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Irolled up my message and attached it to the falcon’s leg. I’d already been in contact with Galon and the others, but Conreth’s message had only darkened my mood further.

I wanted off this ship.

Prisca had barely spoken a word to me since she’d realized who—and what—I was. But I knew her. Her fury was a wild, unrelenting thing, even if she was masking it in front of the others on this ship.

If she thought she could get away with it, she would kill me in a heartbeat.

That thought shouldn’t make me hard.

The fury, I could handle. Nothing burned brighter than the two of us locked in a power struggle. But it was the misery I caught when she thought I wasn’t looking that raked at me with vicious claws.

It would be so easy to hand Prisca off to my brother—directly after I gave him the punch in the face he deserved. Then, I could return to the life I’d been created for.

Killing my way across this continent.

But the thought made my gut clench. Made my mouth dry. The wildcat was mine, and I would protect her until she came to that exact realization.

So, I’d give her the time she needed—just enough time for her to understand she belonged with me.

Even if Prisca hadn’t immediately loathed me the moment she learned who I was, she would have eventually loathed me when she learned the kinds of things I’d done in my brother’s name.

The bloodstains on my hands would never wash off.

The thought of all that blood hadn’t bothered me for years. Until I’d met Prisca and something inside me—something I’d thought was dead—had slowly come to life once more.

One of the sailors tripped on thin air, his eyes widening as he stared at me. Tiny sparks darted along my skin, and I had no doubt my eyes were glowing with suppressed power. Elemental magic occasionally leaked, and while I’d had a slight affinity for fire, wind, and water as a child, it was the lightning that slipped free when I wasn’t concentrating.

Never in my life had I needed to suppress that power more than right now. The moment I’d touched that amulet, the moment I’d ripped into it with my power and released everything it was holding…

No longer did I need to reach deep for my power. No longer did I grow weaker the farther I traveled from our lands. Instead—at least in the short term—I would have to learn how to contain the power.

Unfortunately, the more I thought of the little wildcat, the more difficult it was to keep my power tucked tight inside me where it belonged.

Turning away from the crew, I made my way below deck to the galley, where I found the healer creating some kind of poultice. His eyes met mine, the deep frown line between his brows making it clear he was still holding a grudge.

I couldn’t entirely blame him for the bitter twist to his thin mouth. This was the same healer I’d threatened with an excruciating death when Prisca was poisoned.

The healer certainly hadn’t been pleased to learn he was coming with us, but if Regner ever learned just how he’d saved the hybrid heir’s life? What the human king would do to the healer would turn even the strongest stomachs.

Our eyes met. “See that she eats something.”

I didn’t need to specify who I meant. Turning, I strode back toward the door.

“She can’t,” the healer muttered behind me. “Vomits up everything she eats.”

I pivoted. The healer met my eyes and shrugged. “The queen hasn’t found her sea legs yet.”

If Prisca learned that people were already referring to her as queen, she might just jump overboard.

“Fix it.”

“I tried, but she insisted I turn my attention to the wounded hybrids.” Something that might have been reluctant respect danced across his face.

Prisca was a natural-born queen at every opportunity. Although she wouldn’t see it that way.

Prisca would refuse anything I offered her. I considered my options.