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“Silver linings,” I echoed, finding the spark of happiness fading again. I was almost relieved when Duncan didn’t speak. His rasped snore told me he slept. Which left me to ponder the world we’d left behind.

I couldn’t find the silver lining in this story. Elinor was dead. Althea was a captive. Duncan was still suffering. Wychwood had been handed over to the Nephilim, just as they plotted, risking the lives of millions. And we were sailing away, leaving it all behind, without a foolproof plan of how to return and fix this colossal issue.

Maybe once the rest of my problems were solved, I could face my own battle between my heart, and the hearts of the two men I held, one in each hand.

CHAPTER 22

Sailing upon the endless blue, it was impossible to keep track of the minutes, let alone the hours. The day beyond the cabin’s window had swiftly passed into night, and with it my mind was fixed on Duncan and Erix.

The three of us.

Sleep came and went, if I could call it that. My only constant was lying beside Duncan, who’d not woken since our last encounter.

Unable to sit around, hiding in the cabin, I left Duncan to sleep whilst I obtained the answers waiting on the deck.

I found Rafaela standing at the bow of the ship, staring out across the stretch of ocean, her eyes lost to an unseen spot in the distance. What she saw was beyond me, because all I could see was glittering stars reflected off a blanket of black. The moon hung like a pendulum, acting as our guide as we sailed toward it. My mind drifted to the unseen creatures lurking beneath the hull, tailed serpents or water dragons from the old tales. Regardless of such monsters, it was the person who stood beside Rafaela that made the breath catch in my throat.

Erix was at her side, the wind making his wings dance. I hesitated, looking back to the ship’s helm. Seraphine gripped the gargantuan wheel, lean muscles straining as she kept the ship on its path. Lanterns had been lit across the deck, casting enough of what was around us in a glow. She nodded at me, short and sharp. It was the encouragement I needed to push forwards.

Erix, as he always seemed to do, noticed my presence before I announced it. He turned his head slightly, enough for the silver glow of moonlight to dance across the planes of his face.

I couldn’t tear my eyes off him, and the feeling was clearly mutual.

Rafaela noticed. When her eyes settled on me, I saw regret and pain. The faint whisper of words Rafaela and Erix had shared stopped, making me feel almost awkward for interrupting.

“Duncan is still sleeping,” I said, excusing the lack of his presence. “Sorry I haven’t come out sooner. It’s the first time I’ve been able to share a bed with him since before–”

“There is no need to explain yourself, little bird,” Erix said, laying a hand on my shoulder and squeezing. “Never, okay?”

I smiled awkwardly at him, knowing that if Erix had stayed in the cabin with us, we would all likely still be in it.

“What have I missed?” I asked.

In answer, Rafaela offered me an update on Gyah. “Your friend has requested to use a vial of Gardineum that the Nephilim had in stores. Gyah is suffering greatly from her separation from Althea – it is easier for her to rest her mind and give it a reprieve from reality.”

I couldn’t begin to imagine the heartache that poisoned Gyah. If she wanted to sleep, with the aid of the poison, then that was her choice. Not something I had the grounds to make comment on. “Gyah will be going through a lot right now. I know the pain of being parted from the person you love. It eats you up from the inside out.”

I caught Erix’s eyes, hoping he knew that I spoke about him as much as Duncan.

There was so much left unsaid between me and Erix, that I expected him to acknowledge the interaction he’d not long walked away from. But he stayed silent, until a handful of words left his perfectly bowed lips. “I’ll leave you both to get reacquainted.”

With that, Erix made a move to sweep past me. I found my arm snaking out and hand gripping his. “I know I’m in no position to make requests of you, Erix. But can I ask of you one thing?”

“Robin.” I hated when he used my name. There was once a time I’d rather him use it, but now, with everything that had happened between us, it sounded foreign on his tongue. “I could never refuse you; you know that. Ask me of what you need, and I will see it done.”

“Can you sit by Duncan’s side?” I found myself asking the question, proving just how desperate I was. “He is not well, and I would prefer that when he wakes, he isn’t alone.”

Erix leaned in and laid his lips to my cheek. The suddenness of it shocked me to silence, made every hair on my body stand on end. He withdrew enough to be able to whisper in my ear. “It would seem the stars have aligned, because that was exactly where I was going anyway.”

“You were?” My voice lifted in pitch, reflecting the hope that dwelled inside of me.

“I was,” Erix said. “There is a matter I would like to discuss more with him.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask what matter he spoke of, but I guessed I already knew the answer.

Erix left me to simmer beneath the tingles his lips left on my cheek. Swiftly departing from the ship’s bow, I was left to Rafaela, who continued studying me. Only when Erix had disappeared into the belly of the ship did she speak.

“I would ask how you are faring, but I worry that I already know the answer,” Rafaela said.