Page 84 of Ship of Shadows
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “And through all of this you’ve never questioned what the shadow king wants? What does Goji say about these boys? How are they faring?”
He shrugged. “I told you, she said they’re happy. That they’ve created a home, a life, for themselves. I don’t even know if they are aware of the shadow king.”
“Then what does he want?” My frustration at the lack of answers was growing.
Bastian let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know, love. I’ve only seen the shadow king thrice in the sixty years since we madethe deal. I can’t even confirm it’s the same person. Maybe he produces an heir, and that heir is raised to take over, to be the new shadow king. He has a castle at the top of the mountains that runs along the northern coast. It’s walled off. It’s where I assume those that are still part of the shadow court live. No one goes there, save for the pixies that are closest to the king, including Goji.”
I tapped my chin. “You’ve seen him three times, you said. Tell me about that.”
Bastian stopped, once again tugging at the chain around his neck. “The first was when he took our shadows. We all boarded our ship. And the shadow king appeared. He didn’t look like us, not human or elemental. He was made of wisps and darkness, golden eyes sparking, the form of a man but not a man.” Bastian shook his head. “He reached out to each one of us and gripped our shadows, ripping them away. A searing pain blasted through my body, like I was being split in two. Then it was over, and my shadow was flying off to the island, gone.”
I peered at him. “What was the second time?”
“I think that’s enough for now.” Bastian strode to his desk and placed his hands on it, back to me.
I stood, walking to him. “What was the second time, Bastian?”
He spun suddenly, so close to me now, those brown eyes boring into me. “When he ordered me to take the boys of Apolis,” Bastian finally said.
The ground rocked under my feet.
He scrubbed a hand down his face. “It was a punishment.”
“For what?” I asked.
He gave me a look like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “For falling in love with you.”
I stepped back, unsure I’d heard him right.
“I spent years on this ship, taking shadows, selling dark magic, and not caring a bit about any of it. I drank, I fought, I had dalliances, but I never truly lived.” He reached out a hand and cupped my cheek. “Not until I met a feisty auburn-haired princess who saved me that day on the beach. I listened to your stories, your hopes, your dreams. You had this hunger for life that I hadn’t had in over sixty years. You wanted to see the world, to experience so much, and for the first time in so long, I wanted those experiences too. I wanted them with you.”
I couldn’t speak, could barely breathe after that confession.
“From that day on, I thought I could be better. I decided I’d do everything in my power to get our shadows back, to break the shadow king’s hold on us so that I could be with you in a way you deserved. For the entire year we were seeing each other, I didn’t collect a single shadow, and I traveled all over the gods-damned world trying to find answers, a way that I could get my shadow back and break this fucking deal I made. It finally came from an unexpected source: Goji. She offered her pixie dust. I said no, knowing that it takes years from her life. There had to be another way. I’d boarded my ship to leave when the shadow king paid a visit.” Bastian’s throat bobbed. “He knew about you, knew about us, knew that I’d been neglecting my duties. He told me I was going to sail straight to Apolis that night and take all the boys. He didn’t care how I did it, how I made it happen, but he said if I didn’t return by morning, he’d kill my sisters by snuffing out their shadows.”
I let out a gasp.
Bastian raked a hand through his hair. “I didn’t know what else to do, love. So I asked Goji to get me an item, a magical one.” He lifted the necklace that hung around his neck. “This clock. It lures whomever you tell it to.”
“How?” I eyed it warily.
“Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.” Bastian dropped it and it thudded against his chest. “I sailed to Apolis, told the clock whom to summon, and it was that simple. It started ticking. The boys came. I took them to Sorrengard and dropped them off. They marched off into the jungle to be greeted by the boys who live there. That’s when your brothers appeared and went after them before I could stop them. Goji found me, out of my mind with worry, and forced me to take the vial of dust.”
Tears pricked my eyes, my heart so raw from hearing Bastian’s story, I wasn’t sure I could speak.
“Why would she give you the dust?” My voice shook with the single question.
He looked away. “Because I promised I’d help her escape the island. Pixies aren’t bound to Sorrengard, but it’s almost impossible to leave because of the shadows swirling around like a constant cloud. Goji wanted freedom, much like myself. We understood each other in that regard. She gave me the dust, which has the power to break dark magic. If we broke that binding, our shadows would come, and we could finally leave the damn ship without getting sick.”
“The illness.” I reached out and traced a finger down his chest as if I were tracing those blue lines, and he shuddered. “That was the illness. So there was never any elixir?”
He shook his head. “The minute we leave the place we’re bound to, the illness starts, and it’s slow, but it will kill you if you don’t get back to where you’re bound. That’s why even if the boys escape the shadows, the island, they can’t leave.”
“So what happened with the pixie dust?” I shook my head. “You had it. Why didn’t you take it right then and there?”
“I knew you were going to find out what I’d done. That was the shadow king’s entire plan. He wanted to break us apart, for me to do something so horrendous you’d never forgive me, and I’d return to being his silent little sheep, doing his bidding. Ididn’t want to play his game anymore. I knew the seafolk had trailed us, were reporting everything back to you. I was afraid you wouldn’t believe my side of it unless you saw the magic at work. I wanted you to see the pixie dust, to see the shadows return to us. So I decided to wait until we got back to Apolis to use it. I promised Goji we’d be back for her after it was all said and done, though she wasn’t happy about it.”
And then I’d gone and ruined all of that. Wrecked the ship, stole the dust, and told Bastian he needed to leave or the guards would be on him.
