More threats. My eyes burned with untamed fury.
“Careful,” I told him in a quiet, icy voice. “The last man who threatened me wound up dead.”
Rage flashed over his features before he stormed out of the brig.
“What possessed you to say that?” Xavier asked me.
I declined to answer, and we passed the next several hours in silence. He disappeared for a few minutes and returned with two plates of what I presumed to be dinner. Just the sight of it roiled my stomach, but I took the plate. Xavier wolfed down his food while I gnawed idly on a hard, salty roll.
The ship stopped moving. That was odd. We usually sailed through the night. I refused to ask Xavier about it, though. We were well past the option of polite conversation. We had likely anchored due to the unfamiliar waters.
I considered asking him about the clothes, but I didn’t want to let on how much it bothered me being in the bloodstained dress. Instead, the silence stretched on, interminable. I tried not to think about how I was more alone here than I had ever been, even after Amelie had died. I tried not to think at all.
After a while, Xavier laid his head down. I stayed upright, having no desire to visit the demons that awaited me in the dark. Minutes trickled into an hour before Xavier’s voice startled me out of my sleepy haze.
“I really am so sorry, Addie. You have to know that.”
“Do I?” My voice was cold, like the rest of me. Had we drifted into a more frigid climate?
“I was trying to protect my brothers. I didn’t think you would get hurt.”
“Don’t kid yourself, Xavier. You hand-delivered me to an organization that had tried to kill me before. What did you think was going to happen?”
“I don’t know. I guess you’re right. Maybe I was just trying not to think about it at all, but seeing you now —” His voice hitched, and he stopped.
Maybe I should have felt pity for him or hated him, but both emotions would have required more energy than I had. I let silence reign again.
Xavier’s uneven breathing let me know he was still awake. I thought about the man who had fallen asleep as easily as he breathed when we first met. I wasn’t the only one a million miles from the person they used to be.
The Protector
Xavier had redoubled his efforts to get Clark to stop chasing answers, and Gunther had finally stepped in to help. Fear filled him as he thought about the general’s words. His father was alive and had warned them to leave it all alone, had said their lives depended on it. Xav wanted to trust him, to believe there was a reason for all of this. Father had always known best. He’d always protected them. But there was no mistaking the threat in his voice when he warned Xavier to rein in Clark.
All Xav’s and Gunther’s efforts had come to nothing. When they had found Clark bleeding out on the warehouse floor, Xav only had one thought. That he had failed. Again.
He spent days pulling every last vestige of healing knowledge he had ever heard of to save his brother’s life. They couldn’t take Clark to a hospital, not when they were wanted, but Xavier would be damned if he would let Clark die.
So Xav refused to eat or sleep until Clark was stable, until he had exhausted every bit of his medical knowledge to help him. Xav didn’t care what methods he used. He only cared that his brother survived. Xavier cursed himself every time he dozed off at Clark’s bedside. There was always more to do, more to try. There was no time to rest. Not until Clark’s eyes were open.
Gunther tried to intervene, commenting on the toll it was taking on him, but Xav brushed off his concerns, refusing to let anyone take over for him. Back on his home island, they had prayed to stone figures in the square to help them or heal them. That had never made much sense to Xav, but he prayed now to whoever was listening. He couldn’t lose another sibling. It would end him.
When Clark finally woke nearly a week later, Xavier and Gunther elicited a promise from him that he would let this all go. His life wasn’t worth this. Clark had made a vow, and Xavier could only hope he was telling the truth this time.
Chapter Eleven
CLARK
Gunther was right. This boat was fast.
We were nearing the spot indicated in Xavier’s note only twelve hours after our departure, less than half the time it should have taken us to catch up. If he was telling the truth about the ship stopping for the night and the way it was guarded, we should have little trouble.
If he was telling the truth. If Addie was still alive at all, and this wasn’t just a trap.
We had debated that at length, but ultimately concluded we had no choice. Trusting Xav’s word had to be better than trusting Jayce’s, after all.
Jayce, for all his talk of revenge, looked a little sickly now that his meeting with the Court was upon him.
“Is everyone clear on their roles?” Locke asked when the little weasel was across the boat and out of earshot.
“I’ll disable their ship to keep them from pursuit,” Gunther said.
Nell nodded once. “I’ll stay here to man our boat and take point on getaway.”
“I’ll help take out the guards and retrieve Addie.” I met Locke’s eyes. We had debated this point. If Xav was there, I had no way of knowing if he would recognize Locke or try to attack him. Me going made the most sense, but Addie’s bodyguard did not like that.
“You will bring her back safely,” he ordered.
“On my life,” I answered, knowing it was the only response he would accept. And it was the truth.
Locke stared me down from his slight advantage in height, but I had grown up with Xavier. I had long ago stopped being intimidated by size. I returned his look without faltering until he looked away, apparently satisfied.
“And you,” he spoke to Jayce in a voice that carried. “You will depart this ship with all haste immediately upon our return with Ms. Kensington. Whether this goes the way you want it to or not, we are finished. If I see you again, I will end you.”
Jayce, to the only credit I would ever give him, only nodded. It was settled, then. The familiar adrenaline-fueled tingle in my scar was welcome. It meant we were finally doing something.
Silence was the name of the game for the rest of the mission. Sound carried across water, and we were taking no chances. We shut off the engine of the boat and relied on the moonlight and the wind for the remainder of our trek across the inky water.
I gave Shensi a stern look, but Nell assured me the cat would be quiet as long as she stayed in the small captain’s area with Nell for company.
The temperature had dropped abruptly as we got closer to the ship’s coordinates. I had no choice but to don my father’s jacket and try not to think about who its original owner had turned out to be. I tried not to think about the fact that I was only minutes from occupying the same space as the man I had thought dead for over five years, the man I thought was a hero my entire life.
It would take everything I had not to seek him out and demand answers, but I had to believe there would be time for that later. This mission was about Addie and Xavier, nothing else.
The minutes crept by with unbearable slowness until the shadowy outline of a ship appeared at the coordinates Xav had indicated. It was too dark to make out the name he had given us, but chances of another vessel being anchored out here were slim. It was a risk worth taking.
As we neared the ship, I could make out the shape of one of the two guards Xav had told us about. The moon was small and dim, and our vessel was low enough that it was safe to assume we had avoided notice. We let the boat drift as close as we dared before hooking a single rappeler onto the side of the ship.
The thunk it made when it bit into the wood was unavoidable, but I couldn’t stop a wince. Sure enough, the guard turned his head. Locke had already climbed halfway up the thick rope, though. I quickly followed. The guard walked toward us, but he was moving slowly, cautiously. Locke was also cautious, but his skill was such that it didn’t cost him any speed.
He swung himself up in fron
t of the man and delivered a well-placed uppercut to the surprised guard’s chin. The man went down soundlessly. I was right behind him, creeping across the deck to render the other guard unconscious with a sharp jab to the side of the head. It was over quickly and silently, and something about it felt way too easy.
We had fought these guys before, and it had gone badly. Did they really only have two guards at night? Even if they weren’t expecting an attack, it felt too sloppy for a ship run by my father. I brushed away my unease. We only had minutes to get off this ship before we were noticed.
Locke stayed above decks to stand guard for my sake and Gunther’s, who had followed us on deck. They took off toward the stern, and I headed to the stairs, praying none of them squeaked. I got successfully down one flight of stairs and entered a thankfully empty hallway. Halfway down the second, I heard a sharp intake of breath. The sound nearly brought me to my knees in its familiarity.
She was alive. Any question as to why I cared so much went out the window, replaced by knee-weakening relief. I sped up my descent.
“Shh.” That self-important whisper could only be my brother. As angry as I had been with him, I could kiss him right now. His letter hadn’t been a lie. I was almost less concerned about whether this had been a trap than the fact that my brother was still in there somewhere.
I saw him first. His back was to me, unlocking Addie’s cell. I wasn’t surprised. When his note had directed me to the brig, I had assumed she was a prisoner.
Then, he opened the door, and I caught sight of Addie.
My breath caught in my throat. True, she was alive, but only barely, by the looks of things. Coppery blood and tangy vomit wafted out of her cell, even to where I was standing. She was still in the dress she had been taken in, but it was torn and covered in blood. She was covered in blood. Small shivers racked her body, though she didn’t deign to acknowledge them.
What did they do to her? What did my brother allow to happen to her?
My hands quivered, the heat of my anger burning away the encroaching cold of the night air. She wasn’t looking at me. In fact, her emaciated form had hardly moved at all, even when Xav opened her door.
“Come on, Adelaide. We need to get out of here.” He held a hand out to her.
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “Don’t you remember, Xavy? I’ve fallen for that once before. Fool me once…” she trailed off, her voice ragged.
He started toward her. “You can hate me later, Addie. We need to get you to safety.”
“I’ll hate you now, thanks. And don’t you dare touch me, Xavier.” Her voice picked up strength, sounding marginally more like the girl I remembered. “You owe me that much.”
That stopped Xav in his tracks, something I had never witnessed in over a decade of being his brother. I was close enough now to see guilt etched in the lines of his face.
“Do you blame her, Xav?” I said. “I don’t particularly trust you, either.”
If he was startled by my proximity, he didn’t show it.
“Blame her or don’t, but she’ll die if we don’t get her off this ship,” he replied.
I stepped in front of him. “Addie, we have to go.”
She looked at me now, a tiny drop of hope mingling with the obvious suspicion in her eyes. “And I should trust you, Clark Noble? I should just sign up to be a part of whatever sick games your family is playing? Thank you, but no. You may as well just leave me here to die. At least there’s honesty in that.” Her voice had a raspy quality that hadn’t been there before.
I supposed that answered the question of whether she knew who I was. She turned her head, making no motion to move. She wasn’t bluffing, this girl who bore so little resemblance to the one who had been taken. I wanted to kill my brother right there.
“We don’t have time for this, Addie.” I stepped toward her. “It’s not like you’ve been completely honest with me, either. Let’s just get you somewhere safe, and we can fight about it later.”
A small spark of anger lit up her eyes. Coming from her, it gave me hope. But she dashed it a moment later.
“Just go, Clark. I wouldn’t trust you with my goldfish, much less my life.”
Enough of this. I went to throw her over my shoulder, but Xav pulled me back. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Addie’s face go full-on heiress while she tried to hide a cringe.
“What the hell, man? Haven’t you done enough?” I asked my brother, taking care to pitch my voice low.
“I won't let you touch her. This choice is hers to make.”
Who is this man I call brother?
I scoffed. “We don’t have time to argue about this. Like you said, she can hate us later. We’re about to all be dead.”
We were both facing the girl in question, so the deep voice behind us took us by surprise.
“And what about me, Ms. Kensington?” Locke was standing there. Maybe on the trip home, he could teach me how he moved so silently.
Addie’s eyes widened, and her lip trembled. There was a sight I thought I’d never see. It nearly broke something inside me.
“Locke?” her voice was hardly a whisper, but it was filled with disbelief.
He stepped closer cautiously, taking care to broadcast his slow movements. “Will you trust me?”
Profound relief reflected in her eyes. She nodded, swallowing back whatever emotion threatened to spill forth.
A pang of jealousy went through me, though I knew their relationship was strictly paternal. There had been a brief time when she had trusted me, and now that was just one more thing my father had ruined. The man had a lot to answer for, but not today.
Addie got cautiously to her feet and took an uncertain step toward Locke before collapsing entirely. Locke caught her, scooping her up into his arms.
Is she too injured to walk? Or just too weak? I glared at Xavier. I might just murder him after all.
“Sorry.” Her cheeks reddened, but no one was laughing at her.
“It’s quite alright.” Locke spoke and then clenched his jaw, already heading for the stairs.
I turned to follow but hesitated for a moment.
“Are you coming?” I asked Xavier, not bothering to hide the animosity in my voice. He only nodded and led the way up, which was good, because I wouldn’t have him at my back right now. We managed not to raise any alarms or encounter another person on our way to the upper decks.
Gunther was already back on our boat. Xavier lowered himself to the rappeler rope and joined him, no one making a single unnecessary sound. Addie had curled up and turned her face into Locke. Even in the moonlight, I could see the expression on his usually-stoic face. Pain and no small amount of horror pinched at his eyes as he took in the proud girl’s broken posture.
He, too, eyed Xav as though he might not make it off our boat alive.
Addie couldn’t very well climb down the rope, so Locke motioned for me to go first. I did, directing Nell to get the boat as near to the larger ship as possible. We were close enough to leaving to risk a little noise. Locke leaned over the railing of the ship and nodded to me below. I held out my arms, and he gently lowered her down, letting her fall into my arms where her weight settled like it was nothing. Fury tensed my muscles, but I forced my arms to be gentle around her shuddering form. I pulled her a little tighter, trying to infuse her with some of my warmth.
Jayce skittered up the line and took off without a final word. Locke removed the hook from their ship’s siding and hopped down onto our boat. As soon as his boots hit the deck, Nell steered the boat away, silent as a wraith.
Locke took Addie from me, whisking her below decks. I took a moment to compose my thoughts, since I couldn’t risk yelling at my brother yet anyway. My eyes settled on the ship we were speeding away from. One part, in particular.
Standing at the captain’s deck with a still, solid posture I knew well, was my father. He didn’t raise an alarm, didn’t speak at all. Only watched wordlessly as our boat sped off into the night.
> The Protector
Xavier was out for a run, clearing his head, when he saw General Noble for the second time in two years. He came to a dead stop.
“I warned you, Xav. Is your brother alive?”
“What’s it to you, General?” Xav spat the last word.
“I’ll take that as a yes. You need to go to the Men of High Purpose. Ask Aegis to extend his protection over you. He will also ensure your brother stays out of trouble. Tell him I sent you, and to assign you to the Outer Islands.”
“Why would I do anything you said?”
“Because you’ve seen the consequences of failing to heed my advice now.”
Xavier barely remembered the following few hours. In a stupor, he wandered the alleyways alone with his frazzled thoughts for company. Father had come to him again. And again, his concern had been keeping Clark away. He knew what had happened to Clark. How? Why did he continue to stay away? How could he continue to keep this from his brothers? Why did they need to go to this man Aegis? What in the hell was going on?
Xavier stopped and leaned his head against a building, the alleyway shadow making the bricks cooler than the air around him. All of these thoughts had him nauseous and he didn’t know where to go from here.
Then again, he did know. The most important thing to him had been his family. He had no idea what the general was playing at, but some part of Xavier refused to believe he wished his former sons harm.
Xav steeled his mind to accomplish what he needed to do.
He would go to these Men of High Purpose
He would do just as he always had done.
He would keep his brothers safe, and as Father had put it, ignorant, even if Xav felt like he was losing part of his soul to do it.
Chapter Twelve
ADELAIDE
Locke carried me to a cabin below decks. I had so many questions churning through my head, I wasn’t even sure where to start.
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