Page 47 of The Isles of the Gods
She clambers back to her oars and looks toward Leander, who’s slumped against one of the benches spanning the little boat. There’s a sick, pale tinge to his tan skin, his eyes shadowed by blue bruises of exhaustion. He’s clinging to the bag holding his journal with one hand, the other steadying himself, as if he might slide over sideways.
“Wollesley,” he says weakly, by way of greeting.
“Are the others…?” My question dies on my lips as he slowly shakes his head.
With a sick feeling, I push up so I can sit, glancing at theLizabetta.I had hoped that after killing me, the girl who boarded us would stop searching for anything else of value. A much smaller part of me had hoped she would leave the ship intact, the crew alive.
I couldn’t see the ship from the water, but even with this small elevation, I have a better view. She’s on fire, flames already climbing the masts and spreading across the sails.
I start to move to a bench but, at a look from Selly, stay where I am rather than rock the boat and make her work more difficult. The little boat is designed to hold a dozen people, sitting on the benches in rows of three—and it’s definitely designed to be rowed by two people, not one. It’s big enough that it’s taking all her strength to move it, but in the vast ocean surrounding us, it’s a tiny speck.
“That was quite a leap of faith on your part, Wollesley,” the prince says quietly.
I blink at him, my eyes stinging with salt, my mind sluggishly trying to understand what he means. “Just a leap, I’m afraid.”
He stares at me. “You mean you didn’t know I could helpyou?”
I shake my head. “Turns out I don’t think of everything. Your reputation as a magician is unparalleled, Your Highness, and clearly well earned, but I must admit the possibility didn’t occur to me. In my defense, I was acting under pressure.”
“So you thought…?”
I shrug. I think my voice might shake if I speak.
Selly leans on her oars and studies me, her face unreadable. “You thought you were sacrificing your life to protect him,” she says eventually. “And you didn’t even like him at school.”
Leander’s gaze snaps across to her, and I think I flush, and for a moment neither of us speaks. He’s the one with the social graces, though, and after a moment he finds something to say.
“I don’t know if you’re incredibly brave or completely insane, Wollesley. But thank you.”
His tone irks me as much as it always did at school—themix of condescension and fascination—but I’m forced to pause and cough again before I can reply.
“I didn’t do it for you,” I say, and there’s a strange satisfaction in seeing his eyes widen.
“Then why…?”
“I did it for everyone who’s relying on their prince to keep them from a war and save their lives. Our attackers couldn’t afford to leave witnesses, which meant I was going to die anyway. I thought it might as well be in service of protecting you, giving you a small shot at preventing a war. It was the sensible choice, not a personal one.”
“Sensible,” Selly echoes, shooting me an incredulous look.
For a long moment there’s no sound but the lapping of the waves around us.
“I did try to steer her toward the overboard bit,” I admit. “Though I didn’t have much of a plan for after that, apart from treading water. Still, it was a piece of luck they didn’t shootme.”
Neither of them says anything.
Wordlessly, Selly sets to work with her oars, pushing at the one on the left to begin to turn us away from the wind, back toward the burning wreck.
“Can I help?” I ask, watching her square her jaw, knuckles white as she wrestles both oars at once.
“Do you know how to row?” she asks.
“Not really.”
“Then we’ll save the lesson for later. Right now we’re in a hurry.”
“Where are we going? We’re in the middle of the ocean, and our ship’s destroyed.”
And our crew is dead.I see her lips press together, as if she’s thinking the same thing.
