3. Jasper

Chapter three

Jasper

G uilt squeezes my chest as I ascend the stairs to the deck. It reeks down there, and I'm sure the princess is not accustomed to such conditions. I wish this could be easier. I wish I didn't have to make her life hell for these weeks. But she will survive. And my people will, too.

"Got all the little paydays fed?" the second-in-command asks.

I don't give a fuck what his name is. He's a slimy little worm beneath my notice and I'd snap his spine with ease if he ever challenged me. I avoid his smirking gaze as the other two men confirm that the slaves in the cargo hold have been fed and watered.

Once a day…

That's how often they feed and water the slaves.

Too infrequently.

So barbaric.

Ki'ah Ohn. The scourge of Gaien.

I don't let my thoughts linger on that as I make my way to the port side and lower myself toward the water. There's a ladder held against the hull for climbing back onto the ship from "away missions." Also known as raiding. The captain of these pirates has his strongest magi go ashore everywhere we've stopped, collecting goods and slaves. It pains me to my core to turn a blind eye, but…

"Promise me."

I rip off my boot and let my bare foot skim the water.

The current is moving southwest, just as it should. It's pulling us along toward the furthest Illyan island, where Reina and I will make our trek toward the false king, Vansen, who holds my people hostage.

The water slips between my toes and I relish the feeling. It's cold, and shockingly receptive to my magic in this form. I close my eyes and listen to the song of the sea as it sprays against my face. Sails flap in the wind and the Men shout above, but I let myself drift into the rhythm of the ocean.

Swell.

Dip.

Rush.

It's hypnotic, and I fall into a trance as I breathe in time with the sea. My thoughts wander down to the hold where the princess sits in filth, bringing a wash of guilt with it.

Swell.

Dip.

Rush.

There's no space for guilt when all my people are depending on me. I'm responsible for them, and if that means a posh princess has to spend a few weeks in discomfort, then that's what's going to happen.

Swell.

Dip.

…

Dip.

Drag.

Shift.

What?

I open my eyes and look to the northeast where the sea is pulling. It's not supposed to pull that way.

A dark cloud hangs over the water toward Fynren and it's moving quickly. I suck in a breath and clamber up the ladder. "Storm!" I shout from the side of the hull, praying someone will hear me.

Not as if it'll do any good. These clouds are moving unnaturally fast.

Magically fast.

They cast a shade over the sea that can't be breached by the sun, blackening the water. It feels like there's an entity behind this storm, and something tells me that sensation is not misplaced.

Reina is the golden girl, the light of the kingdom of Fynren. I have stolen their greatest treasure, and now I'm seeing the consequences of my work.

"Port side swell," someone screams from the deck and I scramble up the rest of the ladder.

Although I'm more than equipped to handle the sea in perilous states, Reina and this ship are not. I need her alive. This storm cannot take her from me.

Will not take her from me.

The sun disappears behind the darkness descending on us and my mood blackens with it when a face materializes. Eyes crackle with lightning and a mouth yawns with a groan of thunder.

"Where is my daughter?"

Oh.

Fuck.

Deep down I hadn't truly believed that this storm was for Reina. Did the queen pray to the gods and summon the wind itself to come after her? If I could call up a storm like that, nothing would stop me from destroying Vansen's kingdom and bringing my family home.

The Men on deck use their magic, pull their weapons, and do whatever they can, but it's all to little effect. I stand in the midst of the storm, legs braced and hair whipping my cheeks, knowing that this monstrosity is beyond my power.

But my family is worth dying for.

The clouds above the ship circle low and open wide like a predator preparing to strike.

"Where. Is. She?" it asks again, and I can't help but feel the queen of Fynren in the demand. Perhaps I'm deranged, but I can smell her.

I need to get the princess out of here. I need to get her somewhere safe and out of sight.

But it's too late.

The dark cloud descends on our ship with a loud crack. Why had I thought that wood could hold up against shadow—against the very blackness of the abyss itself? Magic so dark it consumes the light breaks the mast and rips open the deck. Men fly and I stagger back against the taffrail as tendrils of onyx delve the hold.

Reina's scream slices through the air and a knife twists my guts.

My fault.

This is all my fault.

Reina writhes and screams as strings of darkness drag her out. I watch, dumbstruck, as the blackness retreats, holding its prey tightly.

"You'll never take me!" Reina clutches a jagged wooden shard of the deck, her hands poised to thrust it into her throat.

Gods, she's going to kill herself.

Fuck the Men. Fuck that they can see me. Fuck it all.

Opal magic swirls around me and my body contorts. I sense my shape growing and modifying to fit that of a giant octopus. My body slaps onto the deck and I reach toward the shadow with my tentacles. Reina screeches, her skin undulating with blue. I wrap myself around her with four tentacles and tie myself to the ruined deck with the others.

I will not let her go without a fight.

The dark cloud roars. "Release her!"

My white limbs constrict around her harder and Reina's screams turn to gasps.

Lightning flashes through the sky and sizzles down my tentacles, but I don't relent. Reina is mine.

MINE.

I need her.

The storm shifts as the blackened cloud swirls toward the aft.

"Brace!" someone screams.

Darkness erupts from the back of the ship and splinters the wood, board by board, all the way to me. I watch as if time has slowed to a crawl, but I can do nothing. I'm only an observer. I cannot change this.

The boat detonates and Men fly. My body burns as I twist through the air, but my gaze is trained on Reina. She's fallen to the destroyed deck, her ankle bindings snapped but her wrists still bound.

I hit the water with a clap that numbs my senses. Little crashes of debris and Men fall around me, breaking the silence of my mind. They wail and splash, but they know their fate is sealed. I look up at the evil cloud and wonder if Reina's is sealed, too, as she's dragged from the wreckage.

She kicks her legs, keeping her back rigid as the blackness pulls her up to its face.

"You cannot escape me, vessel," the cloud says haughtily.

The dark draws Reina closer and my gut bottoms out. A deep sense of awareness fills me suddenly, like a shock from the sea. It is not my own, but I know it to be true all the same.

This isn't just about using Reina to kill Vansen. This isn't just about my people. If Reina doesn't survive this encounter, all of Gaien, and every creature on it, will burn.

Lightning rips through the sky and the storm drifts back toward Fynren. Reina's scream jolts me into action. I snatch a thick hull plank from the water and hurl it at the cloud. The wood shatters on impact, sending splinters raining down, but the darkness loses some of its mass.

I can wear it down.

I throw another piece of the deck, barely keeping pace with the storm as it retreats. The next plank shreds apart into sharp spikes, but they don't fall harmlessly to the water. Instead, they turn and rush directly toward me. I lift two of my tentacles to shield my body just in time.

Pain spills up my limbs to my core and I want to scream, but I have no means to release the sound of pain. I rip out the spears and throw with a new target in mind.

Reina.

The evil monster wants her so desperately, it'll protect her over attempting to retaliate—I hope. The cloud blocks my attack and roars angrily. It's torn between retreat and ending me. I throw projectile after projectile until my tentacles are weak and my hearts are thundering.

I grab a barrel and stop as I scent black powder. This could easily kill the princess if I'm not careful. I hold it up, but hesitate.

"Throw it!" Reina screams.

Does she know what it is? I can't risk killing her.

"Now!" she cries, getting farther and farther away despite my speed.

I'm going to lose her anyway, and it's obvious she'd rather be dead than captured.

Fine. So be it.

I throw the barrel and the dark cloud moves to intercept it. The drum bursts on impact, sending the explosive dust through the air. Reina shouts a war cry and blue brighter than the sun pierces through the magical darkness. I wince, watching in awe as the princess's skin shimmers and glows. It's the same as when I saw the guard draw back from her in pain.

It's her magic.

Blue ignites along the powdered explosive, traveling up the tendrils of black wrapped around Reina. The monster goes up in glorious flames with a shriek that shakes the sea. Then it poofs , disappearing on the wind.

Reina drops, slamming against the water limply. I dive and tear after her unconscious form. The princess sinks in her copper chains, little bubbles escaping from her slack mouth. I wrap her securely in my grasp and drag her swiftly to the surface.

I let my eyes breach the surface only to scan the horizon for more threats, but there are none. It's clear and sunny, a horrible shipwreck amid a calm day. This otherworldly feeling of wrongness washes over me as I look upon the screaming, scrambling Men trying to haul themselves up onto whatever's floating.

They've seen me, and some of them must've watched me transform. I should kill them, but when I look at Reina, the need for my own safety evaporates. Her skin is bright red and irritated, burns covering most of her exposed skin. I need to heal her, soon, and I can't do that in the middle of the sea.

I can't keep up my shift forever, and predatory creatures are bound to be attracted to all the flailing Men. Power vibrates down my tentacles and the water whispers back its secrets. There's a small island two miles south of us. It'll have to do.

A nearby plank serves as a raft for Reina. Men scream and swim away in fear. Some who'd seen me transform beg for help. I ignore them all, dragging only my quarry with me. There is nothing more important than ensuring Reina's survival, and I will not compromise that for anything else.

I keep one eye below and one above as I switch off dragging and pushing Reina's raft through the choppy sea. The storm's disturbance from earlier sets the tides fighting, and the wind is confused. All of Gaien is struggling to recover from it, as are my hammering hearts.

It's not enough that I have one tentacle wrapped around Reina's waist. I check on her again. She's breathing. She's well.

Nothing attempts to intercept me as I carve a path through the water, perhaps because of the chaotic storm, but I hope it's because I'm fearsome enough to not be fucked with. I would prefer the rest of our journey be as calm. It's a fool's hope, especially because we're coming ashore to a set of islands I've never been to, with very little in the way of supplies for survival.

And I'm magically exhausted. Staying in my enlarged octopus form takes so much more effort than wearing my Man skin. I yearn to return to my true form, but I would paint a target on myself, no matter how secluded the island might be.

We're in the vicinity of a trade route, and if I can get the sea to speak to me, I'll find a new ship. From there, it'll be a boat down to Port Alvara, a few weeks' trek inland to the southside city of Hammon, and then a few hours in a smaller boat out to the wicked king's tiny plot.

Revenge is so close, I can almost taste it in the salt flowing through my gills. The sun kisses my bulbous body, warming it through the cold seawater. My blood pumps hot and heavy at the thought of murdering the old fuck who took my family, my people.

The little island grows in my above-water vision, and below, the shallows emerge. It's teeming with life, so I snatch up a few fish to help replenish my magical stores. I've grown so accustomed to eating as a man that the raw, bloody snack has me yearning for a bit of seasoning and smoke.

When the coast gets too shallow for my octopus, I let my body contort back into my man form and vomit all the seawater from my chest. It burns up my throat as my tentacles shift, flipping inside out and coming together. My second skin emerges, clothes and weapons still perfectly in place.

I kick my weak little feet and push Reina's raft onto the sandy beach, then drag it up out of the tide's range, leaving great furrows in the sand. I gulp down huge breaths of air into my lungs, but it doesn't feel thick enough. It doesn't satisfy the burning in my arms and legs. The world is spinning, and nausea rolls through me.

Rest. I just need to rest.

But Reina will run or kill me the second she wakes up.

I dig around in my pouch until I find the key to her chains. I unclasp the manacle from her right wrist and suck a breath through my teeth when I see her skin and remember.

It's burned, badly. Angry red half-circles flow up her arm to her elbow from her wrist. There's more on the other side, and a smattering of these crescent burns across her chest. She used her magic internally because the copper binds prevented her from externalizing it.

I'm magically drained, but if I don't heal her, these will get infected. I take off the other manacle and then lay my hands on the wounds. Opal light shimmers through my fingers and mends her skin, pulling at the reddened flesh until it joins once more. I'm too weak to prevent scarring, and so the princess will forever wear the marks of her bondage.

I'm destroying her, bit by bit.

My eyes droop and I know I can't hold it together much longer. I snap a manacle back on Reina's wrist and attach the other to mine. I drag her against me and hide my eyes in her hair, wishing the world to stop spinning.

I breathe in her scent: flowers and the salt of the sea. It's calming in a way I don't understand, or care to figure out right now. The smell eases my suffering, so I breathe her in again, and again, until darkness finally claims me.

One step closer.

Just a little more.