All the Stars and Teeth(17)
I try not to roll my eyes at his easy demeanor. “Why are you here?”
His amusement dims as he reaches beneath his coat, to something hooked onto his hip. I jerk away from the cell bars, anticipating a weapon. I’ve no way to protect myself here; the cell is too shallow to hide within, and offers only a single bedroll and an empty metal basin as protection.
My fingertips itch to use magic, but I’ve no way to summon it. Everyone wields their magic a little differently, and for mine to work, I need fire. The torchlight, however, is too far to reach. I’m defenseless.
But when Bastian draws his hand back out, it’s not a weapon he holds. It’s a large ring of worn copper keys.
Dread grips my stomach. “How’d you get those?”
Bastian shoves the key into the lock. “Does it matter? Listen to me, Princess—they’re going to execute you if you stay here.”
The conviction in his words causes my heart to slam into my throat.
“They wouldn’t,” I say. “At least not until they have a trial.” They’ll want to ensure Kalea’s able to control soul magic, first. They’ll want to make sure they have another option.
When Bastian’s eyes catch mine in the torchlight, the pieces holding me together begin to dissolve. I press a hand to my throat, clammy and sticky with sweat despite the dank, pressing coolness of the air. Because it’s not anger in Bastian’s glance, nor is it annoyance. Though his mouth is a hard line, his eyes have softened with sympathy. They hold me tight, chilling my bones.
“Sure, they’ll have a trial, but things aren’t looking good for you. Do you really want to take that risk?” His words are a whisper spoken soft and gentle, under his breath. “They’re planning for your aunt to move here at the end of the summer, to accept her magic and begin training. Your father’s trying to sway them, but the people think you’re too much of a liability; they want to keep you locked up.”
As much as I don’t want to admit it—as much as I want to believe my parents are well loved and influential enough to stop this, and that Visidia wouldn’t want to get rid of a potential heir when there are too few of us—deep down I expected this.
There’s no way I should expect people to overlook what I’ve done. I maimed a man right before their eyes, and I smiled as I did it.
Bastian grips a bar tight. “You might be as good as dead if you stay here. But if you come with me, right now, I can help you. We can help each other.”
I hate not having a weapon. I’d love for him to say that to me again when I can press a blade to his throat for the blasphemy. “You want me to abandon Visidia?” I ask at the same time another prisoner across from us calls out, “How about I go with you instead, handsome?”
Bastian rolls his eyes and leans closer into the cell, dropping his voice so that no one can eavesdrop. “Listen to me. I don’t want you to abandon Visidia.” He pulls back his coat to reveal my dagger and satchel tucked into his belt. “I want you to save it.”
Before I can protest or demand to know how he got his hands on either, he tosses both into my cell. I don’t hesitate to scoop them up, feeling whole the moment my fingers brush the burnished leather and slide around my blade’s worn hilt.
“I’m not here to fight you.” Bastian yanks the cell door open, and I ready my dagger to strike if needed. But he doesn’t come closer.
“What do you mean you want me to save Visidia?” My voice is weaker than I will it to be, my thoughts scattered a million different ways.
Ferrick could return any minute with the palace guards or even Visidian soldiers in tow. My cell could be slammed shut again, with Bastian thrown into the one beside me. And then what? Locked in this cell, what are my options?
I must find a way to earn Visidia’s forgiveness. To prove myself to my people. All along, Aunt Kalea was Visidia’s backup plan. But now I’m all they have.
Either I can wait and hope that Father’s able to come through, or I can find a way to earn my own second chance.
“Listen, these are stolen keys.” Bastian motions to the cell door with an exasperated huff as I linger. “And let’s just say that the guards are taking a little nap right now, courtesy of some of Curmana’s finest herbs. I tucked them in a cell, so they should be perfectly comfortable, but they’re not going to stay asleep for long and I imagine there will be some shouting once they’re awake. I’ll explain everything once we’re on my ship, but I swear to you that if you don’t come with me right now, Visidia as we know it will be gone by winter’s end.”
The world spins, but this time it’s not from nausea. I grip the bars to keep myself steady, thinking.
This man has a ship.
Ships are good. A ship will get me off Arida and give me enough time to prove to my people that my head is worth sparing. That I can lead them. It will give me a chance to save not only Aunt Kalea, but all of Visidia.
And if what Bastian says is also true, and Visidia truly is in danger, then what choice do I have but to help? To prove myself. Change my fate.
It’s like there’s a current behind me, pushing me toward the Valukan whose eyes hold the same earnestness now as they did when he tried to speak with Father earlier. He’d been trying to warn us of something then, too. Of Kaven.
Bastian has answers. He’s got a ship, and offers me a chance for redemption that I can’t risk leaving up to fate.