Page 22 of Return of the Vengeful Quee

She was supposed to have the answers. She was supposed to know what came next.

The faint light of the sister moons gleamed against Dec’s dark eyes, and Charis flinched inwardly at the compassion she saw there.

Her chin rose, though her jaw was still tight. She took a step back, breaking Orayn’s hold on her arm, and forced herself to quickly sort through her options and find a path forward.

One that didn’t end in bloodshed.

“What should we do, Your Majesty?” Finn asked, sounding as if he was working hard to remain calm.

She drew in a ragged breath and reached for the voice Mother had used when her people needed to believe she was a shield of iron standing between them and what they feared. “We have only one real choice. We set sail immediately, using the fog as cover.”

“How will we get out of the harbor when we can’t see more than half a ship’s length ahead?” Grim asked.

She glanced at Orayn, who said quickly, “We’ll use our maps and a depth finder to keep ourselves away from the shoreline. If we take it slow, we can manage.”

“We’ll sail in absolute silence and will not light a single lamp until we’re far from Solvang.” Charis looked to Dec. “You have forty minutes to gather any crew who aren’t yet on board. Otherwise, we leave without you.”

He bowed and left the docks at a run.

Turning to the others, Charis spat out orders. “Grim, go make sure everything is on board and secured. I don’t want the sound of a trunk sliding across the deck to give us away. Orayn, you and Finn chart your course and get the depth finder ready.”

She turned to her guards. “Vellis, you’ll bring word to Lord Holland and Lady Nalani that we’ve had to sail early to avoid detection.”

Heaviness filled her at the realization that there would be no goodbyes. No last chance to properly return Nalani’s hug or tell Holland what his stalwart support meant to her. Pushing her feelings aside, she met Vellis’s gaze. “Have them report the presence of the Rakuuna to King Gareth and Queen Vyllanthra. Orayn, how long should it take us to reach Embre?”

The big man counted on his fingers, his lips moving silently as he calculated the distance, and then he said, “With winds like this, two and a half weeks. Maybe three.”

She turned back to Vellis. “Let Lady Nalani know that I will send a palloren once we reach Embre. If she hasn’t heard from me at the end of five weeks, she should assume that we were lost at sea and work with King Gareth to send a Solvanish ship to purchase the poison.”

Vellis bowed, but Charis wasn’t finished. “One more thing, and it is the most important. You are to stay behind and guard Lady Nalani. Create a security team around her the way you did for me.”

Vellis’s mouth dropped open, and she looked ready to protest. Charis hurried on. “Reuben, you are to stay behind and guard Lord Holland. I feel sure he’ll make it difficult, but he is my heir, with Lady Nalani second in line. You must let nothing happen to them. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Vellis whispered, bowing again.

Reuben, on the other hand, glared. “I decline that assignment.”

Charis set her teeth. “You don’t get to decline anything. I’m your queen, and I gave you an order.”

He folded his arms. “You are in imminent danger, Your Majesty.”

“All the more reason to make sure my heirs are alive and well.”

“I would rather make sure you are alive and well.” His tone was mutinous.

She held his gaze for a long moment. “We both know the chances of me surviving both the Rakuuna who hunt me and the battle for Calera are small. I’m fighting to save our kingdom, but I don’t necessarily expect to be alive to rule it. If Holland or Nalani can’t take the throne, that leaves the leadership of Calera in the hands of my fourth cousin, Ferris Everly, and I believe we agree that’s not an option that bears considering.”

“Your Majesty—”

“I need to know my heirs are safe, Reuben. And while you and I often have our differences, I trust your ruthless dedication to your responsibility.” She straightened her spine as another gust of wind whipped through her cloak. “You all have your orders. We leave in forty minutes. Get it done.”

Precisely forty minutes later, Charis’s ship quietly slipped its berth and began slowly moving toward the mouth of the harbor. Or at least Charis hoped that was the direction they were headed. It was impossible to see from one end of the ship to the other in the thick fog, much less track their surroundings.

Except for the creaking of the timbers and the snap of the mainmast in the wind, the deck was silent. Most of the crew were belowdecks, waiting as one agonizing minute bled into another. Orayn had advised Charis to wait belowdecks as well, but she’d refused.

If the Rakuuna came for her, they wouldn’t find her hiding. They’d find a fierce, vengeful queen facing them head-on from the bow of her ship.

Her hands shook as she gripped the railing, made slick by the fog.

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