Page 37 of The Trials of Ophelia

I hated the two of them a bit for blatantly laughing at the rest of us, but I couldn’t blame them.

Cypherion stalked into the room he’d been appointed, keeping up his habit of pretending not to watch our Starsearcher. Tolek pursed his lips, looking over my shoulder after Jezebel. The consideration of an argument furrowed his brow.

“Next time, Vincienzo,” I teased, reaching up to straighten my pin that still adorned his leathers.

Catching my hand, he brought it to his lips wordlessly. That one small, innocent motion burned right through me, and truly I considered abandoning my intentions and telling Jezebel to go room with Cyph.

After Tolek released my hand, I stood frozen for a moment. Then, I backed away from the fire in his eyes and shut the door.

When I exhaled, Jezebel laughed behind me. “Oh, you two aren’t going to last another week.”

Chapter Twelve

Tolek

I’d never liked seafood. I couldn’t stomach the texture. But when the Seawatchers prepared it—with an abundance of rich spices to please every palate, from smokey to citrusy, lemongrass to dill—it was divine.

The innkeeper placed the trays in the center of the round table set for ten and finished off the presentation with a large bottle of rum, freshly uncorked. That syrupy sweet scent wafted over as I pulled out Ophelia’s chair, and she flashed me a small smile.

I collected those, her little grins and winks and smirks. Since I’d woken up, I’d taken to tucking away each to battle back the nightmares.

As the keeper poured everyone a measure of rum, I kept one eye on Ophelia. She didn’t turn him down, but she also didn’t raise the glass to her lips. I wouldn’t blame her if she had stumbled back into old habits after her father’s death—it would have been easy for anyone to do—but she left the glass untouched.

“Thank you, Leo,” Ezalia said to the keeper as he left, addressing him by his first name as if she truly knew him.

Once the door closed behind Leo with a snap, every spine around the table stiffened. Eyes shifted as bowls were passed. Utensils clicked against plates, doling out helpings of white fish with lemon and basil, roasted greens and sea-salted potatoes.

Ophelia speared Ezalia with a look, body practically buzzing. “You’ve found it?” One hand clutched her emblem necklace.

“We believe so,” the chancellor said, “but we won’t be certain until you go to the site.”

“Which is where?” I asked, scooping the flaky fish onto my fork.

“There’s a series of three rocks jutting out of the water in the Neptitian Sea. Too far to see clearly from the shore but not too great of a distance to reach by boat. They’re like tiny islands. That’s where we think your answer is.”

As Ezalia spoke, I pulled out a journal and noted every word. Wrote it all down in case a day came when we needed to look back in order to go forward. It had been Malakai and Barrett’s request after spending so many hours on Lucidius’s journals.

“Why do you think it’s there?” Cyph asked. He leaned back in his chair and brushed a hand over his jaw.

“There’s a story.” Ezalia sipped her rum, fidgeting with the glass. Ophelia and I exchanged a look that confirmed we were thinking the same thing: whatever this story said, it was a Seawatcher secret.

“About your Angel?” Ophelia prodded gently. “About Gaveny?”

Every Seawatcher sat a bit taller at his name.

“Was it a visitation?” Vale’s voice drifted through the room, that soothing tone calming all but Cypherion, who gripped his knife tighter. The metal screeched across his plate as he harshly sliced the buttery-smooth fish. His agitation had me grimacing, too.

“Not particularly,” Ezalia continued, ignoring the tension. “But these platforms were…important to him.”

“Gaveny was legendary for his adventurous spirit,” Andrenas explained. “Never stalled, always seeking among the tides. I have been exploring each of his greatest feats.”

Ophelia’s magenta eyes glowed. “And why do you think this location in particular is the one we’re looking for?”

“Markings,” Seron said gruffly.

“Markings?” I repeated, scribbling the details.

“We scouted it three weeks ago. We’d been searching these types of sites since you told us. Any place that appeared…significant.”

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