Page 4 of Beneath the Veil of Tides
What did I do? Why would the Royal Vanguard—whoever that was—come for me?
All eyes met my deranged stare, devouring me and awaiting an answer. But only hollowness accompanied me mentally.
“I mean no harm,” I whispered, a soft beg for safety.
The pirate stepped forward, leaving the two males at her back. My body shook. Death lurked right when I believed I’d reached some semblance of safety. However, Zahara outstretched her arm, extending an invitation for me to take it.
“My name is Zahara, and this is my ship. Fate delivers what we need, just when we need it.”
“I will not be sacrificed,” I blurted back, preparing to fight with my newly healed body.
“Good, because we’re going to need you for something even better,” Zahara responded with a slight tilt of her lips.
“And that is?”
“To end it onceand for all.”
CHAPTER THREE
I doubted my ability for any task at all—every uneven step, the name that rang through my mind that felt as if it didn’t belong to me, and my past just… gone. The job ahead was just as empty, something I was expected to do but couldn’t even begin to imagine. I caught myself on the railing while the ship drifted into the dock of Iredale as if evenithad more sense than I did.
Studying the crew from the main deck steadied me as they worked independently, yet somehow also simultaneously to moor the ship. Jun hurled a thick rope to a nearby worker on the harbor, who caught it with ease and secured it to the dock. Zahara steered the vessel into position with a wheel nearly the size of her body from a raised platform, and Calvin adjusted the billowing sails to guide the shifting wind.
“We’re heading into town to get some food, gear, and—gods willing—clothes that actually fit you,” Calvin teased with a sly smirk as he inspected the oversized ivory tunic and sable pants I wore. It suddenly made me all too aware of the wind that whipped through the unflattering material. I’d never tell him that Zahara’s offering of her too-large clothing warmed me greater than anything I thought I’d ever worn before—and not only in temperature, but in solace.
I huffed. “There’s nothing wrong with my clothes.”
“Keep telling yourself that and maybe, with the luck of goddess Neyari, it may be true,” he laughed. “When we return, we will catch you up on our last two years.”
If they hadn’t completed the task in two years, how ever wouldIbe the missing link?
I couldn’t produce a response, uneasiness creeping along my spine with every inch closer to solid ground. My heart palpitated inside my chest until it ached, tenseness overpowering the tenderness that still wracked my body.
“Have you ever seen land before?” In the hours leading up to docking, Calvin enjoyed questioning me about my understanding as if doing so would bring them all back. Or maybe he didn’t believe me.
I hesitated, scouring my mind for an answer, hoping the memories might resurface all at once, but only images shuffled through my hazed thoughts—light flickering off the surface from below, the void that skulked like a predator assessing its prey, coral homes that opened on command to allow finned dwellers inside.
“It looks… different in the depths. Darker. More dangerous.” It was the only thing I could bring forth, and even that seemed to let the hopeful Calvin down.
The crew worked to solve why there was nothing left in my mind when they worked to purge the day's events from me, but we all came up empty handed. Calvin settled on the possibility that I hit my head during the sacrifice itself, but the idea sent scratching sensations along my nerves.
My vision faded to black as I scoured my mind deeper—a lone faint light beam piercing through an underwater chamber, casting attention to the particles that swirled within. In a grimy corner, I saw myself rocking back and forth, holding my knees to my chest, but the strange memory dissipated in a flash. The knee ache remained, though.
I barely had time to catch my breath before Zahara’s hand slapped firmly on my shoulder, sending my heart and head whirling.
“Well, I wish I could say it was any better up here,” she cut in from behind. “Here, this is for you.”
“You can’t do that to her, Zah,” Calvin bit.
Damn right.I already hated the skittish feeling I had at merely existing.
She extended a compact auburn-hilted dagger to me, odd markings etching into its reflective surface.
“Will I need it?” I murmured, voice thick with hesitation. My fingers twisted nervously at the hem of my sleeve, but Zahara refused to let me back away from the weapon. The pirate reached forward and gripped my uninjured wrist, placing the dagger firmly into my palm. An order she insisted be obeyed. And I was willing to oblige the woman who saved my life.
“Keep this in your bones, girl. You can’t ever be too damn prepared out here,” Zahara warned, her eyes sharp but gentle, and she pivoted briskly and charged off with Jun treading at her side.
Her warning brought sweat to the nape of my neck, my eyes scanning the surroundings in search of what she feared.
