Defend the Dawn (Defy the Night #2)(43)

He also looks just as green as I feel.

Lochlan doesn’t waste time on any pleasantries. He pulls a small woven pouch out of a pocket and holds it out. “Here,” he says, and while his voice is gruff, it’s not unkind.

“What is it?”

“It’s from Karri. For the seasickness.” He gives me a quick up-and-down glance. “Peppermint candies. And some ginger caramels. She made them both this morning when she learned we were leaving so soon.” He pauses. “You look like you could use some.”

“Oh.” That tempers some of my wariness. I reach out and take the bag just as the boat gives another surge. I have to grab hold of the doorframe so I don’t crash into Lochlan, too.

My mouth is already watering, and I shove a hand into the bag for one of the caramels. “Thank you,” I say, as I slip one into my mouth. “Don’t you need them?”

“She made some for me, too,” he says. “But I always catch some summer work on the fishing trawlers. I don’t get seasick.” He glances at my hand clutching the wood. “It’ll be better once we pull away from the dock. They’ve got the sails up, so we’re fighting the ropes.”

There’s no belligerence in his voice, and I’m reminded of the way he spoke gently to Karri. I’ve only ever known him as a rebel who tortured Corrick and tried to burn down the palace, but there has to be another side to him that he’s reluctant to show. Karri is too smart, too discerning. She wouldn’t be with a man like him otherwise.

“Be careful,” I say. “You might trick me into thinking you’re kind, Lochlan.”

“I am kind,” he says simply. The boat sways, and he compensates, then throws a glare at the ceiling. “Figures we’d be made to wait on that stupid, spoiled—”

“I suggest you not finish that sentence,” says Kilbourne, and all the warmth that existed in his tone earlier is gone now.

“What are you going to do?” says Lochlan. “Throw me overboard? Don’t think I don’t know why I was invited.”

“You were invited as an extension of trust,” I say.

Surprise lights in his expression, and he gives a brief, derisive laugh. Any flickers of kindness have vanished. “The sad thing is that you really believe that. Karri loves you, so I’m going to have to assume you’re just naive, because anything else would be insulting.”

“Oh, good,” I say. “I’m glad you’re not going to get insulting.”

He takes a looming step toward me, and my heart thumps.

He must see the fear in my expression because he stops. “Again,” he says, “you’re scared of me, when you should be scared of him. You probably think he brought you for some reason other than keeping him warm at night.” My cheeks flame, but he’s not done. “Somehow you’re smart enough to make the Moonflower work better, but you’re too stupid to figure out that the King’s Justice is a dirty liar who should be chained to the rudder—”

Kilbourne shoves him into the opposite wall so hard that the doors rattle. The movement is so quick and so violent that I give a little yip and press my hands to my abdomen. He might be good-natured, but he’s still a guardsman. Even Silas looks startled, but he catches up more quickly than I do. He puts a hand against Lochlan’s shoulder to pin him there, then glances at Kilbourne as if to ask if they’re taking it further.

Lochlan doesn’t fight him; he just looks at me. “Do you see?”

“I gave you fair warning,” Kilbourne says.

Footsteps echo from the opposite direction, and I turn to see Captain Blakemore approaching, followed by Corrick and Rocco.

The captain’s steps slow as he sizes up the situation. The hallway is narrow, but he waits for Corrick to draw abreast. “Your Highness. Are your people going to be a problem?”

Corrick’s eyes flick from me to Lochlan. “It doesn’t look like my people were the ones causing the problem. Silas, see that he returns to his quarters.”

Lochlan draws himself up like he’s going to retort, but then he lets out a breath and shakes his head. He looks at me. “Just wait. You’ll see.” He pauses, then throws a look of pure hatred Corrick’s way. “And when it happens,” he says to me, “be sure to tell Karri I loved her.” Then he shoves past the prince and the captain and slips into a room just a bit down the hall.

Corrick looks at me. His hair is damp, his clothes shining where rain soaked into the shoulders of his jacket. His eyes, as usual, are piercing. “Did he hurt you?”

“No,” I say. I realize my fingers are still clutched around the candies that Karri sent. “He wasn’t doing anything wrong.” As I say the words, I can’t decide if they’re true. Too much happened in a short span of time. “He brought me medicine from Karri.”

“Are you unwell, Miss Cade?” says Captain Blakemore.

“I just need to get used to the motion of the boat,” I say. There’s too much tension in the hallway, and I want to undo it. I just have no idea how. “Corrick, I … I didn’t know which room you’d want.”

“Any room will do,” he says. His eyes haven’t left mine. “Captain, you have my thanks.” Then, without hesitation, he takes my hand, leads me into the room at my back, and closes us inside.