Golden Age (The Shifting Tides, #1)(97)

‘No.’

He nodded. ‘It’s easier than it looks. The wind is coming across our beam and we’re heading due north, so we won’t need to tack for a long time. I want you to take hold of the tiller.’

She looked at him white-faced. ‘I can’t.’

‘It’s fine,’ he soothed. ‘I’m going to pass it to you, but I want you to keep it at the same angle it’s at now. Can you do that?’

Chloe swallowed, but she nodded.

‘Here goes.’ The two of them were facing each other across the small gap between the two benches at either side of the boat. The tiller was at Dion’s right and Chloe’s left. Dion took her left hand with his and guided it to the polished wood of the handle. He released and she wrapped her hand around the timber. He then folded her hand in his.

‘I’ll guide you like this for a time,’ he said. Her hand felt small and smooth inside his calloused palm. ‘Keeping us on course won’t be difficult, but the important thing is to keep us heading into the waves like we’re climbing a mountain by the shortest path. Understand? Good.’ He kept her hand moving, steering the vessel up the next wave. She gulped as they rode the far side. They climbed the next. ‘I won’t make you do it on your own until you feel ready.’

They continued for a time, and Dion realized it was the first close human contact he’d had since he’d said goodbye to his family at the harbor of Xanthos. He glanced at Chloe, realizing that she was looking at him also. She was pretty, he decided, and stronger than he’d thought, although he found her upturned nose irritating for some reason.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’ She scowled.

Dion frowned. He didn’t take his hand away from hers, but now the contact felt ice cold. ‘I was wondering when you were going to tell me why you saved that villain’s life in the abandoned arena. You almost got me killed.’

‘He wasn’t a villain,’ she bit off the words. ‘He was—’

‘Watch out!’ Dion cried. He shoved her hand, held in his; they’d been about to angle over a curling crest. There was silence for a time.

‘He was what?’

‘He was my friend,’ Chloe said. ‘I couldn’t let you kill him.’ She looked away. ‘He taught me how to fight, and that’s how I escaped. I killed four men, perhaps five, to get free of the palace.’

Dion looked at her with renewed respect. ‘I tried to help,’ he murmured. ‘I came for you at the arena.’

‘Why you?’ she asked.

Dion explained about the Assembly’s hesitation and her father’s request. ‘He will be anxious to have you back.’

‘You sailed all the way to Lamara, alone?’

‘No,’ Dion said sadly. He thought about Cob, his old friend, who had taught him everything he knew about sailing. ‘Not alone. We got into trouble. Wildren. The Oracle at Athos gave me this boat.’

When he mentioned the Oracle, a shadow passed over Chloe’s face. She changed the subject. ‘What did you do after you got to Lamara?’

‘I enlisted as a marine. I learned about the sun king’s ships.’ Dion explained about Roxana. ‘I looked for you.’ He turned away. ‘I set fire to the sun king’s fleet.’

Chloe’s eyes widened. ‘That was you?’

Dion nodded. ‘It wasn’t enough, though. An eldran helped them put out the flames.’

‘Triton,’ Chloe said. ‘He says he is their king, although I’ve never heard of him, and Zachary never mentioned him.’ She told him about Triton’s bargain with the sun king. Triton believed there was something inside the ark that was his by right. ‘There’s something else.’ She hesitated. ‘The reason they are sailing for Xanthos . . . Dion, there is a traitor in your father’s court. He told Solon about a safe route through the Shards.’

Now it was Dion’s turn to be shocked. ‘Only the royal family knows about it. And a few old fishermen.’

‘Anyone else?’

Dion felt a cold grip clutch hold of his chest. ‘There is another. My father’s first adviser. But he has always been loyal.’ He didn’t mention the enduring conflict between Peithon and his mother.

‘It’s true then? About the safe passage?’

He nodded grimly. ‘It’s true. If they get there before we do, Xanthos will fall.’

The two worked in silence for a time. Dion kept his hand over hers, but relaxed his pressure, letting her do all the work. He decided she was learning the knack of it.

‘So how did you let yourself get captured?’

She was suddenly furious. ‘Let myself?’ She wriggled her hand until he let her go. ‘I can manage now.’ He removed his hand as if he’d burned it. ‘I didn’t let myself get captured, whatever you think,’ she said. ‘I was prepared to die. They questioned me time and again, and I never gave away anything that might endanger my people. I saw my only friend impaled, in front of my eyes. I was thrown into a cell. I—’

Dion held up his hand. ‘Bad choice of words.’ He yawned so wide that his jaw cracked. ‘I’m tired.’ He looked over the Calypso, checking that all the lines were secure and seeing that Chloe was managing with the tiller. ‘I need to rest. Are you sure—?’