All the Stars and Teeth(101)

Finally, I see the people in Zudoh who dipped their heads to me and, for the first time, offered me their trust.

If we don’t hurry to warn my people, it could be the end for my kingdom. And it will certainly be the end of those Zudians.

The match in my soul catches the flame, considering it. It doesn’t flare, but it sparks—just once—with a promise that perhaps one day it might burn brightly again. When I reach out for the warmth this time, it’s distant, but it’s there. I have to cling on to it.

The loss of my magic is a void that I’ll never be okay with. But I can’t hide from my fate. My life is Visidia’s, as it has always been and will always be.

Ferrick and Vataea stand close, listening. I turn my attention to Ferrick, who offers a small but wavering smile. My lips don’t feel right mirroring the movement, so I nod instead in silent thanks for his support. Then I look up at the pirate, whose jaw is a hard line as he stares down at me. When I wrap my fingers around his hand and squeeze once, his shoulders fall and his body relaxes. He drops his forehead onto the top of my head, words muffled in my curls. “We’ll do this together.”

I press my head against his chest, keeping my eyes shut tight so that no tears can escape. But no longer is it just his arms around me. It’s Ferrick, too. Then Vataea. Casem. All of them hug me tight, and I’m rendered useless against the tears.

Bastian once asked me why I didn’t just find a crew and save myself. But what he didn’t realize was that I’d already found them—this is my crew, and I hold them tight. “We’ll do this together. All of us.”

The others peel away, and I’m left looking up into Bastian’s hazel eyes. He’s warm and smells of brine, and for a moment I wish I never had to move. That we could stay like this forever, pretending my kingdom wasn’t about to be in a war. Because when he touches me, it’s like I’m myself again, if only for a moment.

But there’s no time for fantasies, and I’m not sure my soul could handle another broken one. I peel myself away, square my shoulders, and force myself to become Amora Montara, the Princess of Visidia once more.

“We’ll need to hurry,” I tell them. “Kaven’s likely already on his way.”

Keel Haul’s sails bloat satisfactorily as we’re pulled windward, but even the ocean’s heavy breeze can’t carry us as quickly as I’d like.

Head still dipped and his shoulders caved nervously, Casem awkwardly clears his throat. “Does this mean—”

“By the stars, Casem, yes. I forgive you.” I roll my eyes, letting them wander to Vataea. “But I do have a question for you.”

She arches a brow, face sallow and sunken. It’s clear that whatever magic she used to split the sea back in Zudoh did a number on her.

“Why didn’t you tell me that one of the curses you sensed on Keel Haul was from me?”

Vataea puckers her lips and answers easily, “It felt ancient. I didn’t think you should have to worry over something beyond your control.”

I sigh. She was trying to be kind, then. “Well, what about this new one? Surely I have to be cursed to something nearby, because I don’t feel ill. Can you sense it?”

She shakes her head, fists tightening at her sides as if angry about it. “I’ve tried. Mermaids can’t see curse magic, we sense it; it’s a skill my kind developed centuries ago, to protect ourselves from early poachers. Makes my gills all prickly.” She points to the scars on her neck. “Yours is making everything prickly. I don’t know if it’s because it’s so fresh, but your curse feels like it’s surrounding me. Like it’s in the very air around us.”

I lift my chin to Keel Haul’s mast. Kaven was so far from this ship, and yet … Could it be Keel Haul that my soul is attached to, after all? If Vataea feels the curse all around her, that’s the only thing that makes sense.

“We’re going to figure it out,” Bastian offers, drawing my attention forward again. “Remember, Kaven has to keep your blood in order for the curse to exist. When we face him again, we’ll find where he’s kept it and destroy it. You’ll have your magic back.”

I nod and wait for the familiar heat of my magic to warm my skin and agree with this plan. But it never comes.

“Set sail straight for Arida, then,” I tell Bastian. “Full speed ahead. We’ve magic to collect.”

And the entire kingdom of Visidia to protect.





CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE


The sea quivers as thunderclaps explode from the sky.

Arida is a smudge in the near distance, veiled in rain and billowing gray mist that blooms from the water and lightens into milky wisps the farther it lifts.

I stand at the edge of the bow, Bastian at my side as harsh wind snarls at my clothes and lashes at my soaked curls. His hand rests over mine; the only warmth to be found. The sharp air has sunk into my bones and numbed my core.

Bastian’s careful not to touch the cuts in my palm as he curls his fingers around my hand. He squeezes it, just once. A soft pulse to remind me that he’s there.

I allow my fingers to do the same, lacing around his so I might draw some of his strength. I search again for the familiar thrumming of magic in my body, but inside I remain hollow. There’s not even a spark.

“Be careful.” The pirate has to lean close for me to hear his words. Even against the rain, the warmth of his breath prickles my ear. “I know I can’t stop you from fighting, but whatever you do, please be careful. I quite like having you in my crew.”