Page 112 of The Isles of the Gods
Please,I beg.
And then I do more than speak to them. I show them my heart. I show them my love of the sea and the wind. I show them they’re a part of me, and that I need them. This is what Leander meant when he said the sea is where my magic belongs. He was right.
I show them how much I love to be here with them. How much I’ve always loved that. And I show them how much I love this little boat that’s trying so valiantly to carry us. I show them I love the boys crewing her with me, brave and loyal and determined.
I show them the way my heart’s tangled around Leander—that I’m just like them, drawn to him, and that I’m trying with everything I have to help him.
I show them that I understand now what Rensa meant when she said she’d die for her crew and they knew it.
And I show them that finally I understand what she wanted me to see—that the world is big, and so much more of it matters than me.
I try, not knowing if the spirits can possibly understand, to share the sacrifices each of us is making. And suddenly…something shifts.
The wind evens out as we leave the whirlpool behind, and the whole boat hums as we move away, as the air spirits begin to dance with me instead of whirling around me.
And it’s glorious.
It’s like sunshine on my skin, after I’ve been soaked in salt water and freezing cold for so long I’ve forgotten what warmth is. It’s like that moment when you’ve been in harbor forever and suddenly your ship is nosing her way out into the open sea, picking up speed. It’s that first hint of salt on the breeze, when you’ve been in a stuffy, stinking city all day.
The spirits dance with me and around me, and with a dizzying rush of bliss, I can’t believe I’ve been missing this my whole life. All because I was too proud toaskfor it.
I see the way they dance around Keegan and Leander—almost like they don’t know Keegan’s there, but swirling in wild eddies around my prince, tugging at his clothes and his hair, even as he lies unmoving. And I know—he’s not stirring, but he’s alive. They’re still connected to him.
Exhilaration runs through me, and the spirits dance in response to it.
He’s alive. He’salive.
Then something more occurs to me, and I reach out for them once more, trying to figure out how to show them my question.
The wind is whipping toward us across the sea from the northeast. There should be nothing between us and Kethos, but perhaps…Slowly, carefully, I ask if anything has interrupted that howling wind as it flies across the surface of thewater.
At first they don’t seem to understand what I’m asking, butthen the answer comes quickly and simply: a plume of spirits pushing in the direction I want, as sure as a compass needle.
There’s something in the sea, almost dead ahead.
My eyes snap open, and I pull the wheel to port, correcting our course, baring my teeth in a ferocious grin.
The spirits have shown me exactly where to find the Isles of the Gods.
PART FOUR
THE ISLES OF THE GODS
LEANDER
The Isle of Barrica
The Isles of the Gods
My head feels like someone’s curled their fist around it and they’resqueezing.When I risk opening my eyes, pale morning light stabs through them, and I wince. Then I blink, blink again, and the world above me swims into focus. Selly’s leaning over me, her hair pulled free of her braid, eyes shadowed, and she’s biting her lip, concern all over her features.
The spirits are dancing around her like a halo, framing her against the light behind her, setting strands of her hair wafting in the breeze they create for her. Something’s different about the way they respond to her.
I reach up to trace a finger along her jawline, to tap it against her lips, to wordlessly tell her not to worry. I should probably wonder where we are, but I can’t think why that would be important. With a soft breath out, she catches at my wrist and lifts my hand so I can cup her cheek. I like it.
“You,” she says, “are an idiot.”
“Hello yourself,” I mumble.
