Page 9

Dayton

B reath comes ragged from my throat as I sprint through the bush, bare feet flying over rocks and twigs.

What in the fucking stars is he thinking?

He couldn’t. He wouldn’t…

But that’s just it. I don’t know Farron. We’ve spent every day together for the last month, but I still don’t know him. Because every time he got a little too close, I pushed him away. With averted gazes, snide comments, or a new person on my arm, I pushed him.

Pushed him straight over the edge.

For what? I can’t remember a single conversation I had with anyone tonight, but I can remember every word he’s ever said.

My hair flies in a tangled halo as I break out of the jungle and onto the cliff. The wind whips at my bare chest, at the thin piece of purple fabric I wear around my hips. My legs burn hot, my lungs hotter. I don’t think I’ve run so fast in my life.

How long ago had Farron left the party? When Decimus strutted up to me and passed on his message, I’d asked when Farron had departed. Decimus had shrugged, saying he couldn’t recall. He’d gotten caught up in a jig with Paddy before he remembered to tell me.

I stagger in a circle, searching the cliff, only the light of the full moon to guide me. What had he meant, I’m ready to jump ? Surely, he could only be talking about Captain Katharine’s Isle.

He can’t be serious about jumping. I’ll find him standing on the cliff, the whole thing a cruel joke. Then I’m going to punch him so damn hard for making me run all the way here. Only Justus can get me to push myself like this.

Just as I’ve convinced myself there’s no actual way Farron intends to jump into the cursed waters, I catch sight of a silhouette on the edge of the cliff.

Tall, lean body, shirtless, wearing only a pair of breeches. A wild thatch of hair blows in the wind.

“Farron,” I breathe. I knew he wouldn’t actually?—

The silhouette looks up at the moon, chest rising and falling. In the frosted glow, I see the shine of his eyes.

Farron steps off the edge.

“ Farron! ” I scream. Sprinting harder than I ever have before, I make it to the edge of the cliff, fling myself to my knees, and peer into the dark.

Down below, white waves crash on the rocks. There’s no sign of the Autumn Prince.

My body reacts as if it doesn’t even have to wait for my mind. Every part of me knows what I need to do.

Taking a deep breath, I jump from the cliff and descend toward the cursed waters below.

The wind howls in my ears. There’s nothing but air on all sides of me.

My stomach shoots up into my throat. I’ve cliff jumped hundreds of times before, but never this high.

Never without checking the waters below.

I try to make sense of everything as I plummet, the waves rushing up to meet me.

There are so many rocks—did Farron hit one on the way down? Will I hit one?

Fear claws at my throat as the spray of the churning water strikes my skin. I brace for impact.

I slam into the water with a violent splash. My bones ache with the impact, but I’m not dashed against the rock. I’m swept up in cold darkness, the current tugging at me from each direction. I fight the pull, trying to orient myself.

Breaking through the surface, I gasp for breath. A wave sweeps over my head, and I’m forced to fight for air again. I only get a moment above water before a swell pulls me under, but I keep trying.

“Farron!” I yell each time I’m able to get a lungful of air. Where is he? Is he alive? Is his body shattered on the rocks?

Moonlight shimmers off the isle, about half a league away. If he survived the fall, he’d swim there.

This water is cursed, a childish part of my mind says.

Sputtering against the waves, I growl, “Fuck it.”

Curse or not, I’ll find Farron.

Arm over arm, I cut through the water, the moon my lifeline. I can do this. I’ve swum through rougher waters. One arm in front of the other?—

A force slams into me, and I’m sent tumbling down into the dark. I right myself, eyes fighting through the ocean. Did Farron find me? What else could have?—

A shape materializes. Four powerful legs made of currents of water. Muscular body rippling like waves. Eyes shining with malevolent moonlight. A monstrous horse made entirely of the sea surges forward. Its liquid form shifts and flows as it canters toward me.

I gasp and try to swim for the surface. The creature gets to me first. The horse rears up, then strikes. Its hooves, solid despite their liquid appearance, pound into my chest, driving the last breath from my lungs.

I claw at the water, trying to find purchase, but the horse doesn’t stop.

It pushes me further and further down. My ears pop and my lungs burn.

A spell, there’s a spell for breathing underwater.

I try to summon my magic, but I can’t get a hold of it.

Mom is always telling me to put down my swords and practice the ancient powers. Why didn’t I listen to her?

I beat at the horse’s legs but it’s no good, my movements too slow in the water. The horse sneers, an angry expression, filled with hate. Is this Captain Katharine’s curse or just another scared beast like me?

My vision blurs. The weight of the water pushes against me on all sides. I’m drowning. A Prince of Summer, drowning .

What a waste. Just like Damocles always thought.

Though, if I have to go like this…chasing after Farron…

At least I’m dying for something worthwhile.

Golden light shimmers through my vision. Is this it? Death? Will the Orb of Ancestors still take my spirit, or will I be denied that honor because I didn’t die upon the sands?

This gold light of death sure is beautiful though. It appears above us. Even the horse seems distracted by it, looking up, the pressure of its hooves releasing.

Hey, this is my death. Let me have it, I think to the horse.

The gold light shifts, and I see it’s the outline of a person. A man.

One with a thatch of wild hair.

Farron .

I’m not dying, at least not yet. But Farron is lit up like one of those glowing orbs always floating around Keep Oakheart. And he’s got the horse’s full attention.

No, Fare, no. You’ve got to run…

The horse kicks away from me, trotting over to Farron. Farron lays his golden hands upon the beast’s neck. Slowly, he lowers his head, brow to brow with the horse. The creature’s moonlit eyes close.

I blink, unsure if my vision is too darkened to understand what I’m witnessing.

The creature nuzzles Farron’s neck, then kicks through the dark water, looking playful.

Like a foal. With one look back at me, a snort of bubbles erupts from its nostrils, and it darts off into the water, disappearing as if it were never here at all.

I shake my head. Farron, a siren in his own right, charming dolphins and dragonflies and cursed horses. Charming those beasts as he charmed me.

Farron wraps his arms around my waist and kicks. Something deep within me finds strength, and I kick, too. In moments, we break through the water. It’s calm, the surface like glass.

“Are you an idiot?” Farron cries. His golden glow fades, and now he’s wreathed in white moonlight. “Why did you jump?”

“I pushed you, you pushed me,” I say, voice hoarse.

Farron shakes his head then laughs. “I didn’t think you’d follow me.”

“Yeah, well”—I lace one arm around his back, the other through his hair—“apparently the boy I’ve taken to is crazy .”

A grin creeps up his face. “That wasn’t crazy. Madcap, maybe. Kooky, even. But you haven’t seen crazy. Not yet.”

Farron kisses me, lips of salt and sea. An Autumn boy tasting of Summer.

A taste I would drown for all over again.

Finally, we pull away, gasping. I look to the isle. “We made it this far.”

“Let’s go get our treasure,” Farron says.

I don’t respond, only capable of nodding.

Because damn if I haven’t already found mine.