Page 90 of A Yulean Sister’s Guide to Getting Kidnapped

I nodded. “The one you always carry.” He would rub it, just like I would my necklace, he just had his hand in his pocket instead.

He pulled it out, examining it closely. “It was a gift,” he said. “To Coltar and I both, from Tungesten. We’d seen the pair at a stall on one of the stops we made. Neither of us could scrape the coin together for them, but a few days later he gave one to each of us. Called it a bonus for our hard work.”

“That’s nice,” I said.

He nodded, gazing out to the ocean. “And since they’re both gone, I always carry it with me.”

I swallowed. “Is he the one you mentioned earlier? The one who passed?”

He only nodded.

“Can I see it?”

He looked very apprehensive, but handed it over after a few moments. I looked at the gold casing closely. The filigree and all the detail work was the exact same as the one I found in my room. Had that been Coltar’s? I wasn’t sure, but either way, I should give it back to Adrian when we got back.

“It’s pretty,” I said as I passed it back.

He was quiet for a bit. “This was where he died.”

“This island?”

His head bobbed. “It wasn’t long after I became a captain. He wanted to go out and I stayed back, needing to be up bright and early to set off. But when I awoke the next morning, he hadn’t returned.”

“That’s… scary,” I said.

“It was. I looked for him all day. It’s a small place, he couldn’t have gotten far. And he hadn’t. I found him in one of the back alleys.”

I gasped, my fingers playing in my skirts. “What happened to him.”

“I’m still not sure,” he admitted bitterly. “He was pretty… hard to recognize.”

I laid against him further. His reasoning for wanting to continue on making more sense now. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ve accepted it.” But there was a fire in his eyes that told me it might not be fully true.

I stood, brushing off my skirts. “We should get back.”

If it was Coltar’s, I wanted to get it back to Adrian as soon as possible. He probably thought it was lost with Coltar, and I could give him some closure.

“Sure,” he said. “This was good exposure therapy.”

“If you want to call it that,” I said. “It’s not like I got into the water.”

“It’s all about the baby steps,” he assured.

I shrugged. He took my arm as we walked back towards the ship. The dock was pretty at night. Small magestone-powered lights strung from ropes lining either side, casting a dim glow over the entire area. And there were much fewer people here by now, most of them probably at their own ship or back at the single bar we had patronized.

“Thank you for tonight,” I started as we neared the ship towards the end of the dock. “I know you have a lot to do on your ship but I’m grat⁠—”

My words left me as a scream pierced the air. I realized too late it was my scream, as one of the boards below me cracked, and I was freefalling directly into the water below.

One minute I was standing there, and the next I was in the water. As soon as my brain caught up to my body, I tried to force myself to swim upward, but in my panic, it felt like I wasn’t going anywhere. For a moment, I was sure I was going to go under and never return. Every fear I had had was coming to fruition right now.

A bright light exploded from behind my eyelids. Was I seeing this elusive light people talked about that led the dead to the after?

Even with the salt burning, I opened my eyes, needing to know for myself. That’s when I realized the light wasn’t made up, it was real. And it was coming from me.

My accursed necklace.