Page 68 of Scorched Earth (Dark Shores #4)

“I understand.” Malahi reached over to squeeze her arm. “It will remain between us unless you wish it otherwise. Though I think if Dareena knew the truth that she’d welcome you.”

An image of the High Lady of House Falorn filled Lydia’s eye.

Her aunt. Her only blood relation left living, and yet Lydia recoiled from the idea of Dareena learning the truth because it felt like a betrayal to the father who had raised her.

“I’ll think about it. But for now, we’ll give you some space to rest. Bait and I have a great deal to catch up on. ”

She, Killian, and Bait departed the cabin, leaving Agrippa and Malahi standing by the window in quiet contemplation of the ship’s wake.

“Birth name?” Bait asked once they were on decks, but Lydia shook her head. “I’ll explain later.”

The Maarin who weren’t busy sailing the ship were all watching with interest as the captain handed Baird a drum, the giant frowning as he eyed the sky overhead.

With a slow, deliberate motion, Baird lifted his hand and began to beat the drum.

The sound was thunderous, vibrating through Lydia’s bones, the rhythm a call to the skies above and the god who controlled them.

“Marked by Gespurn,” she said by way of explanation as Bait gaped.

Baird circled the mainmast, his movements fluid and graceful, belying his immense size.

Each step reverberated through the deck, sending shudders through the timbers.

His feet pounded out a rhythm that grew faster and more insistent with every beat.

The wind began to rise, dark clouds gathering on the horizon, swirling in response to the giant’s summons.

“It’s going to get gusty,” Killian said. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”

“Galley.” Bait led them below and down a narrow corridor to the ship’s kitchen, which was empty but for a cook busy with a half-dozen fish.

They took a seat at a scarred table on stools that were bolted to the floor, the clatter of copper pots hanging from the ceiling over the cook’s workspace more than serving to drown out what words they might say.

“I was looking for Killian, but I’m glad I found you, Lydia.

” Bait rested his elbows on the table, head in his hands.

“I’m gods-damned terrified. I have no idea how the legions are treating Teriana, whether she’s been harmed, or…

or anything. The Gamdeshians are furious with her.

Our people are furious with her. Everyone is acting as though she’s on the Empire’s side, mostly because—” He broke off, throat moving as he swallowed.

“Marcus is the Empire incarnate. He represents everything Teriana hates, and I can’t believe that she’d—Gods, I can’t even say it. ”

“I agree.” Lydia’s chest tightened at the tears gleaming in Bait’s eyes.

“Lucius is evil, and what he’s using Marcus and the legions to accomplish is no different than what the Corrupter is using Rufina and the blight to accomplish.

Everyone is looking for someone to blame, and it’s falling on Teriana, but the truth is that she got into this mess trying to help me out of a horrible situation.

It was my fault that Vibius found Treatise of the Seven in my library.

I should have hidden it better. Or destroyed it.

Instead, it landed in Cassius’s hands, and while his discovery of the West may have been inevitable, if there is anyone who should be blamed for setting these events in motion, it’s me. ”

Killian’s hand rested on her back. “We know that the Corrupter has some form of connection with this Lucius Cassius, and if the Six were aware of who you were, and where you were, the Seventh surely was as well. You were involved even before Teriana gave you that book, so I think that even if you’d shown every caution, events would have transpired in much the same way.

Regardless of who did or didn’t know, it’s still easier to blame Teriana because her actions are visible. ”

“I love her,” Bait whispered. “I’ve loved her since we were children, and I know she doesn’t feel the same way but that doesn’t change how I feel. I want to get her out of this mess but I don’t know how.”

Madoria believes Teriana is where she needs to be.

Lydia jerked as Magnius’s voice invaded her thoughts, as did Killian, though Bait only scowled.

“Quit eavesdropping, you overgrown snake.” He pressed his hands to the table.

“Madoria may be correct that Teriana is best placed for whatever the Six hope will happen, but that doesn’t mean she won’t get hurt.

Doesn’t mean that she hasn’t already been hurt, and I’m not willing to sacrifice her on the basis of vagaries.

Give us a reason, Magnius. Something concrete that explains what Madoria thinks Teriana will do.

A reason why she needs to be with those Cel dogs. ”

Show more faith in the goddess. You yourself are proof of her power.

Bait snorted in annoyance. “Right. You don’t know either.”

Lydia blinked. “You’re marked by Madoria?”

“Oh. Well, yes.” Bait seemed surprised she didn’t know. “Most Maarin ships have one of Madoria’s marked aboard because we are good for salvage, among other things. Fara is the Kairense ’s diver.”

Lydia had met Fara, the marked girl who was part of the Kairense ’s crew, when she’d traveled with Dareena.

Fara had calmed the seas when they’d escaped from the opening in the cliffs beneath the palace in Mudaire, but the girl had kept to herself during the journey, so Lydia had learned nothing more about her mark.

“This seems a foolish question, but what does your mark allow you to do, Bait?”

“Breathe underwater.” He hesitated. “Control the tides, though we avoid that if at all possible as it has unintended consequences.”

“You should just flood the legion camp,” Killian grumbled. “Drown the lot and steal Teriana back in the chaos.”

“As tempting as that is, a lot of innocent people would drown as well.” Rising to his feet, Bait went to a storage cabinet and extracted a bottle and three glasses.

“The wave that I’d have to form to reach that far inland would be immense and far reaching.

It would flood all of Aracam, which is full of civilians, killing many and then dragging more back out to sea when it retreated. I’d consider it a tool of last resort.”

Lydia took the glass Bait offered her and sipped the wine, recognizing it as Atlian vintage. “What about the Quincense and the rest of the crew? Where are they?”

“On an island off the coast of Arinoquia,” Bait said. “It’s where the legions keep their injured, all under heavy guard. They know about Magnius, so they keep several crew members under heavy guard far away from the water as hostages.”

“Are they well treated?” Her mind went to Lydia’s aunt Yedda, the old woman near and dear to her own heart.

“Yes.” Bait gave a sharp shake of his head. “But still prisoners, just like Teriana.”

Lydia ran a fingernail down a scratch on the table, thinking.

“Madoria’s words make me wonder if Teriana has a strategy in play.

I think it needs to be her choice whether to leave the legions, not ours.

We focus on ensuring she has all the information she needs, and then trust her to make the right choices with it. Agreed?”

Bait nodded. “Agreed. I’ll get you to Serlania and then travel to Revat to learn what has developed, then I’ll go find her.”

“We will travel with you,” Lydia said. “Malahi needs to rejoin the High Lords, but I need to seek the aid of the library in Revat. What we learned in Anukastre is only part of the picture, and everything depends on the Gamdeshians having the final piece, even if they don’t know it.”

Killian abruptly stood, rubbing at his arm where Ceenah had cut him, his jaw tense and his eyes distant.

“What is it?” Lydia asked, her unease rising.

“My skin is crawling,” he muttered. “Every instinct in my body is telling me that something is happening and that I need to act.”

Her heart lurched. “Teriana?”

“Maybe. Bait, I know you have means to travel faster than any ship. Could you go ahead and track down Teriana?”

“Yes. Magnius can carry me, and we can use the ocean paths that ships can’t access.”

“I think you should go ahead of us,” Killian said. “I can’t give a reason, but I sense that speaking with Teriana can’t wait.”

“I’ve never known your gut to be wrong. I’ll leave tonight.

” Bait gestured to the wineglass. “But first I want to hear of everything that has happened since we parted. I might only have one chance to speak to Teriana, and I want to be able to tell her everything she needs to know. Everything. Magnius will listen as well, because he doesn’t believe in private conversations. ”

He gestured at the porthole in the polished wooden walls, and Lydia nearly choked on her wine when she saw an enormous eye looking through. “Is he the only one of his kind?”

We are three.

“Magnius, Aspasiana, and Lorander,” Bait clarified. “One for each of the Maarin triumvirs. Aspasiana is nearby, because Vane is a triumvir, but Lorander has been moving back and forth between Revat, Serlania, and Taltuga.”

Taking another sip of her wine, Lydia mused over how deeply everyone underestimated the Maarin.

For all they were relegated to the role of traders and messengers, they held more power at sea than all the navies of the world combined, for she’d no doubt that Magnius and his kind were more than capable of sinking ships.

But rather than saying as much, she rested her elbows on the table. “Let’s start from the beginning.”

Hours later, when they’d exhausted both wine and conversation, they stood next to the railing with Bait and Vane. “Be careful,” Lydia warned her friend. “You heard Agrippa. The legions won’t hesitate to kill you if they believe you’re a threat, and you know better than to underestimate them.”

“I won’t let them catch me,” Bait promised.