by Cait Marie
The man held them out, and Shane snatched them from his hand. He tossed them to Marley with a nod toward the cells. She took off immediately. Shane moved toward the man and pinned his arms behind his back before following her. Marley opened cell after cell. The men William brought were well enough to help the others.
Shane threw the scientist in an empty cell, took the keys from Marley, and locked him inside. He then went to the rebels and told them how to get out through the tunnels. Two of them guided others while a third ran for more help. Shane knelt down and helped William to his feet, with Marley beside him.
He looked to Marley. “You two should go. I’ll wait for the others to come back. Then I’ll take care of him.” He looked to the scientist.
“Shane, thank you,” William said.
Shane froze. He opened his mouth, but William held up a hand with a nod.
“Gag the scientist, then bring him with you. We’ll need him to find a cure.” William looked over to a hunched figure in the corner. His tone softened as he added, “Help her first, please.”
Shane moved to the darkened corner and crouched down beside the woman. He brushed her dark hair back from her face. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he lifted Gwyn from the ground. He carried her out to the lab where the others were gathering notebooks and as many vials as possible before they left.
“Gwyn,” he whispered.
Her familiar blue-green eyes blinked up at him. When he reached the kitchens, a couple maids stood near a counter. He stilled, waiting to see what they would do.
One of them rushed to the door and held it open. “Go, quickly.”
Shane thanked her before moving through the dark streets. He brought Gwyn to the church, made sure she was taken care of, then returned to the castle with more members of their group. Together, they transferred all of the sick to the church basement with only one close call. The same maids had diverted a couple guards’ attention at the last second, giving them time to sneak past.
Viktor, the scientist, was gagged and blindfolded before being escorted. They left him tied up in a locked room until they could figure out what to do with him.
It was well into the night before everyone settled. Shane helped tend to the sick as best he could. Gwyn was shaken up but not injured. She had disappeared from the basement before he returned.
After some time, Shane was summoned to one of the buildings that opened to the courtyard and led up to a small apartment. He stepped through the living area and kitchen to the sole bedroom. William sat in the bed with Gwyn in a nearby chair. She stood as soon as he entered and rushed to wrap him in a hug.
“Thank you, your Highness, for everything,” Gwyn said after he told her everyone was back and being cared for.
“How…?” He shifted to look down at her. “How long have you known?”
With a sly grin, she replied, “Since I found you and Phillip in the alley that first day.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked. “Why did you tell me everything if you knew who I was?”
Gwyn ushered him to sit in her chair as she perched on the edge of the bed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
“Because you cared.” She shrugged and smiled at him. “You clearly wanted to keep it a secret. I could see how much you genuinely cared though. You truly wanted to understand what was going on and help your people.”
“You weren’t worried about me telling my father?” Shane asked.
William shook his head. “Maybe a little, but I meant what I said about you and your sister not being your father. I met her once, briefly. It was a couple days before she went missing. Some thief took off with a bunch of supplies from my sister’s apothecary, and the princess happened to be there with a couple of her guards, including Phillip.”
A quiet laugh escaped Shane’s lips. “Ada paid for the missing supplies,” he whispered.
“She did,” William said with a grin. “And she overpaid at that. We were extremely grateful for her kindness.” He grew somber before adding, “It’s a shame what’s happened to her. There’s still no clue about who might have taken her?”
“Actually,” Shane began, “Ada wasn’t taken…”
With their honesty before, he knew he could trust the two of them. He told them everything, explaining how she was looking for help. When he finished, they stared at him with wide eyes.
“This is much worse than we imagined,” William whispered. He sighed and lay back against the headboard.
When Shane looked to Gwyn, she explained, “We had the theory that the king was doing experiments, but we didn’t know why. Now, we do.”
“He wants to use the Kald as a weapon of war. He’s going to spread it to other kingdoms to weaken them before he attacks.” Shane could barely get the words out. His shallow breath shook as it all added up. “We need to find that cure.”
Lee returned sometime in the night without waking Ada. When she did wake up, the sky had just started to lighten. She looked down at the blanket he must have covered her with, then to the floor. His made-up bed was empty, but he had clearly slept there. She covered her face with both hands as memories of the night before flooded her.
The sound of the door opening had her on her feet instantly. She looked around for something to protect herself with and spotted a dagger with their few belongings. Snatching it up, she struck as a figure emerged around the corner. Something hit the floor with a clatter, and the person expertly grabbed her by the wrist and whirled her around.
“It’s just me,” Lee whispered from behind, holding her arm twisted behind her back.
She relaxed against him for just a second, trying to slow her breath before facing him. Apologizing, she knelt down to pick up what he’d dropped.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” Lee said, lowering to the ground beside her. She smiled at the ease of his words; he appeared to be back to himself.
“What is this?” Ada picked up a dark blue vial. She held it up in the light and watched the liquid within slosh around.
“These,” he held up an identical vial, uncorked it, and consumed its contents, “are for the headaches.”
“Stealing from apothecaries again?”
“What? No, I bought them.”
She laughed and drank the concoction gratefully. His fingers brushed hers as she handed him the empty bottle. When he didn’t pull away immediately, she glanced up at him.
“I’m sorry—” he began.
Ada cleared her throat and stood before he could say more. “We should get going if we want to get there in time.”
She handed over the dagger and walked to the screen in the corner of the room. While Brienne insisted on the full dress for their first day, Ada had begged for something simple for the second. She finally convinced Brienne by reminding her that she wouldn’t have her help at the inn.
Ada groaned at the gown she removed from their luggage. It was a simple pink dress, but it tied in the back. Try as she might, there was no way she could reach to do up all the laces herself. She stepped out into the room with a slight hesitation.
“Ready?” Lee asked. His back was to her as he strapped on his belt and scabbard. At her silence, he turned. “What’s wrong?”
Feeling suddenly shy, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. An idle hand rubbed the side of her neck.
“Ada. What?”
“I can’t reach…” she answered, not meeting his eyes.
“What?”
She sighed and turned around, pointing to the back of her dress. Lee let out a breathy laugh and moved to stand behind her.
“You had me worried something was actually wrong,” he said.
Lee moved her long curls over one shoulder. A lump formed in her throat as his knuckles brushed her neck in the process. She tried to keep her breathing steady, but she was sure he could hear her heart pounding. His hands moved down the laces, working their way through. As he pulled them each tight, she told herself that was why she couldn�
�t breathe. With each pull, she fought to keep from stepping back into him.
“There we are.” He stood close enough that she could feel his breath on her neck. He tied off the ends with a final tug, and she stumbled back. Her face reddened when his hands moved to her waist and didn’t let go.
“There’s that blush again,” he said softly against her ear. “Good to know that hasn’t changed after last night.”
She stepped out of his grasp. “We’re going to miss it.”
“Ada…”
Avoiding his gaze, she braided her hair and tied it off.
“Ada, talk to me,” he said as she sat down to put her boots on.
She didn’t have time to figure out his mood changes. Only a short window of time existed to get what she needed. When she told him as much, he dropped the subject and the mask slipped back in place, hiding his thoughts. She hated it.
Together, they quietly moved upstairs. The Rosy Inn had three floors plus an attic. It was built over a century earlier, but it had been well-kept. On the top floor, they looked for the attic entrance, worried it would be hidden away in one of the rooms.
A faint outline caught Ada’s attention, and she moved to look closer at that section of the wall. She waved Lee over and pointed to what appeared to be a hidden door. With a few tries, they got it open. A dark, dusty staircase stood on the other side, a faint light streaming down from the top. Lee looked to her, then back up. He began climbing the stairs, stopping on the second step to wait. Ada took a deep breath and followed.
She shut the door behind them, not wanting to get caught. Darkness enclosed around them, and they waited for their eyes to adjust before continuing. The wood creaked and groaned under their feet, causing them to move at a glacial speed.
The attic spanned the length of the building. It was used for storage, but the amount of dust and cobwebs showed how long it had been since anyone else was up there. A thick layer covered everything, their feet making footprints as they walk around, looking through some of the furniture and boxes. A small amount of light floated in through an oval window at the far end of the space.
Something within pulled her toward the window. Like a string tethered to her core, telling her that was where she needed to go. The symbols from her book danced in her mind—the golden swirls she’d decided meant sunrise near the rose. She had seen the triangle and knew she needed to be as high up as possible, so the attic was the most likely option.
She closed the small trunk she’d been looking through and moved toward the window. The noise of the wooden planks should have warned her. Lee realized what was happening before she did, but it was too late. He opened his mouth just as her foot went through the rotten wood.
Lee lunged for her. Ada went down hard, the splintered wood scratching up her leg as she went. She barely held in a scream. Lee reached her before the rest of the floor could give way. His arms wrapped around her, beneath her arms, and he pulled her up. He yanked them both back onto a secured support beam.
Ada landed half on top of him. Out of breath and terrified, she shut her eyes, gave in, and lay against him. He held her tightly, rubbing soothing circles along her back.
“All right, Princess?”
Leaning up on her elbows, she looked down and reminded him, yet again, to stop calling her that. His hand brushed aside an escaped strand of hair and tucked it behind her ear. She smiled, despite her earlier resolutions, as he cupped the side of her face.
“You’re determined to stop my heart, aren’t you?” He kissed her cheek. “I think you’re going to be the death of me.”
Ada stood, laughing, and pulled him up too. “Yeah, except I’m the one who keeps having these near-death experiences.” She looked down through the hole to see an empty room below. At a much slower pace, she headed toward the window once more, checking the floor before each step. “Which, by the way, didn’t start until I met you.”
“So, you’re saying your life was boring before you bribed your way onto my ship?”
They reached the small window and looked out at the sleeping town. She brushed a thumb over a rose carved into the frame with a smile. A shuddering breath left her, and she blinked away the burning behind her eyes. She did it. She found the same symbol as in the book. “It definitely wasn’t as exciting as all this, that’s for sure.”
“Twirling in ball gowns every week wasn’t exciting?” He raised an arm above his head, leaning against the wooden frame. The sun still lingered below the horizon; they had a couple minutes.
“First of all, it wasn’t every week.”
“Ah, but there was twirling in ball gowns at some point. Good to know,” he teased and nudged her in the side with an elbow.
Ada rolled her eyes. The conversation headed in a direction she had been avoiding, but she didn’t feel the need to truly hide anymore. Something had shifted between them, and she realized she trusted him. “Yes, and I didn’t hate it, but that’s not the point. It never felt right. My mother used to read me these stories—fairy tales and myths—and I don’t know, I just felt like…”
“There was more to life,” Lee finished.
Their eyes met, and she nodded. He slipped her hand into his, entwining their fingers. Looking down at their joined hands, she said, “You know, this was a lot easier when we hated each other.”
He laughed at that, agreeing. He let go of her hand and stepped closer, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. As they watched the sun slowly rise, he asked, “So, what are we looking for?”
“I’m not exactly sure,” she said. “I’ll know it when I see it.”
A gap in the buildings lay directly across from their window. The inn was slightly uphill, and they could see all the way down to the water. The empty streets held a rare peacefulness for the town. Ada looked at each building for a sign. They could see the exact moment the sun rose above the sea. The light seemed to shine directly toward where they stood.
Ada looked around—at the streets, the buildings, then the attic around them—taking in every possible detail. For several minutes, they stood in silence, searching. She glanced at the rose on the window sill, clenching her fist.
Lee slid his arm from around her shoulders and took her hand again. “We’ll find it. It’s all right.”
“No, it’s too late,” she said as she pointed to the sun floating fully above the ocean. “We missed our chance.”
She looked around the attic once more, carefully moving through some of the storage in desperation before moving toward the door. Lee followed her down the three sets of stairs and into the side alley. He stayed quiet while she began to pace.
Ada stopped and let out an exasperated groan before punching the stone wall. She raised a hand to do it again, but Lee was there, grabbing both her arms.
“Stop, you’re going to hurt yourself.” He tried to pull her closer, but she yanked away from him. “Ada, it’s going to be all right. We’ll figure this out.”
“No, we won’t.” Her voice was deadly calm. “I was wrong. All of this was for nothing.”
Lee took a cautious step toward her. “Maybe if you explain what you’re after, I can help.”
She knew he truly wanted to help—could see it in his eyes—but it was pointless. “No, you can’t. No one can.” When he raised a brow, she continued, her frustration growing with each word, “This was stupid. I can’t… no one has been able to find the damn island in over a hundred of years. Why did I think I could?”
Her pacing started again. She went over the details in her head: the Rosy Inn, the symbol meaning sun, the triangle meaning elevation. She knew it had to be here somewhere.
“Wait.” Lee grabbed her by the elbow and turned her to him. “The cards… You’re looking for Cyfrin? That’s what this is about?”
“Yes.”
“Stars, Ada!” He shoved a hand through his hair. Looking over her shoulder to the streets coming to life, he shook his head. “You can’t be serious? It’s a story.”
“I’m awar
e that it’s a story, but it’s based on truth.” She looked up at him, wondering how much to tell him. Deciding to wait, she simply said, “I need to get to Cyfrin.”
“Why?” Lee released her and kicked a pebble that ricocheted down the alley.
“If you know the stories, then you know why.”
“What, a band of pirates isn’t exciting enough for you? You need some immortal warriors?” He laughed, but she could hear the hurt buried deep beneath.
“Lee,” she said quietly.
He stilled and stared at her. “You think those are the real cards?”
“I’ll explain everything, but please just trust me when I say I need to find the island.”
“Trust you?” He sneered. “How can I trust you when all you do is lie and keep secrets?”
“Asks the pirate,” she muttered. She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one hip. The fall in the attic had done more damage than she initially thought. Now that adrenaline wasn’t rushing through her, the pain surfaced. She could feel droplets of blood trickling down from where the splintered wood pierced her leg.
“Why here?”
Ada hesitated. “That book I have… it’s their story, but it also has a map with images and symbols. Clues on how to find the Nihryst. There were clues that made me believe we’d find the next clue as the sun broke the horizon on the Rosy Inn.”
Lee’s eyes widened. His jaw clenched as he shook his head, then said, “Ada, don’t you get it? That’s all it is. Clues to find more clues to find more clues. You’re not the first to try to find them. It will just keep leading you in circles.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Even if you were to find Cyfrin, the Nihryst aren’t there,” he said, ignoring her.
“You don’t know that,” she repeated louder.
He stepped closer, until mere inches separated them. “The Nihryst is a story. They don’t exist.”
“You don’t—“
“Yes, I do!”
“How?” she hissed.
“Because I’ve been there!” Lee shouted.
Ada’s mouth gaped open. She took a step back. The world around her went quiet, though she knew people were carrying on around them. Some shouting in this obnoxious town wouldn’t alert anyone.
