Page 71 of Tangled Sails

He pushed out of his seat and stumbled toward me, backing me up until I was on the balcony, determined to avoid his grasping hands as he fell to his knees.

The door leading to the stairs crashed open, and my heart soared when I recognized Tavric’s towering form. His eyes swept the room and immediately fixed on me as he ran full tilt past Ethel and jumped over Harlan, who writhed on the floor. He swept me up into his arms just as my legs buckled.

“I have you now,” he whispered. “I have you.”

Tavric was here. I didn’t know how, but he was holding me up, protecting me, and claiming me. That support was all the permission I needed to fall apart. In the safety of his arms, the events of the last few hours caught up with me and I dissolved into a sobbing mess, wailing into his chest as he held me together and whispered reassurances in my ear.

I didn’t know what would come next. Part of me knew we were far from out of danger, but the bigger part of me knew that as long as Tavric was with me, we would figure it out.

“Harlan took me,” I sobbed.

“I know, love.”

“He was going to turn me over to the High Court for reward money.”

A breath hissed past his teeth and his grip on me tightened. “Not anymore. He’s dead, Lyri. You’re safe now.”

What? Dead! I hadn’t wanted him to die. Surely Tavric was mistaken. He’d probably just never seen a sleeping potion work before. But even as I thought it, I knew that Harlan’s violent reaction wasn’t how sleeping potions worked.

I looked up into Tavric’s eyes and gave myself one moment to soak in his comfort before I turned my head to look at Harlan’s prone body. His face was an unnatural, mottled purple, and he lay on his stomach, eyes open and lifeless.

My whole frame started to shake as I looked over at my aunt, who stood looking stubbornly fierce and unrepentant. “You killed him?” I asked in a bare whisper.

“Of course I did,” she stated without remorse. “He was going to take you away. Now get away from that man,” she demanded.

My grip on Tav tightened. “No,” I cried as Ethel took a step closer.

“Don’t,” he said, his tone dangerous as he turned us so that his back was almost to her, placing himself as a barrier between Ethel and me. “Don’t touch her.”

From the safety of Tavric’s arms, I peeked out at Ethel, who looked incensed. “Watch yourself, young man. You don’t know—”

“I know everything I need to know,” he said, releasing me so that he could face Ethel and tuck me behind him. “I know Lyri. I know what you put her through.”

She ignored Tav and looked to me, softening her features into an imitation of tenderness. “We’ll be just fine, Lyrielle. You’ve still got your magic. You can still help people, and that’s what matters. They need you, my dear.”

I blinked at her, astonished. “Why would I ever stay with you?” I asked. “You never saw any value in me. You only saw value in my magic, just like everyone else in this village. Why would I ever want to be around people who care nothing for me?”

The tenderness slipped from her face, replaced by stony determination. “You foolish girl,” she said bitterly. “You were revered.”

“My hair was revered.”

“It’s the same thing.”

A bitter guffaw burst from my lungs. “It’s not. And if you cared about me at all, you would know that.”

“You would disrespect the memory of my dear sister—”

“She was my mother!” I shouted, stepping out from behind Tavric. “And he was my father! You don’t own all the grief of my parents’ deaths. And you don’t own me, so you don’t get to decide how I use my gift.”

Her eyes blazed. “You aren’t leaving here.”

“Yes, I am,” I said with an intensity that made Ethel step back.

Tav wrapped an arm around my waist from behind and dropped a kiss on top of my head. “Let’s go,” he murmured.

But before we could take more than a step, Ethel bent and picked up Harlan’s knife, pointing it at us. “You aren’t going anywhere!” she screamed and then charged at us.

I froze in fear, but Tavric pulled me behind him again and backed us away from her. Ethel swiped at Tavric with the knife. I screamed and he jumped back to avoid it, but there was nowhere to go on the small balcony and the backs of my thighs hit the banister. Ethel swung the knife again and Tavric leaned away from it, pushing further into me, and I lost my balance. His weight was too much, and my strength was too little.