The arrow in my hand wasn’t even bloody. It had come away clean and perfect. Smaller than I would have thought.
Small enough to fit through a pair of ribs. Insignificant. Almost harmless.
My thumb grazed over the tip of it, and I watched a bead of my own blood grow. It should have stung. I hardly felt it.
What if I hadn’t been able to get it out?
Fingers curled around the wooden shaft and pulled, gently taking it from me.
I met his eyes, gold and sparkling as he studied my face. Sunlight laced its fingers through his hair, wind ruffling his curls like a lover in bed. His scent traced the edges of my consciousness, a clean and bracing rainfall, even after weeks spent in the cabin of a ship.
Turning the arrow in his hands, he swallowed, a question hovering in his gaze. I waited, not knowing what it was.
It had been three days since I’d shoved mist-born water down Aleksei’s throat, drowning the pirate over a dry floor. After whatI’d done to help Hadrian, I knew Kye would have questions. He’d seen me call to water twice now. Even if he didn’t understand what I’d been doing, he'd seen me doing it. Did I want him to ask?
No,a voice inside my head immediately answered.
Liar,a second voice whispered.
I trust you.
I exhaled slowly, hands empty in my lap. But Kye didn't say anything.
He trusted me to pull an arrow out of his back. Hedidn’ttrust me to tell him the truth. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he simply ask?
The thought carved a small cavern in my chest.
It’s not as though I could have answered him. Not without revealing my Naiad heritage. Without breaking my blood vow to Thaan. And even if I wanted to tell him…
The exact words of my contract had blurred in memory over the past few months, but if there was one line I remembered as sharply as the edge of a blade, it was that the life of the human I revealed myself to would be forfeited.
I wasn’t sure how Thaan would know I’d revealed myself to a human, and maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe my own blood would betray me—force my body into killing him with song and hands. I wasn’t keen to risk discovering by accident.
My throat rumbled as I cleared it, reaching for the fishing hook and line. I waited for Kye to turn back around, but he remained where he was, carefully examining whatever look I wore.
“Why did you drink theValerianythat first day on the ship?” he finally asked, his voice smooth and soft.
I blinked at him, stunned. Hadn’t it been obvious? But he stared back at me, a flicker of doubt in his eyes, as though he almost wanted to take the question back.
“I watched them try to kill you,” I murmured, gauging him as hard as he gauged me. “I was powerless the moment theychained me to the wall. Kriska gave me an option. I had to take it.”
Kye nodded softly, eyes never leaving mine, though something twitched between his brows, tightening his lips. It was the answer he’d asked for. But under the intensity of his stare, my breath grew long and my skin grew warm, and I wondered if it was the one he’d wanted. He shifted his weight to turn around, and I reached for his arm, stopping him.
“It was my fault we were captured.” I couldn’t help the urge to do something with my hands. The desire to weave baskets from pili grass threatened to invade my fingers, and I gripped his wrist so I couldn’t squirm. The arrow remained in his grip, still as the dead. “We were outnumbered, and they were gaining the upper hand.”
“You tried to make them lose their memories,” Kye said, though he didn’t pull away. “Like Thaan did to me.”
I nodded, gesturing to his hands. “I can’t control who falls under its spell and who doesn’t. It’s not an arrow I can aim.”
He sighed, gently tossing the arrow into the spent campfire. “But they were ready for it.”
The springy leaves of shield weed flashed in my memory, unfurling in the center of Captain Kriska’s hand. “They were ready for it,” I ceded.
“Leihani.”
Palms flat against his thighs, he leaned forward, ensuring he held my full attention. “If it ever happens again,” he said softly, “next time, don’t hesitate. If you have to choose between me or running, just run. Take their memories and run. I’ll catch up.”
I shook my head. “You couldn’t have. It’s more than just memories. I stole your mind on the beach, Kye.”
