Page 110 of Across an Endless Sea

“Well, that’s no longer an option, so you need to come up with something,” Prae growls. “And it better be good, because that female just killed herself to get away from you.”

Like I need reminding.

“It doesn’t matter. We made a bargain. She has to listen to me as long as we bring the fox.”

Rose—who doesn’t make threats—actually demanded Prae’s life if I refused, but I’ve left that part out. From what I can tell, my cousin actually likes the Nicnevin, and she’ll only like her more if she knows that Rose has a spine under all that fear.

Prae’s weird like that.

“Who is he?” Prae asks.

“No one.”

That’s what doesn’t make sense. Marl is just a slave. Smart enough to survive the Deep Caves for years, but beyond that, he’s unremarkable. Rose must have become attached in the day or so they spent together. A kernel of jealousy stirs in my gut at that thought, but I push it down. Being jealous of a madman covered in chicken shit is just ridiculous.

“Well, we at least need a plan for getting past the walls,” Prae presses. “We can’t exactly walk past our own army and into the city of the enemy without drawing notice. Fortunately, I have that covered.”

She goes to a bag and draws out a strange looking grappling hook connected to a sort of crossbow. “We can use these to scale the inner wall. I don’t have an exit plan for if things go badly, but I’m working on it.”

Great, another Prae invention. At least these look sturdier than the metal wings. Then what she said hits me.

“Inner wall?” I demand.

“A runner confirmed that the outer wall fell while we were in Fellgotha. Apparently, Haor wasn’t as useless at following my instructions as I thought he would be. One of us will have to carry Marlblew, but I think we can get over with your glamour if we pick a quiet spot.”

“We’ll have to slip past our own forces,” I groan.

The instant they figure out we’re going to visit the fairy queen, we’ll be shot.

“Does it matter?” Prae demands. “We won’t be returning to them afterward. Elatha is bringing an invasion force three times the size of the one he sent us with, and he’s not going to waste any time hunting us down.”

He’ll know of my escape, and I’m pretty sure he’ll suspect Prae was to blame—even if he has no proof—which is a death sentence for us both.

He won’t chase us himself. One of our other cousins will probably be assigned the task. My father will be too busy making sure the fae suffer for the humiliation Rose put him through.

Now that the first wall has fallen, it’s only a matter of time before he takes the whole city. That’s just one more thing that the rest of the Guard can rightly hold against me, given that Prae and I were the ones who came up with the idea to tunnel under the walls in the first place.

“We just have to get past the army and into the city,” I agree moodily. “After that, I suppose our fates are up to Rose.”

Prae tilts her head back and rolls her eyes. “I’ll come up with an actual plan by myself then,” she mutters, slamming the door behind her and leaving Marl and me alone again.

The boat docks a few hours later, like she said it would. The sound of slaves heaving the ship to the moorings fills the air, but Prae is conspicuously absent as Marl and I sneak ashore under my glamour. There are more guards than usual, making the task more difficult than it has to be.

Slaves are rushing up and down the gangplank, gingerly carrying heavy barrels between them. When one is dropped, both of the slaves dive for cover, like they’re expecting to be attacked. A second later, they gingerly resume their task, heaving the heavy cargo across the docks.

What on earth is in those barrels?

Marl nips at my ear as a reminder to keep going. He’s reluctantly curled around my shoulders, and the moment we’re no longer surrounded by steel, he takes over the task of keeping us glamoured, leaving me free to focus on finding my cousin.

I stalk through the tents, catching the sound of her voice as I walk towards the larger ones.

It feels… strange, hiding from my own people. I’m used to striding through them, being the strongest, punishing those who challenge me without compunction. I haven’t needed to skulk and hide in the shadows since I was a boy.

I forgot what it was like.

“For the last time,” Prae growls as I draw closer to the command tent. “You’re spouting nonsense.”

“We have orders from the king.”

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