Fireblood (Frostblood Saga #2)(80)
She swallowed and gestured to the pitcher. I poured some water and she took the cup and drank. “Thank you. Ugh, I’m so parched all the time.” She gave me the empty cup and I returned it to the table. “Sea travel disagrees with me. Violently.”
“My seasickness only lasted a day. I didn’t know it could be this bad. Shouldn’t it improve now that you’re anchored?”
“Who knows?” Her eyelids fluttered as she tried and failed to open them all the way. “Distract me from my boredom, Ruby. I’ve been cooped up here for weeks. Tell me about Sudesia. Is it everything you’ve ever dreamed it would be?”
“In some ways, I suppose. The island is more beautiful than I imagined. But nothing else has gone as expected.” I gave a brief account of my efforts to become a Fireblood master, including the part about stopping the lava in the first trial. I played nervously with the hem of my tunic, feeling strangely shy as I said, “And from that, they seem to think I’m the queen’s lost niece. If you can credit the idea of me being royalty.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head with a low laugh. “Of course you are. Because you weren’t special enough already.”
She sounded bitter, which stung. I couldn’t help but feel a little defensive. “It’s not as if I’ve been rewarded for my gifts before. Not in Tempesia, at least.”
“No, not at all,” she said drily. “Only with the infatuation of two kings.”
I inhaled sharply. Now she sounded… jealous. “I didn’t know you felt that way. You know I never wanted Rasmus to—”
“Stop, Ruby. You don’t need to defend yourself. I don’t really feel that way. I mean, I didn’t. Maybe only to a small degree, but I never blamed you.” She moaned as if in pain. “These past weeks… I’m finding myself dwelling…” She put her fingertips to her temples and pressed. “I just… I’m not myself.”
“Marella, we need to get you some help.” I leaned forward urgently. “A healer. Medicine.”
She laughed, a bit more like her old self, but cut with bitterness. “No healer can help me.”
My stomach flipped with worry. “Why do you say that?”
“Hmm? Oh, I only mean I can’t get help here. Hostile territory and all that.”
“You need to get home, then.” I scrubbed my hands over my face. When Arcus had said Marella was seasick, I’d had no way of knowing she’d be this ill. Clearly he’d overestimated what she was capable of right now. She was barely lucid. “Unfortunately, Arcus has been captured and the queen seems rather reluctant to let him go.”
“He was captured?” She huffed. “Well, of course he was. He couldn’t stay away from you, could he?”
My cheeks warmed. “Frost doesn’t show up in these parts too often anymore. You’d have thought a plague had just been unleashed.”
Her lips curved. “I’m sorry I missed that.” She paused, staring dully at me. “You’re the only person who makes him do that, you know. Lose his temper. He never does with me. Or anyone else for that matter.”
She made it sound like I brought out the worst in him. While she brought out… something better, at least.
When I didn’t reply, she asked, “Where is he now?”
“In the north tower of the castle. I don’t know what the queen will do to him. She’s convinced he has a fleet of Tempesian warships bearing down on her.”
“That’s what we should have done. Brought some warships. Made her think twice about defying us.”
“How can you say that? You never wanted Firebloods to be hurt.”
She waved her hand and I cringed at how bony it appeared. “Don’t listen to me. I hardly know what I’m saying.”
I heard the frustration and the hint of shame. Marella, for all her pretty smiles and fancy gowns, was as tough as tempered steel. She prided herself on it. This illness must feel like the worst kind of weakness. Concern and pity were not emotions I’d ever felt for her, but I felt them now.
Her lids fluttered. I sat on the chair next to the bed and went to take her hand, but she drew it away.
“When I get Arcus back to the ship,” I said, “can you haul anchor and get away from here?”
“We’ll be gone before you can blink.”
TWENTY-THREE
THE QUEEN SENT A MESSAGE TO SUMMON me first thing the next morning. My heart took up a rhythm somewhere between panic and terror. Had she heard about my nighttime visit to the ship? But no, there was no way I could have been followed. And if she had somehow found out, she wouldn’t have waited until morning to confront me. Perhaps she just meant to chastise me for daring to visit her captive the day before.
The moment I left my room, Kai’s door opened, as if a sixth sense told him I was passing by. He fell into step beside me.
“Do you realize,” he asked, “that tomorrow we’ll be Fireblood masters?” A smile lit his face, so wide and genuine that I couldn’t help but return it. He gestured with his hands as he spoke, all fizzing energy and excitement. “I have the perfect place to celebrate tonight. A little tavern on the wharf. It gets a bit rough after midnight, but don’t worry, half the people there are former crewmates who will back us in a fight. The ale is surprisingly…” In lieu of a description, he kissed the tips of his fingers to show his appreciation. “And the music is—”