Page 59

Clarissa

T he faint silhouette of the mountains receded behind us as we sailed east into the rising sun. A full day aboard the Queen Mignonette awaited us on our journey from the South Territory to the elusive Island Territory.

I’d hardly slept. By the look of the motley crew surrounding me at the table in the quarter deck, neither had the others.

Leo’s arm was thrown around Rose’s chair, her head resting on his shoulder.

He kept tipping forward and backward on the legs, and I glimpsed his tail winding and unwinding around Rose’s ankle beneath the table—a sign of his unease.

Devora brought my mother a cup of tea, and the two of them sat next to me. It took Mia all of five seconds to rouse from her nap at my feet to prop her little paws on Devora’s leg, begging to be let into her lap.

Galen had gone straight to the captain’s cabin to continue sleeping off whatever toxin he’d ingested last night.

Katrine was preparing a medicine for him that Rose had taught her, and the Reaux family…

well, I wasn’t sure where they’d settled on the ship.

I tried not to think about them. Him . With everything else going on, my complicated emotions for a man I couldn’t have didn’t need to muddy the waters .

I sighed and scrubbed at my eyes. Apparently it wasn’t just me someone was after—it was Galen too.

I’d known from that very first dinner at Palace Grimaldi that there were people opposed to my coming here, and Galen hadn’t exactly established the best reputation among his kingdom.

Plus, Scarven’s Shifters had entered the picture.

The threat could literally be anywhere at this point.

We had no idea who to trust, no idea what lurked around the next corner.

I’d tried to find the Penworths and tell them about the strange figure I saw running through their grounds last night, but they refused to see me. I settled for Taryn and hoped she’d be able to get through to them. Not that it mattered anymore.

Every single person aboard the Queen Mignonette had been examined. The assassin hadn’t left the South Territory with us. I prayed they wouldn’t follow—or worse, that there weren’t more waiting for us on the island.

I was curious about this next regent family.

If Scarven wasn’t behind the attacks, then the regent families had plenty of motive too.

Especially if they were working together.

Even if Dion Silenus had changed his mind at the last moment, that didn’t mean he wasn’t at one point part of some larger plan.

And the Penworths definitely hated us. They all had the power to do anything they wanted in their territories—bribe carriage drivers, pay security guards to let a man with a weapon through at the Harvest Tournament, rig a bonfire, poison a bottle of whiskey, even cause an explosion to bring down the roof of a small cave.

“You look like you could use this,” Devora said next to me, breaking me from my thoughts. She slid her teacup across the scratchy wooden table. Mia’s head peeked up at the motion before she settled back into her lap.

I gave her a look. “Tea?”

“Sure. Tea .” She fingered the top of her shirt, and the metal tip of a flask peeked out.

I snorted. “Devora, it’s not even eight in the morning.”

She shrugged. “I won’t tell if you won’t. ”

“Devora, dear, did you put that in my tea?” my mother asked, leaning over in her seat next to me and raising an eyebrow.

Devora’s eyes widened. “Of course not, ma’am, I?—”

Mother’s cup scraped against the surface. “Top me off.”

“Mother,” Leo said with a chuckle. “Rough night?”

“I believe we’ve all had better,” she replied.

Devora glanced at the captain’s quarters, where Galen rested beyond. She pursed her lips, a crease appearing on her forehead as she took another sip of her spiked tea. I knew she was concerned for him. She’d had a relationship with him in the past, however fleeting it might have been.

“He’s going to be alright,” I said softly as my mother, Leo, and Rose continued their conversation.

“I know.” She gave me a tight smile. “This tour has just…not been what I expected.”

“You and me both.”

“I really admire you, you know,” she said, then raised the cup to her lips and drained the rest. I tried not to smile—I could tell this sort of conversation didn’t come easy to her. “The way you’ve handled it all. I—I thought you should know that.”

I squeezed her arm. “Thanks, Devora. I don’t think anything I’ve done has made much of a difference, but I appreciate it.”

“No—no, it has,” she said, brow furrowing.

“You don’t hear the way the servants talk.

They know how you’ve saved their fields and livestock.

They know you’ve done more for this kingdom than those regents ever have.

Some people are afraid of your magic, maybe, but they also realize what it can do.

” She paused, and her eyes flitted across the table to Rose.

Her voice lowered. “That’s how she saved him, isn’t it? Magic?”

I nodded. “Rose is an Alchemist. That means she can use the nature around her to do spells and things like that. She’s also very good with healing charms. We were lucky she had some of her herbs on hand.”

“But…how? I thought the only time you can use your magic he re is when you touch the blight. Like at that dinner at Silenus Manor.”

I licked my lips but kept my tone casual. She was shrewd and observant, and was stepping far too close to the truth. “I think Rose had just helped clear it from someone’s land nearby before the ball. She must’ve still had some of the magic lingering.”

Devora nodded thoughtfully. “All that power at the tips of your fingers…and nobody to control you,” she murmured, more to herself than to me. “Your empire sounds so free.”

“Nothing is free. There’s always something to run from.” I pushed back from the table and stood, the abrupt motion causing the others to glance up at me. “I’m going to check on Galen.”

Turning toward the captain’s quarters, I glimpsed the orange sun slowly rising above the horizon.

Its shadow left a trail of shimmering gold across the waves, making its way ever closer to the hull of our boat.

A light breeze swept over my nose and cheeks, the kind that smelled like salt and warned of a humid summer day ahead.

I knocked on the cabin door and waited for a garbled “Come in,” before pushing it open and entering the dim room. Curtains were closed over windows overlooking the deck. Galen sat in the bed, dark circles rimming his eyes, his cracked lips pulling into half a smile when he saw me.

“How are you feeling?” I asked stiffly.

“Like someone tried to kill me.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “You get used to it.”

“You of all people should know there’s only so many ways we can handle things like this.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and motioned for me to join him. “Go crazy with paranoia, or pretend it doesn’t bother us.”

“We’ve gotten very good at that, haven’t we?” I said as I sat next to him. “Pretending.”

He let out a loud breath. “Clarissa, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I said last night. ”

“It’s fine, Galen. We both know how big of a deal this marriage is. I get it.”

“No, you don’t. You mean more to me than just someone who can break this curse.” He started to move forward, and my muscles tensed. I stood and scratched the back of my head, searching for something to fill my discomfort.

“Do you remember anything?” I finally asked. “From before you were poisoned?”

His shoulders fell. “You saw the courier deliver a letter from the palace. I was… It was bad. I needed a drink. I had the nearest maid in the kitchen fetch me a glass. She came back, I took the drink, and—well, you saw the rest. The room began to spin, and the next thing I knew, your friend Rose was staring down at me.”

“The message was about your mother, right?”

Looking down at his gloved hands, he nodded. “She’s taken a turn for the worse.”

My eyes widened. “Then why are we going to the island, Galen? We should be heading back to Palace Grimaldi. You need to be with her.”

“Trust me, I want to. But they said she insisted I stick to the tour. We only have one territory left, and the respect of the regents is barely hanging by a thread as it is.” He twisted his hands in his lap, his actions betraying the surety in his tone.

“She isn’t as sick as my father was. There’s still time. ”

“Fates, Galen…” I huffed out a breath. “Are you sure?”

He met my stare, red veins hovering around tired hazel eyes. “No. But I’ve always balked from the hard decisions. It was time I finally made one, even if it ends up being the wrong choice.”

I nodded. “I’m sorry. I hope she’ll be alright.”

“Thank you. I’d like for you to meet her before this is all over with,” he said.

“She’s always been intrigued by Veridians and your magic.

And here I am, having been saved twice by one of you.

First you with Tovar Printh, and now Rose.

..” He trailed off, the edges of his eyes crinkling as his forehead creased in thought.

“What’s wrong? ”

He shook his head. “Nothing, it’s just…it must have been a figment of my imagination, but when I go back to last night, I keep thinking that—that Rose touched me. My skin. But that can’t be possible, because she’s still alive.”

I hesitated, running my finger along my lip before I said, “She did, Galen.”

His neck snapped up. “What? But—but how ?”

“I don’t know for sure. The only explanation I can think of is that Veridians are immune to your curse—not only the objects you curse, but your actual touch too.

The magic in the curse that the Fates gave you must be similar to the magic we have, so it doesn’t affect us.

It seems to do the opposite, actually. It gives us our magic back.

It’s how Rose was able to use her Alchemy to heal you in a way your healers here wouldn’t be able to. ”

He swallowed hard as he took in my words. “So, you think I—you think I could…I can touch you? Because you’re Veridian?”

I nodded once, the air in the room suddenly heavy. I could feel his desire, his breaths coming faster as the reality of physical contact hit him.

“Clarissa…” He pulled at his bottom lip with his teeth. “Can I touch you?” he whispered. “Please?”

I held my breath and scanned his features, his wrinkled forehead, his pale cheeks, his dilated pupils.

I didn’t fear his curse—I knew in my bones that I was right, that I couldn’t be hurt by him.

It was a wonder I hadn’t figured it out before now.

But what I did fear was something that had been lurking at the edges of this king since the day we met.

Desperation.

I was still angry with him. But part of me felt sorry for him. He was hurting, and after months of never having the most basic of human contact, I could give him that. One touch.

I cleared my throat. “Alright.”

I moved back to the bed. Slowly, he tugged off the glove of his right hand, finger by finger.

Raising a trembling arm, he halted before his skin touched mine, a question in his eyes.

I gave a small nod. His lips parted as the tip of his finger grazed a loose strand of my hair, hovering there for a moment before brushing it behind my ear.

Clammy fingers skimmed my ear and down to my cheek.

That same bolt of warm magic I felt when I touched the blight liquefied in my veins the second his skin met mine. It was fainter this time, barely a whisper, but still…it was there. My magic.

“Did you feel that?” he whispered. I nodded tightly. We both sat in silence, the clock on the wall ticking to the sound of our hearts.

Waiting for his curse. For the rot to take hold.

But nothing happened.

His eyes widened. “It’s real. I can touch you.”

His grip became firmer, more confident, his thumb running along my cheek to my jaw, then his other hand cupped the side of my neck. I fought the urge to lean away from him, from the unfamiliar, uncomfortable touch of his hand.

A different man appeared in my mind. The way Thorne’s rough skin felt holding me, his soft lips punishing against mine.

I clenched my jaw when Galen scooted closer.

“This—this is amazing. It’s been eight months since I could touch someone, Clarissa.

You have no idea what this means to me.” His breath hit my face as he leaned in, awe in his voice and wonder in his eyes.

His hold on my neck tightened, and a spike of uncertainty slithered down my spine.

My eyes flitted to the closed door across from us.

His thumb continued to trail the side of my neck and to my collarbone, running back and forth across my skin. My limbs locked.

Before I could blink, he moved forward and pressed his lips to mine.

The shock of his movement made me gasp. I flinched, but he merely gripped the back of my neck harder, pushing himself into me. I put my hands on his chest and shoved until I could rip away, almost falling off the bed at the motion.

He reared back. “Clarissa, I—I’m sorry. I don’t—I don’t know what?— ”

“Stop,” I said, my cheeks burning. I ran my fingers through my tangled hair, shivering at the sudden chill. My fox half pulsed beneath my skin.

“I shouldn’t have kissed you. I just—I thought this was a good thing.” He swallowed and stood to face me. I jerked away instinctively. “That we could touch each other. I thought you’d want that too.”

My legs shook, my heart racing as my adrenaline slowly faded. Fates, it would be so much easier if I wanted him. But if these past days had shown me anything, it was where my heart truly lived.

Not that it mattered.

“Galen, this marriage, it—it’s only for show. You were the one who made that clear in the beginning. To build an alliance and break the curse. I’m going back to my empire after this—you know that.”

He looked at the ground. “Things could change.”

“No, they can’t. Look at me,” I said. “You don’t want this.

You don’t want me . You’re enamored by the idea of me saving you.

I have the power to break this curse…to give you your life back.

And I’m one of the only people you can touch without hurting.

That’s where all of this is coming from. It’s what I represent to you.”

His gaze searched mine, and I wondered if he could see right through me. If he could see the icy blue eyes that lurked in my subconscious.

“You’re right,” he finally said, turning away from me. His voice was void of emotion, that longing and amazement he’d held now gone. “I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable.”

“Galen, I?—”

“I’m tired. I should rest before we reach the island.”

I stared at his back for a moment longer, then twisted the door handle and stepped onto the deck, now arrayed in bright sunlight, my skin still cold and yearning for the touch of someone else.