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Chapter twenty-two

The Poisoned Tree

Ayla

The trees returned to my dreams. Growing on a hilltop, their branches swayed in the breeze, the one that was mine and the one that was Zayne’s.

I studied where our roots joined, relieved to find the sight no longer filled me with alarm. We were stronger together, after all.

My dreamy gaze was drawn down.

The roots reached deeper, descending into the earth, growing wild as they explored soil previously denied.

They soaked up the water and nutrients of this new land. But this food tasted strange, and my tree remained dormant, untrusting of the earth it found itself within.

It longed to flower, but it never bloomed.

It was finally freed of its confines but still struggled to thrive.

How frustrating.

The tree grew desperate. It plunged its roots deeper into the earth, searching for anything it could salvage. Something familiar to the small, limiting mound on which it had grown.

Finding something, the tree sparked with relief, one that was short-lived...

Red liquid filled the roots. Poison or food? The tree didn’t know. It was made to grow, to reach for the stars, and this red substance...

It felt right, so the roots soaked it in.

Leaves grew healthier, plumper. New branches reached high.

The tree had only lived this long because it had fought for its life.

Though strange, the red liquid was clearly sustenance.

So the roots grew again, thicker, so they might draw up more of this fuel.

Time seemed to accelerate, seasons passing in moments as the tree drank deeply from this new source. The tree grew taller, the leaves plentiful. As spring arrived, it flowered, and by the fall, fruit weighed down its branches.

Fully ripe, one of the fruits fell to the ground, splitting open. And inside…

The fruit was rotten, filled with red bile and swarming with worms.

I woke in a sweat, my skin drenched and the sheets sticking to me. Behind me, Zayne burned like a furnace. Ignoring the heat, desperate for comfort from the dream, I snuggled further into him, wondering when in the night we had started cuddling.

His breathing was deep, evidence of the same fatigue that wore at my bones. I wiggled against him, and even in sleep, he hugged me close.

Last night I pushed him away, and he still wants me.

My head ached, my cheeks dry where tears had fallen. The nightmare still haunted the fringes of my mind. The fear and grief from the night before still didn’t feel that far way.

I hurt Ninti. She barely survived.

Closing my eyes, I willed myself back to sleep. Except the dream—worms and rotten fruit—played out again on the back of my eyelids. As the minutes passed, the damp sheets grew clammy, and I knew there was no more pretending.

Like it or not, I was awake.

Careful not to disturb Zayne, I slipped from the bed, grabbed my cloak, and stepped onto the deck.

It was pitch dark, the sea seeming endless.

In the distance, Vanessa sang with the waves, a swaying vision of blue light as she propelled the boat.

Above, the stars glittered bright, the moons hidden from sight.

The midnight breeze swept through my hair, and I filled my lungs with it, cooling my body down. For a glimmering moment, the world felt beautiful.

And then reality crashed down.

Ninti.

Looking up at the dark sky, I glared at the brightest star, hating how it dared to twinkle, shining like it mattered when it was simply one of many.

My chest tight, I paced to the back of the boat, eyeing the pile of blankets where Ninti had built her den. It was empty. Of course it was. Lips quivering, I twisted my ruby ring.

A disaster like that couldn’t happen again, right? It had only happened because I was syphoning power from Ninti, I thought. I wasn’t truly dangerous… At least, I’d told Zayne that.

Still, it gave me little comfort, especially in light of Dusk’s warning, “For the sake of the Isles, you must learn to control your power.”

My temptation to accept the Starlit King’s offer grew heavier by the hour. My magic responded positively to his. It was reasonable my power had come from someone in his court, but shy of an ill-timed search for my father, he was the one offering to show me how to wield my magic.

He promised me the control I craved.

I didn’t just want a lesson because Dusk had asked me to learn control. It wasn’t even entirely because of what had happened to Ninti. I wanted this because I was tired of depending on the powers of others when I had this vast supply at my disposal—if only I knew how to wield it.

Zayne would be furious when I explained.

The sea crashed against the boat, louder than ever, but it could not drown out the whirring of my mind. It was cold and damp, and all I felt was numb.

Uncertain, I left Ninti’s den behind and returned to the front of the boat. Sleep seemed impossible, and the long hours of night still stretched out before me.

I should eat something.

I had just reached for our food supplies when I heard the creak of the cabin’s door, the tether heightening with Zayne’s nearness.

He stepped from the doorway, unfurling his cloak and shielding his bare chest from the cool, ocean sea breeze. “Time for an early breakfast?”

My mind was crowded with thoughts of him, but now he had joined me, I didn’t know what to say.

Swallowing and shaking my head, I set the loaf of bread down on the table and closed the distance between us. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“I figured.” He glanced toward the horizon and then tried to meet my gaze. The tether whispered of his cautious approach. “Breakfast sounds nice, do you want company?”

“Sure.”

I busied myself, cutting off slices of bread, uncertain where to begin, the weight of my confession holding my tongue. In silence, Zayne brought forth jam from the cold box. Through it all, his presence, reinforced through the tether, was calm.

The easy silence continued as we ate. After taking my last bite and swallowing down the last of my doubt, I cleared my throat, “I do want to talk. It’s just not easy.”

“Fair.” He hesitated. “What happened in the vault won’t be easy to say either.”

My mouth dried. “I see.”

“I met a skeleton in the stairwell, called himself Guardian, and he led me down—”

“A skeleton?” I asked, struggling to imagine it.

“A lost form of necromancy. Unlike shades, they’re sentient and still linked to their living soul, like a timeless echo. I thought they were all gone. But…” He shook his head. “There’s much I’ve misunderstood.”

I leaned closer, caressing the back of his hand with my fingertips. “I could say the same.”

He turned his hand around so our fingers could twine. “The army of shades was made by Inarus. One of them was Vanessa’s former lover, Jasmine.”

I glanced at the water sprite’s blue glow. Squinting, I saw a tail of green fabric caught in the wind.

“I was able to bring back Jasmine’s scarf,” he concluded.

I swallowed, giving him a nod and tight smile. An entire army? It was a lot to take in. I focused on the facts. “And the shard?” I prompted.

“I found it toward the end, when” —he glanced away— “when I raced to the surface.”

“Ah,” I whispered. The tether must have alerted him to the disaster with Ninti. Cringing at the onslaught of a fresh wave of grief, I focused on the point at hand—Zayne had rushed taking the shard. And he was also rushing over saying something uncomfortable. “What happened when you took the shard?”

How bad is it?

My stomach tightened.

“The quickest way to secure the shard was to accept Inarus’s gift—the shade army. So I did so.”

I stared at him, eyes wide, still trying to understand.

He tapped his forehead. “Even from here, I can feel them all, the undead waiting for my command.”

“Does it… hurt?”

He shrugged. Judging from the ease with which he moved, he’d recover. No, it wasn’t pain that was bothering him. “I’ll adjust,” he said, “unlike the thousands of undead making up my new army.”

“So many dead,” I said carefully. The shades had stolen countless lives. It was heart breaking, and now Zayne carried the weight of that. “This was Inarus’s reserve? Why did he need an army this large?” Concern after concern raced through my mind.

Zayne shook his head. “As soon as we have the shards, we can return to Dusk, and I’ll find a way to release them. Might take a couple days, but it must be done.”

My gut clenched at the idea. The whole time, I’d have to wait, watching over him as he wandered in and out of that vault. The last time he’d dispatched thousands of shades, he’d nearly died.

If he insisted it was the right thing to do, I’d support him. However…

I swallowed, admitting a terrible truth “We might need an army.”

Zayne fidgeted.

When he didn’t respond, I continued. “There’s a lot we don’t know.

Even if we know who the shard bearers are, we aren’t sure who has been orchestrating Gloom’s expansion, much less why .

As much as I hate to admit it…” I glanced away.

“Given what we’ve seen at Mer—this secret weapon trade—it’s possible Eleanor may need access to an army. ”

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “I know.” It seemed he’d already thought it over.

I sighed, worrying my words weren’t compassionate enough. But this had to be considered tactically. “Do you know what it’s like for Vanessa’s lover, being a shade?

Zayne shook his head. “In theory, Jasmine’s soul isn’t connected to her body. She’s just a shell. Only, I don’t trust theory. Not anymore.”

“That makes two of us questioning their magic.” I mused, leaning back to look at the sky.

He raised a brow. “So what happened?”

My lips sealed tight. Trembling, I forced myself to speak. “I saw Dusk. Not the land, but the deity herself. She helped me when Ninti…” I took a deep breath. “Ninti was trying to direct my magic as I drew power from her, but once it started, I couldn’t stop the flow, and… I drained her.”

Memories flashed. The dull gray of Ninti’s fur. The breaking of earth. The complete loss of control. And Dusk, disappointed, looking down at me.

Zayne reached for my hand, squeezing it. “It was an accident.”

I struggled to focus on the conversation. “Before she left, Dusk warned me. I need to learn to control my magic.” I swallowed, realizing Zayne needed to hear this next part. “For the sake of the isles, she said.”

His brow tightened with concern.

I glanced away, knowing he wouldn’t like what I had to say. “I want control as soon as possible, and to accomplish that, I plan to accept a lesson with the Starlit King.”

“Absolutely not.” Zayne shook his head. “Lessons are not an option.”

“One lesson,” I insisted. “Just one.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I didn’t expect you to.”

He leaned closer, the tether straining tight, a growl on the tip of his tongue. How he obsessed over me. I felt treasured and trapped, precious and furious, somehow all in the same breath. I stared at him, lost in his gaze and unsure what to say.

Suddenly, Vanessa’s voice resonated through the ship. “Hey, sorry to interrupt.”

Zayne turned and looked up, facing her crow’s nest. “What is it?”

“We’re nearing the outer coves of Mer, should I head for the port?” she asked.

I glanced at the island, the dark coastline now filling most of the horizon. “It’d be suspicious to arrive too early. Let’s anchor near the shore, and lay low in some still water.”

“Yes,” Zayne agreed. “Vanessa, think you can find something like that? Preferably near a deserted beach because we’re going to shore.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Vanessa shifted course, and I braced against the railing as the momentum changed.

“We’re leaving the boat?” I asked once the sprite had been quiet for sometime.

Zayne nodded. “I have an idea to train your powers without asking him for help.”

“Oh?”

“And we’re going to test it out.”