Page 55 of Tik-Tok

Theportal.

She gasped and her heart thundered when a massive ship with large white sails rose out from the flashing portal. The ship was completely dry as the portal churned it in a backward motion. The gateway slowed, then the ship stilled, pushing off from the entrance, and headed toward them.

Chapter Twenty-One

Tik-Tok

From the innermost city of Oz to the furthest corner of the Nonestic Ocean, the darkest thing Tik-Tok had encountered was that of a beating heart. Not all hearts, of course, but that didn’t change the truth. Nothing was blacker than the evil residing inside a fae. And this place … it was a black heart given freedom from its chest.

Alive. Corrupt. The air carrying an ominous vibration.

It sent a shiver down Tik-Tok’s spine as he and Respen walked farther into the strange land. The anticipation was almost too much for him to handle—being there, where his father was, after all these years of searching, made him want to crawl from his skin. Celyna's visions led him here and, back on the ship, his compass had pointed in this direction—he knew his father was alive. The phantom pain of broken ribs and dislocated shoulders assaulted him. His stomach twisted as if anticipating aspecialtart baked by his mother and force-fed by his father. The poison she’d used wasn’t strong enough to kill them, but enough to make him and his siblings violently ill for days. Swallowing hard, he focused on how sweet his revenge would be.

The world looked like Oz when a raging storm approached, darkening the skies. Towering trees with needle-like branches gave way to steam rising from soil and a village nestled into the bottom of a ravine. It had only taken a short walk to find this place. They were barely past the trees, which led Tik-Tok to believe it was a fishing village. Some sort of port town, perhaps. This close to the sea, it was the most logical conclusion.

Soft white lights glowed inside the large homes—or what heassumedwere homes. Sloping roofs topped the two-story dwellings, and fences, far too short to do more than decorate the grass, surrounded them. The structures were arranged in squares of four with gravel paths running between each. Beneath their feet, the dirt path turned to ground-up rock.

“Do you think the creatures living here are friendly?” Respen asked.

Tik-Tok shrugged and flipped open the magic compass in his palm. “I think I don’t give a fuck.”

The needle of the compass whizzed in clockwise circles before slowing, pointing directly ahead, only to whip back around to point behind them. TowardThe Temptress. Where North waited. He hated leaving her—leaving all of them—when everything about this world was a mystery. There was no telling what may happen while they were tracking down his father.

Tik-Tok shook the nagging thoughts away and focused on his father again, urging the compass to direct him towardthatdesire instead. It moved, almost reluctantly, back toward the homes.

Respen removed a long, narrow blade from inside his boot. “Just in case,” he said, surveying the quiet village streets.

With a grunt of agreement, Tik-Tok pulled his sword out, but held it in a relaxed position, its tip pointed at the ground. There was no sense in provoking the locals. If there were anytoprovoke.“Everyone seems to be inside,” he mused.

A young female stepped from between two buildings as if his words had summoned the nearest resident. Her eyes landed first on Respen, then Tik-Tok. She froze, her face draining of color, even under the gray light, and a bucket of water fell from her hands with a loudsploosh.The following seconds melted together as they all held their breath, each waiting for the other to move. Her dark hair was drawn back, giving prominence to angled features, and overly large, orb-like eyes. If it wasn’t for her rounded ears, he might’ve mistaken her for some sort of fae. Black fabric wrapped around her neck, twisting down her abdomen where it tied at her waist, hanging around her legs in loose, flowing panels.

Then she screamed. A high-pitched, frenzied cry.

Respen was behind her in a snap, cupping a hand over her mouth. “Shh,” he urged. Her response was, naturally, to flail in an attempt to escape his grasp. “We aren’t going to hurt you.”

Fuck.She was making too much noise. They didn’t need her family or friends coming to investigate, only to find two strangers accosting her. “Stop it,” Tik-Tok demanded quietly, stepping forward. He would’ve turned her to stone, but she might have useful information. “I don’t have time for your antics.”

Tears gathered in her eyes, spilling out in inky streams. A defeated whimper left her, and Respen eased away. “P-p-please, Your Exalted Eminence,” she begged between tiny hiccups. “I didn’t realize you had recovered a-and you frightened me, is all.”

What the fuck is she talking about?Tik-Tok frowned. “Well, that’s one way to greet me. Much preferrable thanYour Mediocre Majesty.”

“A Paltry Prince, if I’ve ever seen one,” Respen quipped.

The woman looked between them, chest rising and falling in rapid breaths, and cried harder.The fuck?“You didn’t hurt her, did you?” Tik-Tok whispered to his first mate.

“Of course not.” Respen cocked his head, watching her curiously, and stuffed his blade back into his boot. “We mean no harm.”

Her gaze dropped. “No one was aware of your visit, but if you’ll give me a moment, I’ll make sure everything is prepared the way you like it.”

“I’mextremelyconfused,” Tik-Tok admitted with a small smirk. “But since you’re so eager to accommodate, I’m looking for my father.” Not that he expected the first town they happened upon to be therightone, but perhaps she could offer a hint at the fae’s whereabouts.

“Lizbet, what’s taking so long?” A younger girl, no more than ten—if the beings there aged the same as fae—scampered down the street and latched onto the terrified female’s hand. “You’ve been out here for—”

Lizbet drew the girl tight, shifting to hide her behind her skirts. “Please,” she pleaded. “Let her go back inside. I’ll do anything you ask.”

The two pirates exchanged a quick, bewildered look, then Tik-Tok furrowed his brows. “I don’t give a rat’s ass what she does—or you for that matter.” Assuming she didn’t attack them, but that seemed extremely unlikely. “Unless you feel like obliging me with a bit of information.”

“Go,” Lizbet urged the younger girl. “Hurry. Tell Father that Glarondal is here and to ready the finest sacrifices.”

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