffens. Then he smiles, but it’s not his usual one. It’s slower, more lopsided, cruel. “Maybe I would have already
broken it if you hadn’t interrupted us earlier.”
“Oh, you’re just—” I interrupt myself and stand, fists clenched.
“I’m just what, Rosalina?”
“I’m leaving.”
Dayton leaps up, grabbing my arm. “No, say what you want to say.”
“Fine. I think we should be careful with what we tell Wrenley about our plans. Especially if she’s still working under Kairyn
at the palace when we return.”
His grip tightens. “I knew you didn’t like her.”
I shove him in his perfectly muscular chest. “I never said that. I’m trying, Dayton.”
“So am I. You’re the one making it hard for me.”
I reel and dig my hands into my hair. “I’m making it hard? I spent the night with her. I’ve tried to be her friend. God, Dayton,
how am I making this hard for you?”
He doesn’t answer. His chest heaves, half his face cast in shadows from the clouds.
“Dayton?”
He moves toward me.
Some instinctual part of me takes a step back, unnerved by the wildness in his gaze. “I could have broken my curse with her
before we went to Castletree, you know,” he growls. “I could have done it a thousand times over by now.”
My back presses against the mast, but Dayton doesn’t stop advancing. “A year ago, can you imagine how lucky I would have
felt to find a beautiful mate who wants nothing more than to adore me?”
“I’m sure you think you’re very lucky,” I spit. The wind is violent now, tossing my hair every which way.
“I don’t, and I blame you.” Dayton places a firm hand on either side of my head. “This is all your fault. I was fine before.
You made me stop pushing Farron away. You made me believe in some sort of destiny. You made me believe love was real.
You have ruined everything, and I will never stop loathing you for it, Rosalina.”
My heart near beats out of my chest, and electricity tangles in the air as Dayton grabs my chin and pulls me toward him—and
I can do nothing to stop him.
Bright blue light covers my entire vision. I scream, and Dayton tugs me back against his chest as a bolt of lightning strikes
the mast with a deafening crack.
“Storm incoming!” one of the crew calls.
“That came on too fast!” another shouts from the crow’s nest.
The boat rocks as waves crash against the hull, sending a spray of water on deck, but Dayton keeps an iron-clad grip on me.
A torrent of rain erupts from the clouds, soaking us. Another strike of lightning sparks across the sky, illuminating the dark
clouds. In a flash of light, I see the crew’s panicked faces, and Wrenley, staring down at us from the upper deck. Her face is
wild and furious, eyes like electricity itself.
“We need to secure the ship, then get everyone below deck,” Dayton says.
I nod, and he steps away from me, in one moment transforming from the carefree Summer Prince to a commander of the sea.
“Batten down the hatches,” Dayton calls. “Secure the cannons and get below deck!”
Pitch-black clouds turn the sea into a churning darkness. Huge waves pelt the ship on all sides. I scramble, terror seizing my
body. Dayton keeps shouting orders while the crew work furiously to take down the sails. The lightning that struck the mast has
left the sails hanging awkwardly.
Furious wind whips through them, tearing the canvas. Other crew members attempt to tie down the cannons and barrels.
Farther up, Dayton ushers some crew below deck.
“Come on, Rosie!” he shouts.
I run toward him on the slick ground, struggling to maintain my footing as the ship pitches and rolls with the swell. The ship
dives forward as we slide down a huge wave. I fall to my knees, suddenly nearly horizontal on the slick surface. I need to stop
myself.
My first thought is to summon my thorns, but the ocean floor is too far away. Scrambling, I reach out and grasp the side
railing, stopping me from slipping farther.
Dayton’s shouting, running toward me, but he’s barely audible over the cacophony of the storm. With a groan, the ship levels,
and a huge wave pours over the deck, soaking me, but I keep my grip tight on the rail until I’m sure we’re no longer pitching
down.
“I’m okay,” I gasp, standing, wiping the water from my eyes.
Dayton stops, a stupid, relieved look on his face. “Come on, Rosie,” he calls, before throwing his arm around an injured
crew member. Quickly, I rush after them.
A crack sounds through the air. The top half of the mast snaps. I retreat and it barely misses me as it strikes the side of the
ship, breaking apart the railing and tumbling into the churning ocean. My breath is ragged. If that hit me—
A rope swings in my vision, trailing after the mast. I don’t have time to move. It strikes me in the stomach, and I slam against
the deck. Another icy wave pours over the side of the ship, engulfing me and dragging me closer and closer to the edge. No, no,
no, no.
My fingernails cling uselessly to the slick surface, and I scream as I careen closer and closer to the broken railing. Magic. I
have to use magic. The water turns to ice beneath my fingers, causing me to slide faster. “No!”
The ship tilts and I spin, missing the opening but slamming my head hard against the railing. Pain radiates through my skull.
The world spins and dips, and it’s so cold. My body becomes limp as a ragdoll before all goes black.