Total pages in book: 161
Estimated words: 153795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 769(@200wpm)___ 615(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 153795 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 769(@200wpm)___ 615(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
I enter the cabin, settling into one of the chairs at the table and mentally going over my plan again.
As the boat starts to move, an abrupt flurry of gold appears a few steps away from me. I gasp when I see Thane with his nostrils mildly flared. He strides right up to me with a frown.
“What do you think you’re doing, Zaira?” he asks in a gravelly voice.
“What does it look like? I’m going back to Meriva Empire.”
“In the middle of the night?”
“Yes. I need to get back so I can bargain with Seferin to save my sister,” I inform him, folding my arms.
“He’ll kill you,” he counters in an irritated, matter-of-fact tone.
“Not if I trade my life for Analla’s. My blood freed the tome. Maybe he can use that.”
“He’ll kill her and then squeeze every ounce of life out of you,” he seethes with a frown. “Going directly to him is reckless and foolish, and you know it. Otherwise, you’d have done so from the beginning.”
“Exactly,” I respond, and he looks me all over, confused. “Which is why there’s more to my new plan…but I can’t do it without your magic.”
His eyes narrow a bit. “Why didn’t you just come to me first, then?” he asks. “I told you I’d help.”
I work hard to swallow. “Because I needed to know you were one hundred percent willing to come aboard for me—that for once you weren’t just thinking about yourself. If you hadn’t, I still would’ve tried anyway, and yes, it may have resulted in failure, but at least I’d go out knowing I did everything I could for Analla.”
He seems to contemplate all of this as he studies my face. Then his shoulders soften. “I said I’d help you save her, Zaira. I know you don’t want to believe it after everything, but I meant that. I’m right here. Put me to work.”
My traitorous heart flutters. I was expecting a bit more resistance from him, but there’s a look in his eyes. One of certainty along with a whisper of desperation.
Though I feel myself softening for him, I shake my head. “This doesn’t change anything between us,” I add, pointing a stern finger at him. “I want nothing more than to be angry with you and to never speak to you again, but that would be selfish on my part—especially when I know you have something we can use.” I point at the tome still tucked under his arm. “Is there a spell in there that allows you to hear me if we’re in different locations?”
“There is a mindflare spell,” he returns, “but I don’t need the tome for that. It’s a common spell. I just need a lock of your hair or a drop of blood to make it work.”
“And what about a spell to enhance the properties of an elixir?”
At that, he narrows his eyes. “I’m sure there’s something in the tome I can work with. Why?” His head cocks a bit. “What are you planning, Zaira?”
I gesture to the chair beside me. “Sit and I’ll explain.”
He does, and as I go over everything I have in mind, his eyes widen more and more. This plan is dangerous, with a very slim chance of survival.
But if we do it right—if we go in prepared—even he knows that it just might work.
Chapter 60
As I walk off the gangway in Meriva, I notice the streets of the Commons are exactly the same as any other night. A few people walk by themselves along the cobblestone roads, merchants are closing shop, and the familiar scent of the salty canal stings my nose as I pass it.
The cold gets to me, so I dig through my rucksack for a long-sleeve sweater. It hardly helps, but I figure I should embrace the chill because it makes me feel something. It reminds me that I’m still here, still capable of rectifying things.
Someone falls into step beside me, matching my pace.
I look to my left at Thane, who nods at me before disappearing completely with an enhanced whispershade. It’s best if no one in the kingdom sees him. I don’t want Seferin to have any kind of warning or heads-up about Thane being around.
I slow my pace as I near a familiar alley and walk through it. It’s darker here, with stacked multi-level homes overlooking the street. It isn’t exactly in the Scraps, but it’s close.
At the end of the alley is an open door with soft wafts of pink smoke billowing out and licking the ground. I step into the sorceress’s apothecary and spot a woman behind the counter wearing a gray scarf on her head. A beady-eyed white owl is perched on her shoulder, watching me as the woman does.
“Welcome back,” the sorceress greets in a raspy voice.
I give her a nod of recognition.