4. Reina

Chapter four

Reina

T he cold crash of water against my toes jolts me from sleep. Pain ripples down my arms and across my chest, my skin overly sensitive and tight, like it was just healed. Memory trickles back in as I make sense of what happened. The queen came for me, and I burned myself to fight her. It worked. The rebellion told me it would work, and it did.

I am her antithesis. The light to her dark. The only magic that can hurt her—except her own.

An angry red scar rings my wrist. Right—my copper binds. How did I get out?

I move to touch the tender skin, and the clanking of chains alerts me that I'm not entirely free. Or alone.

Jasper .

Fire burns through me and I grit my teeth as my skin pulses a much-too-hot blue at the sight of him. My magic is detained behind the copper manacle, and so is his. He's bound us together. But why?

That doesn't matter. What does is my freedom.

There's a piece of hull beside us, meaning the ship I was once on is in pieces. Only the light of our two moons, Eyzanth and Nol'Ther, illuminates the beach in red and silver. The sea looks like dark blood crawling up the shimmering sand.

I scour Jasper's form for weapons in the low light and find only one I can reach: the three-shooter flintlock holstered high on his thigh. I have no idea how to use it, but I can pretend.

I grip the handle of the weapon and try to pull it free, but a leather strap holds it in place. My gaze shifts to Jasper's face in a panic when he mumbles something. His eyes dart from side to side under his closed lids and my pulse pounds in my veins.

His manacled arm rests on my thigh, so I can't turn too much without making noise and moving him. I twist, reaching for the holster strap to unbutton it. The leather is swollen with water and my grit-covered fingers slip on the smooth button.

I steady my breathing and withhold a curse as I use both hands to free the pistol.

"What are you going to do with that?" Jasper's sleep-rough voice makes me start and I pull my hands back.

Panic swells, narrowing my thoughts. I frantically look at everything else near me.

Rock.

I dig into the sand and pull the pathetic, palm-sized coral free, then hold it up, poised to strike. "Let me go."

"Not going to do much with that but upset me," he says, nodding to my fist.

I brandish the rock higher. "I'll take that over being your compliant slave."

He huffs in amusement, making my blood boil. I should strike him just for that.

"Do you know where you are, princess?"

He's trying to distract me, make me look at my surroundings. It's not going to work. "Set. Me. Free. Now, or I will smash out every one of your teeth."

His eyes widen with feral delight and a smile blooms on his dry lips. "Such violence."

"Last warning," I say.

The skin over my knuckles is hot and tight from how firm I'm gripping the rock. I don't care. I can't drop it, can't afford to. I have to be ready to follow through on my promise.

His face loses all joviality. "You are far from rescue. We have no fresh water, and no food. If you kill me, you'll follow me into Nol'Ther's embrace not long after."

"Better her embrace than yours," I say, kicking his hand off my thigh.

But he's not wrong. I don't know where we are. Worse, I can't even swim. He doesn't know that, but even if I could, I can't swim home.

I let my gaze snap left and right, but I can't see any other land masses in the darkness. A cold sweat breaks out across my tender, burning skin.

"You're grasping the gravity of our situation," Jasper says with arrogant amusement.

No water.

No food.

No hope.

This idiot snatched me up from my home just to get me killed on an unknown island.

I slam my fist down and hit his arm. The grit of the sand burns against my fingers, but it feels like a small slice of justice.

"You. Fucking. Bastard!" I punctuate my words with strikes. "I had a rebellion to fight for! I'm the only one who can kill her! You've fucked up everything!"

The clank of chains is the only warning I get before I'm jerked down against him by my left arm. I'm crushed to his chest and my brain goes white-hot with fire. I kick and scream, lighting up my body with magic.

"Stop it!" he roars as he wrests the rock from my fist. "You're hurting yourself!"

"Fuck you!"

Suddenly, we flip and my back is pinned against the sand. I thrash but get nowhere. His hips press mine down and his legs cover my own. My arms are restrained overhead by the chains, making it impossible to move.

He glowers down at me. "Stop hurting yourself."

I spit in his face.

He closes his eyes and exhales a heavy breath that washes over my face. "I wasn't lying when I said I didn't want you dead or harmed." He opens his eyes and glares down at me as he wipes the spit from his cheek. "But I'm starting to change my mind."

"You expect me to just comply ?"

"This would go a lot smoother if you would," he says with an angry grin.

"Get fucked."

"I am fucked!"

I flinch involuntarily, turning my face away from his fury.

"We're stuck here together, and if we're going to survive, we need each other." He scoffs. "At least, you need me . I could easily leave you behind to die."

I glare at him. "Do it then."

He stares at me like I'm some unreadable script of essential knowledge. "No."

Because he needs me.

"Are you going to keep acting like a wild animal, or can I get up?" he asks with a pointed eyebrow.

I lift my chin and give him a snotty smile. "You've caged me like one, why shouldn't I behave as such?"

"Such a child ," he mutters as his grip relaxes on my wrists.

"I am not a child," I grit out as I push him off me. He can't go far since we're still connected by the manacles, but luckily, the chain is long enough we can get a foot of distance. Anything is better than being pressed against him.

I swallow and realize that last bit of spit was all the moisture I had in my mouth. Nine hells, I'm thirsty. And hungry. And he's right.

I have no idea where we are. While I could use my magic like a beacon, I would undoubtedly attract the wrong kind of attention. We could be miles from the shipwreck, or meters. The queen could be bolstering to return with her own ships right now.

"What in the hells kind of power was that, anyway?" he asks. "The dark cloud?"

My mother…

I haven't seen anything like that in my nineteen years. Had the rebellion known she could do something like that? They mustn't have. Is it part of their plan to have me abducted? Is that why Jasper is trying to keep me alive and healthy?

"Who are you really and where are we going?" I ask with as much civility as I can muster.

"What's your magic?" he counters.

"Are we just going to endlessly ask one another questions and get no answers?"

He shrugs. "Is that how you're going to play this?"

I look out over the sea. "You're insufferable."

"Likewise, princess."

I was always left in the dark of the rebellion's dealings. I'm too "compromised" to know anything, and opportunities to talk were few and far between. I'm just a weapon to them, one they couldn't train while I was under such strict supervision by the queen's guard. It's very possible they had me abducted so I could be molded into the weapon they need me to be.

My eyes burn at the thought of Lumi plotting my kidnapping one night and smiling at me the next day in the gardens. Maybe she never actually liked me. Perhaps none of them did.

Weapon.

"Are you done feeling sorry for yourself?" the asshole asks.

I want to throw sand in his face, but I contain myself. I'm not a child.

"I want to find fresh water, and something for us to eat," he adds.

"Fine. Go do that," I say bitterly.

"You're not staying on the beach. I might come back to find you've drowned yourself."

My head snaps around and I glare at him. "I don't want to die."

He shrugs. "Didn't look that way as you held a spike to your own throat."

That's right, he's a giant octopus. I have no idea what he is. I have no idea who sent him to capture me. I don't fucking know anything.

"I'm not going anywhere with a monster ," I sneer at him and turn back to the sea.

The mechanical click and metal jingle of his cuff coming off spurs me into action. I explode to my feet and run. The sand makes it harder to move, and my body is tired from days of malnourishment and dehydration, but I don't stop. I run for the swaying palm trees, hoping I can escape him farther inland and hide.

He's right behind me, running much faster. I turn, swinging the other end of the copper manacle at him like a morning star. The metal claps against his cheek and he hits the sand with a pained " Fuck !"

I spin on my toes and charge into the trees. Splinters of bark and other sharp things cut the bottoms of my feet, but I don't stop running. I can't stop. Even if I'm trapped here, I won't be a captive. I won't let someone else control my fate. Not again.

Heavy panting and even heavier footfalls turn my head. I'm not prepared for the sight behind me. A massive black shadow on four legs with glowing opal eyes is barreling toward me. My foot catches on something and I slam to the ground. My head bounces painfully and my vision swims.

I can't stop.

I crawl forward, reaching for a thick fallen branch. I roll over with my weapon and hold it out at the creature—but there is no creature. It's Jasper.

He bats the branch away and steps over me, then sits on my stomach. The air whooshes from my lungs in a pathetic groan. He grabs my wrist and slaps the other manacle closed around it, glaring down at me the whole time.

"I can appreciate how resilient you are, princess. Relentless, and ruthless. I'm sure there are more R words I could apply to you, but the next one I want you to take to heart." He jerks me upward, putting our faces inches apart. "I've been respectful for a captor, but I don't have to be. This could be much, much worse for you."

Fear shivers through me for the first time. This man is not the same one I've been talking to. This is a desperate man, an angry man. He mustn't be with the rebellion. He would've told me by now. He would've assured me I'm safe and they're taking me for training if he was with them.

My lip trembles as I realize I truly have no idea who he is, or what he wants. "Why have you taken me?"

His jaw flexes. "I need you."

"Why?" My voice is barely a whisper, distant in my ears as my eyes blur with tears.

He swallows hard, then pulls me upright. "Money, of course."

He keeps one hand on my shackles as he drags me deeper into the island. My vision spins and I stumble behind him. I can't get my footing and drop to my knees. It's getting darker. Are there clouds?

I glance up in confusion. It's black up there. Black like my mother's vile magic.

She's coming for me again, and I'm too weak to fight her.

A strangled whimper slips from my lips. Jasper's face hovers over me, a look of concern pinching his brow. His mouth moves, but I don't hear anything.

Then I'm floating off the ground. I'm in Jasper's arms, and I want to fight, but my body is so tired. Revulsion rolls through me at my weakness, at my willingness to be carried by this monster.

My head hits his shoulder, and I lose awareness of the world. "I hate you."