Grace and Fury (Grace and Fury #1)(66)

“What do you—”

“Don’t trust anyone with your secret,” Asa interrupted. “It’s not safe.”

Nomi pressed her face to Asa’s chest. Shame slithered through her veins. She’d started to wonder if she was wrong about Malachi. But this sealed her opinion.

And his fate.

“Just imagine,” Asa murmured, his breath warm against her hair. “Soon it won’t matter that you can read. We can ensure all women can. There will be no Graces. Women will be free to make their own choices.”

His words were a spell, binding Nomi to him, to his vision of a future she’d give anything to see. “That’s what I want, Nomi.” He kissed the top of her head again. “That, with you as my queen.”





THIRTY-THREE



SERINA


SERINA DRIFTED IN and out with the waves.

Sometimes, the waves were laced with fire, and she burned.

A cool hand on her forehead. The warmth of sun against her cheek.

Water dripped into her mouth.

Velvet night, and Nomi’s face—no. Her sister was lost.

When the fire faded, and the world began to make sense again, Serina found Val.

“What, what are you—” The words scratched her throat. She blinked groggily, the darkness pressing close.

He put the cool rim of a flagon to her lips. “Hello there,” he said. “You’ve been trying to become a dead girl on me for real. I’m relieved that you didn’t succeed.”

Serina licked her cracked lips. “What happened?”

She remembered a fight, a banishment. Bruno’s blank face in the darkness.

A gunshot.

“Bruno almost killed you,” Val said. His normally clean-shaven face was dark with stubble, and his curly hair had flattened on one side, as if he’d recently slept on it. Only he didn’t look like he’d slept much. Too pale, too many shadows under his eyes. “His bullet only grazed you, but you fell down and hit your head. You’ve been in and out for a few days. I wasn’t sure… well. I don’t have a lot of experience with head injuries. But the bullet wound is healing nicely.”

Serina shifted and winced, putting a hand to her side. “It doesn’t feel nice.”

Val smiled. “I’m sure it doesn’t. But you’re alive.”

“Thank you,” she said softly. “You kept me safe.”

In the firelight, his cheeks reddened.

As her mind cleared, Serina took in her surroundings. Stone walls, a small fire, the faint sound of the surf. Her cave by the beach. She was lying on a thin pallet, covered with his uniform jacket as a blanket. He sat on another pallet next to her.

He noticed her looking around. “I looked for you by the cliffs first, and then I remembered us talking about the east beach. My rounds only cover the west side of the island, so I couldn’t come right away without drawing suspicion. I’m sorry it took me so long.”

She shook her head and winced. A dull ache encircled her skull, and every time she moved, it sent off sparks through her brain. It was enough that he’d come. More than enough.

She might have died if he hadn’t.

He held up the flagon again and helped her take a couple of sips. “When you feel ready, I’ve got some bread. It’s stale.”

She looked at him, her hazy mind filling with wonder. “You came prepared.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t know what state you’d be in. Bedding, aid kit, food and water… it’s just the basics.”

“Have you been here since the night when—when Bruno—” Her throat closed.

He nodded. “I’d already decided I couldn’t wait any longer to come find you, when I heard Bruno talk about the east beach. I followed him at a safe distance so he wouldn’t notice. But I was too far away. I couldn’t get to you in time.” A darkness passed across his features.

“What happened to Bruno?” she asked.

With the back of his hand, Val checked her forehead, looking encouraged. But he didn’t answer.

“I killed him,” Serina said, staring at him.

“You did what you had to do. He was going to kill you.”

“Is—is he still out there?” On the beach, rotting in the sun, her imagination supplied.

Val shook his head. “He took a swim. The sharks were grateful.”

“You’ve been here for days. What about Commander Ricci? Hasn’t he sent someone to look for you? You can’t just leave your post. Won’t he punish you?”

Val shrugged. “It was a terrible job. Happy to be rid of it. And he can’t punish me if he can’t find me.”

“Val!” she said, outraged.

“I wasn’t going to let you die,” he said, looking at her as if this should be no great revelation.

But it was. He had risked himself, abandoned his job for her?

She opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

He filled the silence. “The Commander’s had us looking for you. I kept the others away from here as long as I could.”

A clammy cold sank to her bones. “I thought no one cares about the strays.”

“I think he wants to make an example of you. Ricci was furious when you submitted. He called the crew chiefs together and threatened them. He doesn’t want anything like that happening again.” He helped her sit up and handed her a small, round loaf of bread from his bag. “Time to eat something. You’re shaking.”