Page 100 of Rise of the Vicious Princess

“Did you see it?” he asked.

“Just a flash. It seemed almost like a person, though too pale and too fast. I can only think of one sea creature who resembles that description.”

He stared at her for a long moment. “Rakuuna?”

She nodded, her heart thudding as she considered the implications.

A blast of sound, like the golden, sonorous notes of a trumpet but so high-pitched it set Charis’s teeth on edge, echoed from the distant bobbing green lanterns that marked the location of the small war frigates. Instantly, there was a rush of motion from the merchant ship. Pale shapes that moments ago had been swarming the vessel’s wreckage now dived into the water. The wake slapped the side of Charis’s boat, though they were some distance away. And moments later, the green dots of light on the horizon bobbed frantically, as if their ships were swaying side to side.

Swaying because the creatures they’d called had returned?

“Did they just . . .” Tal gestured toward the green lights.

“Call the Rakuuna back to their ships?” Charis’s mouth was dry. “Yes. I think they did. It seems Rullenvor does have an armada and has been behind the ship sinking all along.”

Which meant her plan with Mother to ambush the frigates from both land and sea wasn’t going to work. They would have to coordinate an attack from land only and hope they set enough of the ships on fire to discourage the rest from staying. If that didn’t work, then she was going to have to figure out how to destroy the Rakuuna before they cut her kingdom off from the rest of the world forever.

Thirty-Six

RAIN DRUMMED RESTLESS fingers against the carriage top as Charis returned from a quiet evening at the Farragins’ house. It had been three weeks since she’d seen the Rakuuna destroy the merchant vessel, four weeks since Rullenvor’s ambassador had killed himself on the point of her sword, and she was still no closer to figuring out how they could defend themselves at sea. No closer to finding the traitor in their own ranks either. And she was running out of time.

Tomorrow Alaric and his son would arrive to sign the peace treaty. She would find a way to question them about the type of jewels they mined and hope something in their answer would give her insight into the Rullenvor-Rakuuna problem. And she’d keep Tal beside her every step of the way in case the traitor tried to kill her after the treaty was signed to destabilize the agreement.

Her stomach clenched, hollow and queasy. The air in the carriage was too thick to breathe, and her heart pounded, a rapid, jarring rhythm that made her feel faint.

How could she keep her composure as she signed away her life to the enemy?

“Hey, now.” Tal left his place in the seat across from her and crouched before her. “Breathe. Nice and slow. There you are. Now another.”

She tried to breathe past the noose of panic that was closing around her throat, but everything inside was chaos. Her hands shook as she raised them to her flushed face, and Tal took them in his own. He rubbed some heat back into her icy fingers as he peered into her face, worry written on his.

“Charis, what’s happening? What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. She couldn’t say that she wasn’t ready for everything to become final. That the specter of living her life beside her enemy kept her up at night and flooded her body with heart-pounding, stomach-clenching fear. Words would give the fear shape and weight and power.

Her head spun as the world seemed to rush away from her.

He let go of her hands and gathered her close. Pressing her face to his shoulder, he said gently, “Be here with me, Charis. Just here. Nowhere else. Can you feel my arms around you?”

His arms were a comforting warmth at her back. She focused on that and drew an unsteady breath.

“Listen to my voice,” he said, his mouth beside her ear. “You’re here with me, and you’re safe. Nothing else matters right now. Just hold on to me.”

His voice filled her panicked thoughts. His chest was a solid weight she could lean against. She snuggled closer and hung on to him as the chaos inside slowly settled. His breathing was a steady rise and fall, and she tried to match her breathing to his as she silenced the fear that was crouching in the back of her mind.

She was in the carriage with Tal. Nothing was spinning out of control. Nothing was rushing away from her. She was safe in this moment, and that was all she could control.

He held her in silence for the rest of the carriage ride to the palace as her breathing hitched and then grew steady. Slowly, her heart settled into its normal rhythm, and her thoughts cleared. As they pulled into the wide, circular drive at the palace’s front entrance, he said softly, “Better?”

She nodded, and he slowly released her.

“I know I’m supposed to look over the luncheon setup and approve the menu with the head housekeeper, but I don’t think I’m up to it.” It was hard to push that truth past her lips. Hard to admit that there was something she couldn’t manage, especially something so small.

He held her gaze. “I’ll take care of it and have Reuben take you to your chambers. No escaping out your balcony or spiraling into panic before I get there, all right?”

She gave him a small, weary smile. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Liar,” he whispered as the carriage door opened and light from the entrance spilled across the rain-soaked cobblestones.

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