“Couldn’t sleep?” a voice asked, and I whirled around to see Driscoll, the earth court ambassador, standing there. His dark skin gleamed in the moonlight. Soft brown trousers hugged his skinny, long legs. He wore a blue silk shirt that looked incredibly expensive with its gold buttons and embroidered cuffs. He stepped forward. “I wanted to thank you, by the way.”
My brows bunched together. “Thank me for what?”
“Giving me such a good story to take back to the earth court. Queen Liliath sent me here because it was supposed to be an easy, simple trip. Show up to the coronation, congratulate the new queen of Apolis, come home. Now I get to surprise her with the gossip of the century.” He smirked.
“You don’t hate me like everyone else?” I asked.
Driscoll ran a hand over his tight black curls, shorn close to his head. “For sleeping with the hot pirate lord who has that whole tall, dark, and handsome thing going on?” He shook his head. “If you hadn’t snatched him up, I might have myself.”
I snorted, and before I could help it, laughter bubbled out of me. This wasn’t funny, but I was short on sleep and slightly delirious. “Now I get to thank you,” I said.
Driscoll studied his manicured nails. “And why is that?”
“For making me smile for the first time in days.” I paused. “Well, I was smiling during my coronation, but it was fake.”
Driscoll’s eyes widened. “That was supposed to be a smile? I thought you were constipated.”
I rolled my eyes, but in truth, I was thankful for this small distraction.
“What’s wrong?” Driscoll asked. “Other than the fact that you got completely humiliated today and might have possibly ruined your reputation?”
I gave him a look.
“Oh, right. Not helpful.”
“I have to kill him tomorrow,” I said softly, staring out at the sea.
“The hot pirate?” Driscoll sputtered. “The hot pirate has to die?”
“You know, he’s also kind of evil.” I turned toward Driscoll. “I think.”
“The hot ones always are.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. He said he could help rescue my brothers. But I can’t trust him, and even if I could, I don’t think there’s any hope.”
“Huh” was all Driscoll said.
I narrowed my gaze at him. “What does that mean?”
He shrugged. “Everyone told Liliath she’d never be able to defeat her stepmother. No one believed she could take back the earth court, restore our magic, rebuild. But she did it. She never gave up on us. I’d follow a leader like that anywhere.”
His words struck me. Liliath and I had had that very argument when she’d been here just a few months ago. She’d told me not to give up on finding my brothers or my father, and I’d snapped at her, told her it was too late to save them.
Driscoll was right. Liliath had never given up on the earth court. Not when her stepmother murdered her father and stole the crown, not when the evil queen had Liliath imprisoned, not when Liliath had been kidnapped from her prison cell, dragged all over the continent. She never lost faith, and she defeated her stepmother, in the end. Just like Driscoll said. She’d saved everyone.
Maybe I had it wrong all along. Maybe I’d given up too easily. If there was a chance I could save my brothers, save everyone, didn’t I have to take it?
Before I could change my mind, I made a sharp turn and stalked toward the prison cells, located underneath our castle.
“Uh,” Driscoll said. “Where are you going, Princess Gabrielle?”
“To...” I thought of Driscoll’s words. “Not give up.”
Driscoll’s boots scraped against the rocks behind me. “Wait, wait, wait. What are you planning on doing, exactly?”
I raised my chin, not sure if I should tell Driscoll. Then again, what was he going to do? Run to my mother in the middle of the night and tattle on me? Doubtful.
“I’m going to visit the pirate lord. To hear him out.”
