Page 64 of Hymn of Breath and Bone

“I would have come for free had he trusted me. Had he agreed to try diplomacy. Our people suffer needlessly.”

“They suffer foryou!”

“They suffer for myfather!” We were both breathing heavily, and Vitulus gripped his spear as if he longed to plunge it into something when a knock sounded at the door.

Vitulus gritted his teeth again and opened it.

“My, my,” the Stormcrow said as he pushed into the small cabin, one wing drooping weakly to the floor. “Lovers’ quarrel? Or should I say, former lovers?”

“What do you want?” I spat, unwilling to give Ilya any satisfaction for his barbed words.

“Merely to see that you’re comfortable, Princess.” He grinned, and I longed to claw his eyes out at the triumphant expression. “It is such a shame that we must keep you shackled. But drowning is such a nasty way to die. The good captain here didn’t tell me you were capable of such magic.”

He bobbed his head toward Vitulus, who narrowed his eyes. Despite being allies in this, Vitulus was not stupid enough to trust the Stormcrow.

“I wasn’t,” I replied, wondering if sharing a small piece of information would do anything to convince Vitulus. “Not until Caspian and I were mated.”

“A powerful coupling,” the Stormcrow mused. “Though not the first.”

It occurred to me then that he knew. Ilya Stormcrow knew the history of his people. Our people.Hecould be my evidence.

“Tell him,” I begged, looking at Vitulus. He was watching me with an expression of pity that boiled my bones. “He won’t believe me—about the Exile. About our history. Tell him, please.”

“Why bother with the past, Princess?” The Stormcrow said, that grin making its way into my heart and piercing it until all hope was destroyed. “Only the future matters now. One where our people live peacefullyapart.Your father has promised to make it so.”

“He what?” I asked, at the same time as Vitulus growled, “Explain.”

“In exchange for rescuing his beloved daughter and heir, the Selkie King has promised to recognize my rightful rule over the sirens. He will sign a treaty of peace with me and leave me the uncontested King of the Siren Cliffs. I will say, revenge is sweet when it falls so neatly into one’s lap.”

Vitulus blinked at this, and I laughed. “He is a fool if he believes you will not betray him within days of becoming king.”

The Stormcrow clicked his tongue in admonition. “Still under Caspian’s thrall, I see. Such a pity.” He turned to Vitulus. “It could take weeks for her to become herself again.”

“That’s a lie!” I shouted as Ilya led Vitulus from the chamber. My former betrothed looked back at me, his brow furrowed in thought. “Vitulus, please! You have to believe me!”

But he didn’t reply as he left, the Stormcrow grinning all the way until the door clicked shut behind him.

I screamed, frustration and impotence making me rage. If only I could reach the sea and ask her to rise up and drown the Stormcrow. To call the sea dragons and ask them to eat him and the rest of his wretched crew.

I wondered if Ran might be able to sense me, despite the iron, and I tried to dip into the sea to call to him. His sarcasm would be welcome, even if he did call Caspian a feathery idiot for getting captured.

My mind was met with a block of icy metal that made me hiss as pain shot through my skull. The same result occurred when I reached to the sky, the damned iron cuffs offering no way for my magic to get free.

Some demi-goddess I was.

I sank to the floor and dropped my chin to my knees as I hugged my legs with my bound arms. The iron didn’t seem to completely muffle the mating bond—only the magic that flowed within and between us. But what good was that golden thread of connection now when neither of us could access our magic?

I reached out again, needing to feel like Caspian was close and not locked away somewhere below. He tugged back, but the sensation wasn’t as strong as it usually was, and I felt despair creep in as I failed to think of a way to escape.

No, we would have to face my father.Iwould have to face him. Would have to convince him of the truth and that the only way forward for the Isles was as a united people again.

And it would be hard and exhausting and difficult at first, but if Caspian and I could find each other, then I was certain our people could find a way forward as well.

If only I could convince my father not to kill us first.

I remained locked inour cabin for three days, the sea becoming more choppy and violent as we neared the Isles. I couldn’t soothe her with the iron around my wrists, and I cursed the Stormcrow and Vitulus as I was sick for the fifth time on the final day of our voyage.

I only knew it was the final day because the Isles appeared in the distance out of the tall windows, shrouded in mists and dark storm clouds as we approached the treacherous seas.