All the Stars and Teeth(64)
I shiver. I never imagined this level of evil. Murder and stolen children? Cursed soul magic? This is what Father turned his back on?
Why? All this time cooped up on Arida, practicing our magic—was it because he’s that afraid of starting a war?
“Before he was killed, Father had been teaching me to sail, and after a year of being forced to study under Kaven day and night, I knew his ship was the only way for me to escape. For a week I snuck food and supplies aboard, and then one night, when I thought everyone was asleep, a few friends and I made our escape. Only, Kaven must have been hiding there, waiting. He killed the others, and to show everyone what he was capable of should they disobey him, cursed me, and ripped away my magic. The moment I touched the helm, my soul ripped in two and bonded to Keel Haul. But he made a mistake, and didn’t think through cursing me to a ship. I commandeered it and escaped before he could stop me.”
Energy and anger simmer off his body. I reach out to put my hand on his shoulder, and Bastian stiffens.
“Surely there’s a way to break the curse?”
His teeth grind together, sharpening his jawline. “As I’ve said, to make a permanent curse on someone’s soul, their blood is needed. And the more Kaven takes, the stronger he becomes. But this magic has a weakness—to keep control of their magic, its creator must always keep some blood of the cursed person.” Bastian leans forward. “Kaven is a vain, prideful man. He collects leather bracelets smeared with the blood of those he’s cursed. He wears his favorites like a trophy, and keeps others close to him on Zudoh. To ensure his charms remain intact, he treats these bracelets as you treat your satchel, rarely leaving Zudoh so that he never has to stray too far from them. But if we can destroy those bracelets, every curse he’s ever made will break, and he’ll be weakened.”
“Do you think yours is one he keeps on him?” I ask. “One of his trophies?”
Bastian snorts. “I know it is.”
I can’t decipher the expression Bastian wears as the oil lamp flickers and dims, struggling for life. It casts the bed in a hazy burnt-orange glow. Shadows dance in the hollowness of his cheekbones and curve along his neck, down into his shirt.
Years of traveling on the sea, moving freely from one island to the next without constraints, should have filled him with wisdom and life. I’ve always been jealous of those who travel. Jealous of adventures and experiences I could only imagine.
But I have family and friends who are likely worried and awaiting my return. Bastian, I sense, doesn’t have this. His family is gone, and his soul has been cursed to a life of solitude. The stars in his eyes aren’t only crafted by adventure. They’ve been formed by years of loneliness. Of looking up into a sky full of dreams and never being quite able to reach it.
He looks so, so lonely.
“Why didn’t you tell me this, earlier?” My blood is hot, skin clammy. “This is far worse than just defeating a rebellion, Bastian. I don’t know that I can handle this on my own.”
His face and shoulders fall with shame. “I never wanted to go back to Zudoh. I meant to live out the rest of my life like this, bound to this blasted ship and as far away from Kaven as I could get. I lived in fear of him for years—knowing my island was in trouble, but too afraid to do anything about it. But the more I tried to avoid thinking about the people who must still be suffering, the more it started to eat me alive. I couldn’t focus. Couldn’t sleep. Then I heard Arida was throwing a celebration for their princess.”
This isn’t the Bastian I’m familiar with. This person is raw. Angry and vicious.
“I was visiting Valuka when I heard your performance was coming up,” Bastian says. “Aridian magic is what Kaven always wanted, and I knew then that it was the only thing strong enough to stop him. I figured I could at least try to convince your father of the dangers he was ignoring. I wanted him to know that Kaven was a true threat, though it was naive of me to think he’d do anything after so many years of ignorance. But then I saw you.” His fingers hover over my knuckles, hesitant. It takes a long moment before he can press them against my skin, encompassing my hand fully. I think to pull them away, but I can’t find the power to.
“I swear it was as if the skies opened and showed me my chance. There you were, confronting your father about the very person I came to warn him about. When you needed a way to escape Arida and redeem yourself, I truly believed that the gods led me to you for a reason.”
My head swims as a wave of nausea settles in. Whether it’s from the poison or the secrets being spilled one after another, I can’t be sure.
“Please understand I’ve spent years running,” he whispers. “I’m tired. Every moment I’m away from Keel Haul, I grow sicker. I want my freedom back.” He wears a ghost of a smile before shaking his head. “But the people of Zudoh are imprisoned, too, and I’ve neglected them too long. You asked me before why I didn’t go back sooner, and it’s because I was a coward. When I escaped, I could have tried to find a way to help them, and I didn’t. Now, Kaven’s trying to destroy the rest of the kingdom, just as he destroyed my home. I’m ready for it to end, before he hurts anyone else. And I truly believe, after all of this, that we’re meant to do this together.”
He feels as though he has a duty to the people of his island; there’s nothing I understand more. His hand is rough but warm as I tighten my grip.