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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

INAN

I

FAILED HER.

The thought of Zélie with the Silver Skull makes my blood run cold. The places they might have taken her. The things they must have done.

When they locked me down here, I thought we had a chance. With time, I could break her out. Get her back to Or?sha and make up for every single time I’ve hurt her. Every time I’ve let her down.

The Skulls have been searching for her heart. I knew it the moment I made sense of their words. Whatever their plans, they needed her enough to invade another kingdom. Enough to haul ships of my people across the seas. What will happen once they discover it’s her?

What will Baldyr do to the rest of Or?sha?

I have to stop them. The realization settles in my core. All of them. Every single Skull. For the first time in centuries, Or?sha can’t battle against itself. We have to unite.

Our kingdom is at war.

Outside the vessel, the ocean’s storm picks up force. The entire ship quakes with the deafening thunder that booms from above. The reverberations shake through my bones. Waves slam against the ship’s side like battering rams. Sheets of water crash into the hold.

My hanging cage swings wildly in the flooding prison. The gears groan above my head, rusted from the damp sea air. At any moment, the attachment will break. The force of the fall might give me a chance to escape.

But these shackles…

The shackles the Skulls clamped tight around my wrists make it impossible to leave. Even when my cage falls, I’ll be trapped. If I can’t break the chains, I won’t be able to make it to the deck.

I whip the chains binding me to the rusted floor back and forth. I brace myself against the iron bars of the cage and pull. My feet struggle to get a firm grip, and I slip. I hit the floor with a heavy thud. Pain rakes through my body. I fight through it to drag myself up.

I take my shackled wrists and smash them against the iron bars. I hit them again and again. Above me, the gears holding my cage continue to creak. One of the attachments weakens. A bolt flies free.

Water continues to fill the ship’s hold. It rises so high, it nearly hits the bottom of my cage. My time is running out. If I can’t break these chains, I’ll drown.

Despite how hard I thrash, the shackles around my wrist don’t give. I pull against the chains with everything I have. I pull though the metal tears at my skin.

“Come on!” I try to yank my wrists free. The old metal burns as it cuts through my flesh. I roar with the agony that rips through me. My skin begins to peel, revealing gleaming white bone.

Nausea rises inside me. Sweat pools down my skin. My vision starts to blur, but I don’t see another way. I need to keep going.

I have to do whatever it takes to escape—

“Inan?” a voice calls, and I stop. I don’t believe my ears.

Who would even know to look for me in here?

“Inan, are you down there?” the voice calls out again, and this time I recognize its cadence. Its speaker’s heart.

“Amari?” I shout back.

“I’m coming!” she calls. “I’ll break you out!”

My heart pounds as footsteps travel down the stairs. Something collides with the padlocked door. The jangle of keys rings. With a click, the door flies open.

Amari…

My sister bounds into the hold, nearly tripping over herself in her fervor. Relief mixes with rage at the sight of what the Skulls have done. The shell of the warrior she’s become.

Amari’s bones protrude from her shriveled kaftan. Bruises cover her neck and delicate wrists. Thick layers of dirt coat her copper skin. Grime runs through her dark curls.

But despite her weakened condition, she fights, stomping through the flooding hold. When she reaches my cage, our hands link. I stare at the sister who shares my amber eyes.

For a moment, neither of us can speak. The years we’ve spent at odds seem to dissipate. My eyes sting at the thought of Father. Mother. Or?sha. The throne that constantly got in our way. I think of all the ways I could have been a better brother.

All the ways I should have kept her safe.

“I’m sorry.” I whisper the words, though I know they’re not enough. But Amari shakes her head.

“We didn’t get here on our own.”

My sister holds me, and I feel it—the dedication we both share. Now that the Skulls have landed on our shores, we can’t afford to be at odds. Or?sha needs us together, fighting on the same side.

“The Skulls are after Zélie,” I explain. “They’ve been raiding our shores for moons. They plan to—”

“We’ll find a way to stop them,” Amari assures me. “Together, I know we can.”

In her voice, I find a new conviction. A reason to believe we can win. In this moment, we’re bonded together.

The way we always should have been.

“Your hands…” Amari grimaces at my broken bones and my peeling skin. The fight I’ve been waging alone returns. My cage continues to creak.

“I’ll be alright.” I nod. “Just get me out!”

Amari removes the ring of keys around her wrist. Key after key goes into my lock until she finds one that fits. She grits her teeth when she meets resistance. Finally, the padlock opens with a sharp click.

A smile spreads across my sister’s narrow face, but her forehead creases when she touches the shackles around my wrists. She attempts to find the right match, but the keys are too big.

“These won’t fit.…”

I brace myself to pull my wrists free, but Amari stops me.

“I’ll find a blade.” She leaves the key in the cage door. “I’ll cut you out! Just wait!”

“Be careful!” I call.

I watch, helpless, as Amari pushes herself through the water-filled hold. But heavy footsteps thunder down the stairs. Amari freezes as a bulky silhouette fills the doorframe.

A flicker of lightning illuminates the mighty Skull’s mask.

He looks between the two of us, glowing axe in hand.