Page 59

Marin

Journeys always seemed faster on the way down, as if home was pulling you closer. But that didn’t make it any easier. I’d forgotten the sound of the roaring wind and the dizzying expanse of nothing beneath our feet.

My muscles ached, my fingers trembling from the strain of gripping the vine. And then there was my curse. A constant companion, ravenous for the salt of the sea while mocking the air that thickened like foam in my lungs.

Nothing about this hunt had been simple. And the end was taking its toll. Every word was a struggle. Every breath a hope for one more.

“I’m never climbing… anything ever again.” I panted, lowering my shaking body to the next handhold. “Not a mountain, not a hill, even stairs are in question.”

Gavin let out a dry laugh, peering up at me from a branch a few feet below. “Agreed. I’ll have to design some sort of pulley system for the manor. The stairs will just be for show.”

“I don’t even want to look at them.” I paused to blink away the woozy blur in my vision and suck in a shallow breath. “A curse on anything elevated. If it’s not sea level… I’m out.”

I dropped onto the branch where Gavin waited and sank against him, letting him take my weight. We’d reached the second day of climbing, and below us, the ground was finally visible, just a hazy patchwork of color, a soft blend of land and sea.

His palm cupped the back of my head, and his body shifted to block the worst of the wind. “Sounds good to me. Let’s just sit. Drink wine. Eat hot food that hasn’t been sitting at the bottom of our packs, and then we’ll sleep. Give that giant a run for his money.”

I smiled faintly, wrapping my arms around Gavin’s waist to soak in his warmth. “Everyone will have to…” A thin, wheezy breath escaped my lips. “…sneak past us. Wake the hunters. Feel our wrath.”

Gavin went quiet for a moment too long, like my joke had left him winded and not the other way around. When he finally spoke, his voice was strangely hollow.

“It’ll be epic. A legend for the ages.”

“They’ll whisper… our names in terror.”

“As they should.” Gavin’s fingers tightened the cord keeping my hair out of my face, then he squeezed my shoulders. Concern leached into his voice. “We have to keep moving. I know you’re tired. But—”

“The dreaded curse of Saltless Breath waits for no one.” My lips flattened into a snarl. “Add bargaining with a sea queen… to my list of things… never to do again.”

“We’re almost there. I think I can see the manor.”

“You mean that speck of lint below us? Sure. It’s practically within reach.” I matched his tone with sarcasm and untangled my arms from around his waist to cross them over my chest. “After you… partner.”

Gavin tugged on my harness to check its stability.

That hollowness in his voice seemed to have found a way into his eyes.

His fingers flexed around our climbing rope before he continued down the vine.

I followed in his wake, grumpy and sore.

Solid ground was the only thing that could change my tune, and it was still a long way off.

I should’ve been grateful, though. I had the shard, and the sea was close. But with every section lower, I realized the end of this journey meant leaving Gavin behind. He could follow me to the sky, but not beneath the waves.

We hadn’t talked about it. Maybe he was as reluctant to mention it as I was, or maybe he’d been wearing the cloak of denial I’d wrapped around myself since I first stepped onto the vine. But the denial would end on that beach, and I would have to say goodbye.

For how long, I had no idea. A day? A week?

Maybe longer. The sea queen’s bargain didn’t say.

And I hadn’t thought to ask. The finer details didn’t matter so much when the odds were stacked against you.

But now those odds had tipped in our favor, and for the first time, we had to face the reality of letting go.

That was a weight Gavin could never take from me, and it got heavier by the hour.

So did my pack. My boots. The literal clothes on my back. Everything extra hurt. But the speck of lint that was the manor grew until, finally, I could make out the windows and the balcony overlooking the sea.

I let go of the vine, my knees buckling as my boots hit the dirt. Gavin caught me around the waist, both of us swaying unsteadily as we fought to stay upright.

“We made it,” I gasped, squeezing Gavin’s arm as a signal to let me slide to the ground. My backside planted in the grass, my fingers sinking into the soil. I wanted to root into the earth and stay right here for eternity.

The orchard was quiet, the gnarled branches the only audience to our heroic descent, until a childlike voice cut through the air.

“Uncle Gavin, you’re back!” Annie tumbled from one of the tree branches, nearly tripping in the grass as she raced toward us.

She was a blur of arms, limbs, and a swinging braid, and Gavin scooped her up with a shake of his head. He raised an eyebrow with mock seriousness.

“Were you climbing the trees, misfit?”

“No. I was waiting patiently for your return in the grass the whole time.”

“Suspicious.”

He dropped her to her feet when she squirmed, and then she barreled into me, knocking me back into the grass. Her scrawny arms looped around my neck.

“Careful, Annie,” Gavin warned.

But she rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying hi to Aunt Marin, geez.”

My gaze snapped to Gavin’s. Aunt Marin? I mouthed, letting him twist on the hook for a second. But he didn’t even flinch. Gavin shrugged, dropping his pack to his feet and stretching his shoulders.

“She says what everyone is thinking, just louder and without a filter. And whatever you do, don’t tell her any secrets.”

Annie scrunched her nose, her voice dropping between clenched teeth. “I’m fantastic at secrets!”

I tried to stifle a grin—I really did—but my lips wobbled with my heart, and I had to drop my chin to my chest to hide it.

Gavin had found his family, and somehow, after facing the wicked sea and sky, I’d found mine again, too.

Maybe it was the manor's magic, or maybe it was just Gavin’s trick coin at work, always landing the way it was meant to.

But even as the thought settled, a shadow crept across the grass, and clouds gathered in the distance. A roll of thunder echoed over the sea. There wasn’t time for a long reunion, or worse, a long goodbye.

“Is Bowen here?” I asked Annie as we pushed to our feet, brushing the grass from our clothes. The ground tilted, and I swallowed around the sour taste in my throat.

“Yes. He’s up at the house with Cass. We’ve been keeping watch the last few days. Was my map helpful?” She twirled her long braid around her finger.

“It was perfect. We couldn’t have done it…” I pressed a hand to my collarbone and forced the words out. “…without your map.” I met Gavin’s darkening gaze over the top of Annie’s head. “You’re the real heroine of this hunt.”

“I knew it.” Annie sighed in relief, then reached into her pocket. She pulled out a pale green shard, letting it rest in the palm of her gloved hand. “I found this for you on the beach. Cass says you have a whole collection.”

I curled my fingers around the sea glass, feeling the sparks of energy flow up my arm. I gave Annie a wink. “I do. We’ll have to add this one to the jar in the library.”

Annie scrubbed a hand along the back of her neck, her guilty gaze dropping into the grass. “What library? I’ve never seen a library.”

Gavin grunted. “Looks like I’m not the only bad influence around here, huh, Aunt Marin? ”

I coughed into my fist, a laugh escaping at the end. Then I lifted my shoulder. “What can I say? Locks are meant to be broken. It’s never too early to teach a kid the basics.”

Gavin retrieved his pack and then slid mine off my shoulder. “Come on, let’s head back to the manor before those storm clouds hit.”

Thunder cracked over the cliffs. The wind barreled in from the sea, sharp with salt, and like a lure, it drew me closer—longing for the spray against my cheeks, and the weight of the waves swirling around my feet.

Cass and Bowen met us at the terrace. I wiped the back of my hand across my brow and tugged my damp shirt away from my skin. The weary travelers had returned looking like something the sea had cast out.

“Marin!” Cass pulled me into a hug, her arms loosening slightly when I gulped a shallow breath against her shoulder. She eased back, smoothing the hair from my face. Her eyes were wet, lashes spiking with unshed tears. “Did you find it?”

Gavin reached into his pack and pulled out the shard. It shimmered faintly in the graying light.

Bowen let out a low whistle and clapped a rough hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “We knew you could do it. Anyone else, I’d have laughed in their face. But you two? It was never a matter of if, just when.”

I cocked my head with a teasing smile. “It was mostly Gavin. I let him… do most of the work…” I drew in a sharp breath. “…then swooped in with the brilliant plan at the end.”

Cass’s brow creased as she gently nudged me back toward the rail so I could lean against it. She cast Gavin a worried look and said over her shoulder, “That’s what partners are for, doing the grunt work so you can take all the credit. Why else would you keep this towering menace in boots around?”

“Hey, I happen to like my boots. Very expensive.” Gavin joined us at the rail, his arm wrapping around my shoulder.

“But see, even Cass gets it. Not all heroes need worship.” He laced his fingers through mine and brought my knuckles to his lips.

“Though my skills are as highly praised as my rugged good looks. Not to mention—” He patted his chest. “This whole masterpiece.”

I rolled my eyes. “Someone take me back to the sea… before Gavin’s ego gets completely out of hand.”

“That ship has sailed, Marin,” Bowen said, his mouth twitching. “Honestly, I’m not even sure there ever was a ship.”