Page 84 of Queen of Thorns
IDON’T WAIT FOR FURTHERexplanation. I run.
I’m at the edge of the lake in only moments, but then I stop, panting. The water is still, and I don’t see any ships, except the few docked a few feet away. “How far are they?”
“Miles. They began on the other side of the lake.”
“Hey!” someone shouts. I turn to see two guards running toward me. High Court guards. “You are not permitted to be here,” they shout.
I pull in a long breath and wait for them to reach me. Rai increased security on the lake, I knew, but High Court guards?
My lips spread into a sweet smile. “Sorry, I was just admiring the lake on my way to the High Court.” I tilt my head innocently.
The guards’ gazes drop to my silky blouse and crystal necklace.
One of them nods. “Best be on your way then.”
My stomach twists. I can’t leave Raven out there. I can’t let the Night Bringer wake the ancient beneath these waters.
“I saw a ship out there,” I tell them. “No one is supposed to be on the water right now, are they?”
The guards frown, exchange glances, and then turn back to me. “We’ll take care of it.”
I give them another sweet smile. “Thank you. I’ll head back to the portals then.” I spin on my heel and march back up the hill I’d run down. I make sure to walk quickly but not rushed. “Are they watching?”
“No.”
Shadows pull at my body, wrapping around me. I heave a relieved sigh at the comforting pressure. Using shadows requires magic I’ve been saving for the fountain, but even though they require energy I have little of, they are a comfort I’ve missed. Like the warm embrace of a parent.
The Night Bringer once used them against me. Corrupted them, made my own shadows carve me up from the inside the way he did. That thought sends another wave of anger through me.
I’m going to kill them.
I run back down the hill and onto the dock, shadows still veiling me from sight, and I slip onto the ship the guards are preparing to take out to sea.
“This is a bad idea, Caelynn.”
I don’t respond because the guards cannot know I am on board. These are not regular Cracking Court guards, and they are very likely trained at spotting Shadow fae using shadows to hide, which means I must be especially diligent. I slip over the railing at the bow of the ship and then climb up the mast to the sails just as they open them wide. The wind tugs at the white cloth and pulls the ship forward. I lurch but manage to hold on tightly to the beam.
There are two water fae at the bow, consistently pushing water behind us, causing the ship to move quite a bit quicker than my last trip out on the lake.
I force my heart to settle, breathing evenly as we sail out toward my monster.
“You are so determined that I don’t approach the Light King,” I whisper to the book at my back, “then we better stop the Night Bringer from getting this ancient on his side or I will have no choice.”
The book rumbles against me but says nothing. We both know it’s too late to turn back now anyway.
Shouting below catches my attention, and I look down to see the two guards pointing up at the mast—at me. My stomach sinks. They see me.
But then, a shrill laughter rings out over the surface of the lake and the ship rocks violently. I grasp desperately at the mast to stop from hurtling down to the deck.
The guards yell again, only this time, they’re pointing out over the surface of the water, where a massive glowing wave is rising and heading straight for us.
