The loyal one motions to me with her head. “She is trying to escape.”
He looks at her sweetly. “Yes, I know, dear. Morvock could feel it. Your loyalty will be noted.”
Jesper nears me, but it’s so awkward and tense to be near him after everything. It’s as if he’s slightly afraid of me, or like I’m a cursed object. “You just couldn’t sit down here,” he grumbles.
Somewhere in the distance, “HOLD” echoes.
Jesper backs off and grips one of the bars on the pillar I’m tied to, holding for dear life as the ship goes through another dramatic rocking back and forth, the cargo shifting with it again, held back by netting.
Once it passes, Jesper quickly finishes untying me from the pole before guiding me through the tight halls, pinning me against the wall when we hit another massive swell, putting all his weight on me so I can’t do much; he even keeps his face away from mine. “Once we’re on land, you are sofucked.” he laughs. “Your stupid fucking Zenith killed Marissa.”
My eyes widen.
“Yeah, I saw it on the telescope. Slammed her against a wall.” He digs his elbow deeper into my neck so I gasp for air. “There will be a punishment for that.”
“You’rethe one that left her,” I manage out.
“Because he razedmy goddamn city,” he says, his one eye bloodshot and wide, his teeth baring at me. “Her worship was next to none, and now it’sgone.”
I lean in as much as I can, and he pulls back further like I’m venomous, even taking the pressure off my neck. “Well, think of it this way. He killed Marissa, and all she did was tend to me.” I pause, letting all of my chaos out that I’ve buried down. “Imagine what he’ll do to the man that threatened to rape me in front of everyone? To the man whokilledhis right hand?”
Real fear flashes in his eye.
“Keep youreyepeeled, Jesper. I know this storm wasn’t caused naturally. Tempest is coming, isn’t she?”
He yanks me up the stairs, the door opening to reveal rain that’s blowing nearly sideways, a wet deck sleek from water, and a sky that barely hasanylight to it. In the very front is Misery, along with four fire mages, and all the braziers continue to burn to create a haunting scene.
He drags me quickly across the deck, the ocean momentarily scaring the shit of me.
The swells aremassive—the size of this entireship.
A quick glance shows Blackwell at the wheel, his mask creating a rather frightening image for a captain.
Jesper leads me to Misery without another word, his cloak billowing to create a lanky outline of a crouched body. The god reaches his bony hand out and touches my shoulder, my body rooting in the spot as my feet can’t move, the ropes all falling off and rolling back to the ship. It’s beyond unnerving to have something likehimmake physical contact with me, the knowledge that he is so beyond capable, and that he plans to use my flesh…
Those candle eyes…
We stand behind what is almost like an altar, a thick wall of wood coming to a point, stretching around us to incrementally get smaller, two mages on either side of us as Jesper returns to wherever he came. “My tolerance is low, Jane Ritter. So you will stand with me to ensure you donothing.”
What do I say to him?
Shut your mouth!
It’s easy to remain speechless, especially when I realize that at some point, the ship will—oh,fuck. Two swells ahead seem to be oneitherside of us. Misery stamps his staff on the deck, the wood of the ship intertwining with it.The fire mages all seem to carry a mixture of determination and apprehension, their cloaks soaked now that I look at them.
The braziers almost make it hard to truly see the details of the ocean, like they’re blinding my ability to perceive the dark.
I brace myself for what has to be utter destruction as the massive waves—that seem to move in slow motion—collide. Our ship raises up in the air, the prow pointing upward rather than down, and it’s only when the ship begins to dip down again that I realize the two waves became one and raised us up to the top.
We roll over the massive wave, water spraying on all sides.
Misery lifts his staff and slams it down on the ship, a vibration rising through my feet as I feel like I’m a fixture of Darkwater.
I can’t help but scream as the ship plummets down, Misery’s grip on my arm surely bruising me at this point. I scream even louder when the tip of the ship is about to collide with water, as if I have just fallen off a balcony and into the ocean; I close my eyes and get ready to hold my breath—no! Keep them open! You need to know when to hold your breath so you don’t drown!
Opening my eyes, I watch in horror as water hits us like a wall, consuming us instantly as the black void of the ocean envelops the front of the ship.
Pressure.
