This Wicked Fate (This Poison Heart #2)(62)

“Wait,” said Marie, glancing back and forth between Circe and Persephone. “I have at least seven questions.”

I laughed despite the sense of dread that had been growing in the pit of my stomach since we got there.

“When were you a pirate?” Marie clasped her hands together in front of her and stared Persephone right in the face. “You weren’t gonna tell me that? You know how much I love pirates.”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you. You’d never shut up about it.”

Marie crossed her arms over her chest. “Rude. We’re gonna talk about that, but right now, I wanna know where Hermes got this boat. Because it looks like he stole it from Jack Sparrow. What is happening here?”

“Seriously,” I said. “Shouldn’t we use something more—I don’t know—modern?”

“Something with an engine?” Marie chimed in.

Persephone huffed. “Modern doesn’t necessarily mean better. Hermes knows these waters. He has assured me that this kind of vessel is much better suited for what we’re attempting.”

“So he told you where to go?” I asked.

Persephone nodded. “The Great Eye can’t see Aeaea, but it can see the rocky outcroppings where the sirens dwell. When we approach, we have to let the wind carry us in as quietly as possible. A modern ship is too loud.”

“So, what’s the timeline here?” I asked. “How long will it take us to get there?”

“We should reach the Sirenum scopuli by nightfall,” said Circe. “If we can get on to the island around that same time we should make camp and wait till morning to go any farther.”

“We’ve got provisions for several days, and we have backup in case that runs out,” Persephone said. She glanced toward the stack of our belongings. Circe’s traveling apothecary was tucked away there. I realized she meant we could grow some food if we needed to, and honestly, I was embarrassed that I hadn’t considered using my power for something like that. I was too focused on getting a few tendrils of Devil’s Pet around Karter’s neck.

Persephone got to work uncoiling ropes and inspecting the wide swaths of sail while I helped move the rest of our belongings into the room at the front of the ship. Inside, there was a single bed set into an alcove and a small table. The windows were made of green and blue stained glass, and as the sun slanted through, it washed the room in a dappled, emerald light. I imagined a captain and her shipmates sitting around counting their treasure, plotting their next adventure. We weren’t sailors or pirates. We were two people with the ability to control plants and an immunity to poison and two immortals, one of whom was my girlfriend. There was a lot of strange and wonderful power between the four of us, but I still wasn’t confident it would be enough.

I finished loading our stuff and rejoined Persephone on deck. She’d drawn up the sails, but as she stared at them they barely moved. The breeze that had kicked up earlier that morning was completely gone.

“What now?” Marie asked.

Circe went to the captain’s quarters and came back clutching a small vial with a cork stopper, something from her miniature apothecary. She held it between her fingers and gave it a shake.

“Cytisus scoparius,” she said, tossing it to me.

I held it up and peered inside. “Common name, broom.” I’d come across the description in the big book where Selene had illustrated a thousand poison plants in vivid detail. I handed it back to her. “What are you going to do with it?”

“Broom can raise the winds. If you have enough of it you can raise hurricane-force gales. Usually it’s used for purification rituals or protection spells.” She uncorked the bottle and sprinkled a few minuscule pieces of the dried plant into the palm of her hand. “But in this freshly grown form it can be used to stir the air around you. It’s helpful for sailing on a windless day.”

She breathed deep and the pieces sprouted yellow and orange blooms and angled grass-green stems. Circe quickly snapped off the petals and tossed them high into the air above her head, where they blew apart and rained down on us like confetti. A breeze gusted across the deck, scattering the broken petals to the water. A gale, with enough force to violently rock the boat, descended on us. I grabbed ahold of Marie to steady myself as the sails billowed and snapped and the ship lurched forward.

Persephone set a heading and we sailed away from the bluff in the bright light of the morning sun. I watched the lighthouse shrink, but even at a distance, I could see Hermes standing in the upper room. Messenger god, protector of travelers. I wondered if he’d done all he could do for us.



The novelty of being on a wannabe pirate ship wore off as soon as the nausea set in. The sway of the boat was gentle but the way my stomach flip-flopped around inside me was not. I stayed close to the rail in case I needed to throw up, gripping it until my hands ached. The moist air in my face helped, but the sick feeling continued to roll over me in waves.

Marie stood beside me, her hand on the small of my back. “You get seasick?”

I shrugged. “I guess? I’ve never been on a boat like this.”

Persephone joined us and slipped the slender finger of a freshly skinned ginger root into my hand. “Powdered is better, but you look like you could use some relief sooner than later. Bite off a chunk. It’ll be a little bitter, but the fastest way to get it into your system is just to chew it.”