Page 99 of Dance of Kings and Thieves

Unimposing, she was hardly a threat. This was the fate witch? A mere slip of a girl?

She took a confident step down the plank, and the man at her back followed. Her companion bore a strong resemblance to the girl, but for a chin dusted in dark scruff and two gold hoops in his ears. Pale in complexion, but broader, a little older, with a freshly lit herb roll between his lips.

The nearer the girl came, the brighter her smile grew. By the end of the plank, she was practically running toward the others.

“Kind heart.” She rushed to Elise first, grinning. Elise let out a wet laugh and embraced her. When they pulled apart the girl narrowed her eyes. “A troubled heart. When you see the beast within, let him in—”

“To let him go,” Elise whispered.

“Hold tightly to the hand you took, kind heart. As shadows surround you, never let go until the light breaks.”

I didn’t understand a word of what this girl was saying, but the way Elise held her stare, I gathered she did.

The girl looked to Valen next. “Cursed King.”

“Calista.” He tipped his head in a greeting. “You look like you’ve grown by ten turns.”

She snickered, revealing her youth. “Helps to show one’s true age when they are not being fed dried bread once a day in a dank cell.” She patted his arm. “We’ll talk more soon. First, I would like to better understand why you sent a bleeding sea fae to . . .”

Her words died off when her gaze landed on Sol Ferus. For the first time the mischievous grin faltered, and a tremble wrinkled her chin.

“Lump?” Her voice sounded like a breathless whimper. The sound of disbelief.

Sol wore a gentle, almost distant, smile. “Hello, little bird.”

Calista stopped fighting the tremble in her voice. She dropped the attempt to look ruthless and sprinted over to Sol, swallowing his neck in a crushing embrace. “Lumpy! Well, you don’t look so lumpy anymore. You’re all rippled and hard now, aren’t you?” As she spoke, she padded her hands around Sol’s arms and chest. He simply laughed. Even Tor bit down on his lip to hide his smile. Calista sniffed and hugged Sol’s neck again. “I . . . never knew what became of you after . . . after that night.”

“Sol and Calista spent turns imprisoned together during the curses,” Elise whispered to me and Kase. “He did not know who he was, nor did she know him, but they’d speak to each other and kept each other company.”

Sol laughed and pulled back, pressing a kiss to Calista’s forehead. “This one did more than speak. Gods girl, the way you can chatter. Always called her the little bird in my head.”

The man who came with Calista snorted a laugh.

Calista slugged her fist against Sol’s arm. “It kept your mind bleeding coherent. At least a little, didn’t it?”

With a laugh, Sol nodded and pulled her against his chest once more. “Yes. Your chatter kept me fighting and trying to remember.”

“Knew it.” Calista nuzzled her face a little against the Sun Prince then released him. “Just remember that. Helps knowing you’re a bleeding royal. Always good to have allies with the higher-ups, that’s what I say.”

I hadn’t uttered a word, merely clung to Kase’s hand. This girl, well, she was young. Yet we were balancing the fate of lives on what she had to say.

It dipped my stomach worse than the pitch of the sea.

“Can we get a move on with this?” Thorvald stomped onto the warship from the plank. His shirt was damp, but not as wet as I thought it should be after sailing underwater.

Calista frowned. “Pushy. I told you I wanted a moment with them.”

“Your moment is up,” he said darkly.

With a sigh, Calista took a step away from Sol and positioned herself in the middle of our small crew. “All right, Cursed King, tell me what this is all about. I don’t like what little things I’m hearing. Almost refused to come.”

“Why did you come?” Valen asked.

“Because it’syou.” Calista opened her hands with an irritated look, as if it should’ve been obvious. “And that bleeding sea sod did some kind of spell. Ihad tocome.”

“I told you he summoned you.” Ari jabbed his thumb toward Thorvald. “That coin is something interesting. He whispered to it and the next thing I knew we were in a little tavern, and she walks right in the door.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t like it.” Calista pinched her lips for a few breaths before barreling on. “Summoning is bad enough, then he had the guts, no, theaudacity, to take my cherished inkwell captive. It’s what I write the stories with.” She narrowed her eyes at Thorvald. “Shameful. My ink did nothing to you.”