Page 9 of Between Fear and Favor

“I expect you’d prefer air for your comfort, would you not? You won’t need it, but I thought it might make things easier on you. My palace has not seen a landwalker in a millennia. Longer, probably. Besides, I’ve changed my mind. One night is not enough.”

My sharp inhale made my stomach spasm painfully. Estri stood, legs and arms just a little too long, as if she’d forgotten the proportions when she shifted. She tossed her long hair over her shoulder, revealing pointed hip bones, a visible rib cage, and skin which glittered in the torchlight. It appeared rough, like tiny grains of sand. Blaming her song for the mental image of dragging my fingertips across it, I closed my eyes and dismissed the thought. If I had the misconception that the night she’d have me spend with her could be pleasant, she would rectify it soon enough.

“Lavenia, I have already sent my messengers. The sea is quick. My armies will be allied to Vesta soon enough. You have already received what you came for.” Her toes were webbed, nails a dark blue, and she walked in a perfectly straight line toward me. Long fingertips reached out, tipping my chin up to look at her. “It was an act of, what do you call it? Good faith, I believe? Freely, I have done what you asked of me. Because of that, I’d ask you to stay a full moon cycle in my palace. In my bed or your own,” she added, and I wasn’t sure if I imagined her smile. With teeth like Mairin’s, the gesture could have been a threat, and I’d never know.

If I didn’t have to use my body to gain what I wanted, how could I say no? Furthermore, did I have a choice? Though her fingertips still rested on my chin, cold to the touch, I averted my eyes. I needed just a moment to think, but Estri grew impatient. Using her thumb to grip my face, she drew my attention back to her. “Are you not an ambassador, Princess? I seek to know my new allies. You will learn our ways, and I will learn yours. The wing I restored is quite comfortable for landwalkers—or so I’m told.” She turned, walking away, and her hair brushed the top of her backside. I was surprised to see she had roundness there, if not much. “Do you refuse my hospitality, Lavenia?”

“No,” I said. Pulling myself to my feet, I straightened my spine. She had a point. She was our new ally, and I’d come here to facilitate that. Though I hadn’t expected to be taken to her palace, to be seduced, to be left in a chamber for weeks, I’d accomplished what Rainier had asked of me. I couldn’t risk undoing it. I’d stay for the month, leave, and never look back. “Thank you for accommodating me.”

“Very well. The sailcloth will only make it harder to move in the water, so you’d do well to remove it.”

With shaking hands, I unwrapped the fabric covering me. It appeared I would need to get used to my body being on display. The seaborn clearly didn’t mind nudity. As it dropped around my feet, Estri turned, stalking toward me. Before I could react, she wrapped one hand tightly around my arm. Her fingernails dug painfully into my skin just as her body changed. Estri’s legs split into tentacles, wrapping around me as she dragged me toward the water.

“Wait, I can’t breathe in—” Then her other hand dragged a sharp fingernail across my neck. I gasped, struggling in her hold. It felt like fire, a tingling sensation racing across my body and into my lungs. “It hurts,” I cried, scrambling for my neck, but she kept me restrained. When she hauled us into the frigid water, the burning stopped.

And I could breathe.

Chapter 7

RAINIER

“I hate this.Oh gods, I’m going to fall in.”

“No, you’re not,” I reassured Maurice.

“Quit your whining.” Based on the look on Gawain’s face, he had half a mind to pull the boy down into the water and strangle him. Though Maurice and I were safe on land, the rest of my soldiers waited in the middle of Seyma’s Gulf, at the middle point of the Aesiron.

Instead, he reached for the last obsidian orb the boy passed to him while I maintained the rift. It was imperfect, but I didn’t want to waste my divinity making a new one—especially since I couldn’t exactly pull from Em at this distance—and Maurice’s arms were the longest. I hadn’t wanted to give him such a delicate task, but I had no choice.

Though he laid on his belly, arm outstretched as he held each sphere, he hovered above the water. Somewhere beneath the underside of the bridge and the water, the rift wasn’t at a great height. Truthfully, the other soldiers were more likely to injure him than any fall. Gawain reached for the final obsidian orb, before passing it to Shade. Both of them were careful, making sure not to splash as they maneuvered.

It was hard to see in the shadow of the bridge, especially so near to night. My soldiers all treaded water in the relatively still waves. The men held two orbs in one hand, high above the water, but it still made me exceedingly nervous. So far, however, everything had gone according to plan. Truthfully, dropping an orb would not ruin us, since I’d brought spares, but I was still grateful my soldiers were being cautious.

Maurice held out the pack of matches to Gawain, and I tensed. “Split them up. That way, if you drop any?—”

“I won’t drop any.”

“Isaid, that wayifyou drop any, we won’t lose them all.”

Maurice did as he was told, though his expression laid bare his irritation. A moment later, when he fumbled a match, his eyes darted to mine. I didn’t say a word.

“We need to hurry the fuck up,” grunted Aurelia, who held two matches in one hand and an obsidian ball in the other. She was struggling to tread water. “I’m getting tired.”

Maurice finished his task, humbled, before he sat up. “Can’t I just stay here?”

“No. You need to help Shade,” I said. In case water had splashed too far up the pillars, I’d made sure one of each pair was adept at climbing. One of my soldiers would have to scale the stones, lodging the orb into any dry divot they could find, before striking it with a match and leaping toward my waiting rift. I had the most faith in Shade, so I paired her with the person I had the least confidence in.

The boy didn’t respond, only spinning on the ground. He laid on his stomach, unceremoniously scooting backward toward the rift.

“Oh, that’s terrible,” he groaned as he dangled before slowly lowering himself into the water. I followed after him a second later, allowing my rift to close behind me. The water was far too cold, and my extremities began to ache. With spring growing closer, I’d hoped the embrace of the gulf would be warmer.

The equinox was just a week away. Elora’s birthday. I closed my eyes, willing myself to push away the thought of my daughter. I could not grow distracted in this task. I missed her fiercely, and I worried daily. How in the gods’ names had Em survived those few weeks she was missing? How had my wife gone through life not being fearful at every waking moment? My heart felt vulnerable without her, but it was not safe to have her anywhere nearby. Every choice I made was to protect her.

If I were to ever see my daughter again, I had to block her from invading my thoughts.

Gathering my bearings, I turned in the water. Peering between the two rows of pillars, I counted them to determine the correct location to rift to, memorizing as much detail as possible. I couldn’t be exact, but I’d get them close, and my soldiers could swim the difference.

I searched the horizon for our enemies. In the light of the setting sun, it only took me a moment to spot the closest patrol boat. The conduit on board must have been able to control the element of water because there were no signs of a breeze, yet the dinghy moved rather quickly without the need of a sail.

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