Page 118 of A Yulean Sister’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped

I didn’t understand. “You’re kidnapping me to… keep me?”

“That’s only the start of it,” he said. “I also did it for this.” His fingers came towards me. I tried to avoid him, but it was hard while I was laying tied up.

Two of his fingers hooked around my necklace, pulling the chain taught.

“I hate to break it to you, but it’s not coming off,” I said.

As I did, I heard a fizzle. Looking down, I saw two of the rings on his fingers glow before shattering.

“Moons,” he swore, pulling his hand away. As he did he almost… flickered. His entire body flinched from one form to another. From the blonde, tall Octavio to someone slightly shorter, with a dustier hair color and freckles covering his face.

It was hard to make sense of what I was looking at.

“Fuck it,” he said. And before my eyes, he turned from Octavio Kalfin to someone I didn’t recognize at all.

“Do you recognize me?” he asked. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that bastard Adrian never spoke a word of me. He took the captainship that was rightfully mine, after all.”

That small bit of information clicked for me.

“Coltar?” I asked.

“So maybe he does still mention me. I’m surprised, given how quick he was to cast me aside.”

“But… how?” I was trying to make sense of any of it.

“Every pirate keeps his own secrets,” he explained. “And mine was being half-fae.”

“So you can wield magic?”

“You catch on quick.”

“But… why? And what happened to Octavio?”

“Poor bloke was in the wrong alley at the wrong time,” he said with a shrug. “And I needed an escape. What a better one than a lord?”

I tried to piece it all together. “So you… killed Octavio and took his life?”

“It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be,” he admitted. “And I bided my time, waited until the perfect moment to seek my revenge, and my treasure.”

“Why would you need to take revenge on Adrian? Weren’t you best friends?”

“Is that what he told you?” he scoffed. “He’s always been a fucking snake, and I mean on the inside. Adrian knew I was supposed to be the next Shadowhart. He took that from me.”

Spit dribbled from his mouth, his anger still palpable.

“But that wasn’t his decision, it was Tungesten’s.”

“You sound just like him,” he said. “We found the will together, he could have lied. He could have told everyone it was me, but instead he had to honor that dead fuck’s wishes. And you know what that senile man left me in his letter?”

I didn’t need to answer, he was on a roll of his own.

“‘Coltar, you’re too impulsive, you don’t think of the good of others. Your greed clouds your judgement. I hope you make a good second to Adrian, and learn to let it go.’”

It sounded reasonable enough to me.

“What did that bastard know? It was my right.” For a moment, he looked far away, but eventually he zeroed back in on me. “And I’m sure you want to know how you fit in all this?”

“A little.”