Chapter 11

My hands are shaking.

I ball them into fists then relax them, taking a deep breath. The storm passed early this morning, and it's only a matter of time before they discover our prisoner is no longer inside his cell. No body, dead or alive. And they'll begin looking.

But first, food.

Acker is thin, too thin for a sea voyage. He collapsed when we reached the south tower last night. To his credit, it was an arduous swim on a normal day. During a cyclone and not at full strength? Damn near impossible.

I said as much when we climbed onto the platform, the water shoving us onto its planks.

"I didn't think you were going to make it. "

He didn't have the energy to open his eyes when he replied, " Me neither. "

I debated the merits of letting him rest there, but we had a better chance of getting him to my shiel unseen during the storm while everyone had their windows and doors boarded up. He didn't complain, not once as I looped his arm around my shoulders and climbed to the tallest story of Alaha. He hit the floor of my shiel with a thud and didn't wake.

Still hasn't.

He needs food and water, and that means I have to venture to the mess hall for lunch. It's better to keep up appearances anyway.

I do my best to appear normal, like I didn't break out the enemy prisoner from his cell last night and am now hiding him in my room. Standing in line for my meal, I'm anxious as fish stew is ladled to me by a kitchen worker. My stomach growls and I grab an apple, tucking an extra under my arm. I turn around to find an awaiting Grenadine standing behind me, and I nearly leap out of my skin.

There's a knowing grin on her face. "You look like hell."

Calming my racing heart, I step around her.

She follows. "The storm kept me up all night too," she says, unfazed by my rudeness. "I hate feeling the trees sway."

The upper stories shift the most in the wind. During cyclones, the bridges and shiels groan under the tension between them. There have been instances of lines snapping.

"You could always request to move to a lower story," I tell her.

And away from me.

"And leave you all alone up there?"

I pick up my pace, but she manages to keep up as I take the stairs.

"But you're not alone, are you?" she whispers, eyes gleaming.

I come to a screeching halt. "Excuse me?"

She waits for someone coming down the stairs to pass between us before leaning closer. "Your pet is the only company you prefer to keep anyway, isn't it?"

The air rushes out of me, and I resume my ascension. " I prefer the quiet."

"That bird is anything but quiet."

She departs at the next cross section, and I sigh in relief, but it doesn't last very long.

Vibrations under my feet travel up my legs as the bridge begins to shake. Twenty or more guards march throughout the shiels, departing at every cross section along the way. Their voices carry down as they knock on doors and order people out of their homes so they can inspect inside.

I don't wait around and watch like the others. As inconspicuously as possible, I hurry up the stairs, stomach in knots as I spot guards spreading with each passing story. Barreling through my door, I freeze, almost dropping the tray of food to the floor. The blade with the J inscribed on the hilt rests against my throat.

Then, just as quickly, the blade is gone.

Acker steps out from behind me. "Oh good, you brought food."

Without apology, he scoops it from my hands. He drinks straight from the bowl, throat bobbing with every swallow. He's shirtless. Water droplets cling to his skin, hair still damp from the shower he must have taken in my absence.

He grimaces after the fourth gulp. "This is terrible."

I ignore his comment. "The guards are searching for you."

He spots the apple and shoves the bowl back into my hands, snatching the fruit instead and taking three large bites out of it in rapid succession. He raises his eyebrows as he chews, eyes casting to the far side of the room, toward the Main.

"I assumed as much. "

I rush to the window and throw open the curtain. "You need to get to the roof."

His gaze turns on me. "Where did you go this morning?" His eyes are steely, accusing.

I harden my stare in return. "Why would I save your life just to turn you in?"

He stares at me a moment longer, legs closing the distance as he encroaches on my space. I hold my breath, trepidation coating my lungs—or is it fear as his height and muscle tower over me?

My heart skips a beat when he reaches for my hand, placing the blade in my palm. "Scream if you need me." Then he shoves the apple in his mouth and climbs out the window, stopping when his eyes catch on my waterskin on the table beside my bed and taking it with him.

I release the breath in my lungs. "By all means," I mutter, closing the curtains.

I shuck off my clothes as fast as I can and douse my head under the shower to wet my hair. I'm able to throw on one of my long sleep shirts in just enough time before a quick rap sounds at the door.

Kai's voice comes from the other side. "Brynn," he calls. "Are you decent?"

Steadying myself, I crack the door open a smidge. "Kai? What's going on?"

Two guards stand at his back.

Kai takes in my appearance through the gap. "Can we come in?"

"All of you?" I say, making a point to look down at my dress, practically transparent in its thinness.

"Every shiel must be inspected," says the higher-ranking guard behind him. "Future captain's match or not, there are to be no exceptions."

Kai looks regretful as he pushes the door open, forcing me back a step. I cross my arms over my chest and do my best to appear confused. The guards march around my room, overkill considering how small the space is. Kai gives me an apologetic look before turning his back to me, a shield to cover the sliver of modesty I have left.

My heart stops in my chest.

Acker's shirt is lying in a ball underneath the sink, like he was disgusted by it when he tossed it away without looking. Covered in blood and sweat stains, it's easy to identify.

I try to conceal my near nakedness and shuffle to the other side of the room. "What is it you're looking for?"

One of the guards inspects the wet drain on the floor, the other lifting the lone blanket on my bed to peer under it. He moves to the window, using a finger to flip the curtain back, head swiveling up and down before letting it fall back into place.

They turn to look at Kai, giving him a nod before departing. Kai shuts and latches the door behind them.

"The prisoner escaped," he says, eyes snagging on my hands white-knuckling the hem of my shirt. There's a pregnant pause. "Someone had to help him escape. Someone from Alaha."

He runs a hand through his hair as his eyes wander around the room. He doesn't like this turn of events. He's stressed.

I grab Kai's hand and pull him toward me. I don't have to fabricate the worry in my gaze. He cradles my face in his hands and brings his lips to mine, the kiss tender and comforting, loosening the tightness in my chest .

Kai pulls back, eyebrows scrunched together as he continues to stroke my cheeks with his thumbs. "I love you," he says, eyes holding mine.

Warmth blooms in my chest and I blink against the onslaught of moisture in my eyes. He's never said those words to me, nor I to him. Matter of fact, no one has ever said that to me, not that I can remember. I never thought about it much, but I realize they hold weight with me. They mean something.

They possibly mean everything. I can feel it in every stitch of my being that I am meant to be loved, and loved by him.

I don't trust myself to speak without my voice cracking, so I use a hand against the nape of his neck to bring his mouth down onto mine. This kiss is anything but tender, his grip on my cheeks bruising in the best way. It's heat and desire and frustration, my front pressed against his, the evidence of his arousal between us.

He tears his mouth from mine, going back in with one more longing swipe of his tongue before releasing me. He looks as pained as he is flustered. "I have to go."

I nod, feeling as if a cold bucket has been tossed over my head.

"Everyone has been instructed to stay put for the time being." He kisses me on the cheek, a safe option before opening the door. "I'll be sure to send someone with dinner later."

Then he's gone.

As soon as I have the door latched, Acker swings back into the room, landing on his feet. His dark eyes are clear and focused as he rakes them over me, nostrils flaring. He's angry .

Yeah, well, so am I.

I reach for the balled-up shirt and throw it at him, hitting him in the chest where he catches it. "You're going to get us both killed."

"He—" He stops midsentence, jaw ticking as he wrestles with the words he wants to say.

All of a sudden, I'm exhausted. Too exhausted to argue, that's for sure. I crawl onto my bed.

He says my name. Not Brynn, but the other one, the one that sounds foreign and familiar all at the same time as I lie with my cheek flat to the mattress.

He cusses. "He overdid it."

I fall asleep within seconds.