Venom

by Bex Hogan

  I know there are only seconds before the ground disappears beneath my feet.

  More desperate bandits have reached the walkway and are storming towards me to vent their fury.

  There’s a tied rope to my left, and it’s my only hope. Grabbing hold, I slice through it just beneath my hand and cling on as the rope sends me shooting up at high speed, leaving the bandits behind. As the mine implodes in on itself, the rope reaches the pulley and jolts me so violently that I let go, hurtling towards the edge of the collapsing mine. I dig my fingers into the rock, disregarding the pain and pulling myself up. As the remainder of the structure crumbles, I manage to scramble to the surface, and with an almighty crash the mine blows up a cloud of debris, its final breath.

  That was close.

  Brushing the dust from my clothes, I turn to put as much distance as possible between myself and this scene of chaos, but stop in my tracks.

  Three people stand watching me, and I forget to breathe.

  ‘You’re a hard woman to find,’ Bronn says. ‘Captain.’

  He called me Captain.

  Tension I didn’t even know I was carrying falls away at the sound of that one word – I hadn’t realised quite how deep my insecurity ran.

  ‘What took you so long?’

  Bronn takes a step closer. ‘We had to make sure the King wasn’t following us, all while tracking your route. Being duplicitous isn’t easy, you know.’

  I allow him a small smile. ‘I think you’re a lot better at it than you realise.’

  He bows slightly. ‘Best compliment I ever had.’

  And then his arms are tight round me, not caring who’s watching.

  ‘It’s good to see you,’ he mumbles into my hair, and I can tell by the way he says it he had his doubts he ever would again.

  I tighten my grip on him. I have missed him so much.

  Eventually I move slightly away and narrow my eyes. ‘I paid you?’ I remind him of his words at my trial.

  Bronn shrugs. ‘What? You told us to play along and trust you, so I did.’ Now he beams at me. ‘Fooled them all, didn’t I?’

  I shake my head a little as I laugh. ‘You certainly did. You almost had me too.’

  His smile disappears, replaced by a sudden seriousness. ‘I hated saying every word of it.’

  ‘I know. I’m sorry you had to.’

  Reluctantly I tear myself away from him and go to greet my other friends, noticing as I do that my loyal sea vulture, Talon, is circling above us. Harley, the indomitable and outspoken sailing master who has become one of my most trusted friends, comes forward and pulls me into a mama-hug, squeezing the breath from me, but warming me at the same time. Holding my arms, she leans back slightly, surveying me. She looks at my wispy hair, my thinning frame, my bruised skin and she tuts.

  ‘I’m OK,’ I say to her. ‘Really.’

  ‘I know you are,’ she says, her fingers tightening on my arms. ‘Tougher than you look.’ But when she winks at me it’s full of love and support and I have to swallow hard not to tear up.

  Then Toby greets me and I swear the boy has grown another foot since I last saw him. The quartermaster’s son has blossomed on the ship following Adler’s death, though he still lacks true sea legs. ‘You all right, Captain?’

  His concern is so genuine that I reach to hug him. ‘I am now. Where’s your father?’

  ‘Ren’s back on the Maiden, with the rest of the crew.’ It’s Bronn who answers. ‘I’m assuming you have a plan, because we need to do something fast.’

  ‘I do. Sort of.’ I scrunch my nose. ‘But you’re not going to like it.’

  Harley laughs. ‘Well, you know me, the madder the plan, the better.’

  ‘Tell us on the way back to the Maiden,’ Bronn says, but I catch hold of his arm.

  ‘No. I’m not leaving this island yet.’

  He frowns, but doesn’t voice the question in his eyes. ‘It’s not safe to talk in the open. There’s a cave just south of here that I used to smuggle crystal into for Adler. We’ll be safe there.’

  The four of us set off, Bronn staying close to my side, and I tell them about the bandits I discovered in the mine. If they’re using the mines as hideouts, then it’s possible Bronn’s cave might not be as safe as he thinks it is, but when we get there it’s clearly undisturbed, the entrance barely visible among the dark cluster of rock. We scramble down into the hole and do our best to crouch on the spiked ground.

  ‘So tell me everything. Have you had word of Torin?’

  The three of them exchange glances. Harley takes a deep breath and reaches for my hand. ‘Your husband is still alive. Sharpe is at the castle with him, but other than that we have very little idea of how he’s faring. Politically, everything’s worse than ever; bandits are taking advantage of your incarceration and rampaging. There have been many deaths. Many attacks.’

  Though it’s pretty much what I was expecting, it’s still tough to hear.

  ‘And the islands themselves grow weaker,’ Harley continues. ‘Wildfires have been spreading across the Fallow Isle, and it’s not only the crops we’re losing. It’s the black brambles.’

  My heart lurches at this news. Medicinal supplies were already diminishing after losing so many ingredients to the flames on the Fourth Isle. If we lose the main ingredient for second-salve, we’re soon going to struggle to heal anything or anyone.

  Harley is still talking, though. ‘The grazing land on the Fifth Isle isn’t regrowing, so the animals are starving. It’s almost like …’ She pauses, and her reluctance to continue unnerves me. What is Harley afraid to say? ‘It’s like the islands are cursed.’

  I think of the fallen birds I saw, the dead fish washed up on shore, and sense it’s all connected. Could the scorching of the last traces of magic from the Fourth Isle have sparked the slow death of all the islands? Has Adler doomed us all?

  My stomach knots. Because if I’m right, I don’t just need the magic to restore peace in the islands. I need to restore the islands themselves. And how can I possibly do that?

  ‘We have to find a way to protect Torin,’ I say, pushing such a nightmare aside. First things first. ‘He lives at the mercy of his father, and should the King feel threatened in any way …’

  ‘It’s already taken care of,’ Bronn says. ‘I have men on the inside who are keeping a close watch and have orders to take whatever action is necessary to keep the Prince safe.’

  I stare at him for a moment, as his words sink in. ‘You have men on the inside?’

  The atmosphere in the cave alters, the air growing a little colder.

  ‘Yes,’ he says, folding his arms as if bracing himself for my response.

  My eyebrows raise in disbelief. ‘Would you mind telling me how long you’ve had spies at the palace?’

  The shift in his weight suggests he would really rather not. ‘Since before Adler died.’

  Irritation burns at my throat. ‘They’re Adler’s men?’

  ‘No, they’re loyal to me. To us,’ he adds just a little too late. ‘I sent them there once your engagement was made, to—’

  ‘To what, Bronn? Spy on me?’

  ‘No, to protect you.’

  He can’t understand why I’m upset, and I can’t understand how he can fail to.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve been the Viper for months, I deserved to know where my Snakes were.’

  Harley and Toby are looking firmly at the ground, probably hoping it will split open and drag them away from this quarrel. But I don’t care how awkward it is. I want an answer.

  Bronn looks reluctant to give one. ‘Because, honestly, I thought if I told you there were Snakes in the palace, you would order them to leave.’

  ‘You’re right, I would have. Torin is our ally.’

  ‘And as soon as Torin took the throne, I intended to withdraw my people.’

  ‘That wasn’t your decision to make.’ My voice is sharper than the rock cutting into my feet.

  ‘But it’s
a good thing I did, or you wouldn’t have escaped.’

  It takes me a beat to realise what he’s saying. ‘That was a Snake?’ I thought it was Sharpe who had sent me the needle. But it was a member of my crew – one I didn’t even recognise.

  ‘Of course,’ Bronn says. ‘How else do you think you got out of there alive?’

  He’s unbelievable. He’s taking credit for my survival? ‘Oh yes, because once I opened that cell, I just breezed out the front gate.’

  Bronn shakes his head in confusion. ‘Yeah, well, you’re welcome. And now those same Snakes are making sure your husband stays alive, but I can withdraw them if you wish.’

  I glare at him. Unfortunately, whether I like it or not, his spies are invaluable to us. And they did, technically, enable me to escape, so I suppose I should be grateful. I just hate that he kept that secret from me. What others does he have?

  I force myself to meet Bronn’s eye, swallowing back the anger that was quick to rise. ‘Leave them. They’re probably Torin’s best chance.’ It takes me a moment before I’m able to add, ‘And thank you. I am grateful that you sent me help to escape.’

  He nods in acknowledgement and the tension eases a little.

  ‘What of the assassin?’ I ask, deciding to move on from the topic. ‘Do you have any leads on who he might have been?’

  ‘None.’ Bronn pauses. ‘Do you think the King himself could be behind it? He certainly seems to have benefitted the most.’

  ‘That’s what I thought, but no. He came to see me during the trial and he genuinely thought I was responsible. Which means we’re clueless.’

  We all fall silent for a moment.

  ‘And what happened with the stranger at the wedding? Did you catch up with him?’ I’m surprised Bronn hasn’t mentioned him before now. In all honesty he is the man I’m most suspicious of, his mysterious presence at the palace the most likely connection to the attack.

  But to my disbelief Bronn looks embarrassed. ‘I lost him.’

  ‘What?’ Bronn is the best tracker in the world. He doesn’t lose a target. No one outruns him.

  The stranger has secured his place as number one in my suspect list.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Bronn says. ‘I followed him as far as the coast where his trail disappeared. Then I heard about what happened with you and forgot about it.’ Now he looks uncomfortable. ‘You think he was the assassin?’

  I remember the amber eyes staring back at me as I fought Torin’s attacker. I would recognise them anywhere, and they didn’t belong to the stranger lurking in the shadows. ‘It wasn’t him in the room, but I wonder if he’s behind it. The assassin had a style of fighting I didn’t recognise, and was incredibly skilled.’ I tell them about his ability to catch my knife.

  ‘So,’ Harley says in her usual matter-of-fact way, ‘we don’t know who tried to kill the Prince, or why. The King is clinging to his throne irrespective of the cost to his islands. And you’re wanted for treason. What are we going to do about it?’

  ‘We need help.’ It’s all so clear now. The answer is obvious. I need magic and I need an army. Where else could I possibly go? But I know they’re going to hate it. Bronn is going to hate it. ‘We can’t win this war alone.’

  ‘And who are you going to ask? There’s a small number of the Fleet ready to stand with us, but other than that? You’re not that popular right now.’ Harley voices what she and Toby are thinking but I can see Bronn is ahead of them. He knows what I’m suggesting and is already shaking his head.

  I face Harley squarely. ‘I’m going to go back to the West.’

  ‘No.’ Bronn’s resistance is expected, but more animated than I’d imagined. ‘We’re not going back there.’

  ‘You’re right. We’re not. I am.’

  Bronn leaps to his feet, pacing the cave and rubbing his face. Harley looks from him to me.

  ‘What am I missing?’

  ‘They won’t help you, Marianne,’ Bronn says. ‘Don’t you remember what it was like over there? We barely made it out alive.’

  ‘That was different.’

  ‘You’d have to reveal yourself to them even to have a chance,’ he says, and he’s pleading with me. ‘They won’t care about us. Why would they?’

  Toby looks confused, but Harley is irritated. ‘You mind telling us what you two are on about?’

  I take a deep breath. I should have known this wasn’t a secret I could expect to keep for ever. ‘You both know Adler wasn’t really my father. But what I haven’t told you is who my real parents were. I’m sort of –’ I pause in embarrassment – ‘sort of descended from the royal family.’

  Toby’s mouth drops open and Harley closes her eyes, holding one finger out for me to pause.

  ‘I’m sorry, do you mean the Western royal family? The ones who were all wiped out?’

  I nod. ‘That’d be the one.’

  ‘I need a drink.’

  Bronn passes her his flask and Harley draws deeply from it.

  ‘Who else knows?’ Toby asks, and he’s looking at me in a whole new way. Like I’m more important than he realised. I don’t like it.

  ‘Only Bronn and Torin. Grace knew.’ Every time I speak her name, something goes wrong with my throat. It tightens in on itself like it doesn’t want to exist any more.

  ‘And you want it to stay that way?’ Harley raises her eyebrow.

  ‘For now. Can you imagine what the King would do if he found out?’

  ‘Probably murder his own son and force you to marry him,’ Toby says, and we all turn to look at him. He’s right. That’s exactly what the King would do. For Torin’s sake he must never know.

  Which is another reason I have to act now. I take a breath, knowing that once I say it out loud, there’s no going back. ‘I’m going West to raise an army.’ There, that’s my plan. It’s the only way I can think of to save the Eastern Isles. To save the Twelve Isles.

  ‘It’s one hell of a long shot,’ Harley says, but I can hear she’s impressed.

  She’s right of course, but my bloodline isn’t the only thing I’m relying on.

  ‘You know nothing about the West or the people there,’ Bronn says and it’s a fair point. ‘For all you know they’ll kill you on sight. They may not want a royal family.’

  ‘Grace’s people will know how to help,’ I remind him quietly. He has no answer to that.

  Harley looks between us, sensing there’s much we’re not saying but she doesn’t press us. ‘So, we’re going West then?’

  I can’t help but smile – she always did love bad odds. ‘No. We can’t leave the East unprotected. The Maiden has to stay here. You have to keep the King from doing anything rash, and above all make sure Torin remains alive.’

  ‘You’re not going alone,’ Bronn says, and though I love him for it, he’s forgetting something rather important.

  ‘Yes, I am. You’re the Viper now, not me. You have to stay with your ship.’

  Bronn faces me with such intensity I forget Harley and Toby exist. ‘We both know there’s only one way for that title to truly pass from one to another, and there’s no way I’m ever going to do that. So enough with that talk. If you’re going West, I’m coming with you.’

  His eyes have never been easier to read. There is love, there is determination and such a fierce protectiveness that I lean forward and kiss him gently on the lips.

  ‘OK then,’ I whisper, my fingers lacing through his hair. ‘You’re coming too.’

  Harley clears her throat, but she’s smiling. My friends have never been under any illusions when it came to my true feelings. ‘When you two are quite finished, may I make a suggestion?’

  I smile as I nod. ‘If you feel you can trust us, leave Ren and me in charge of the Maiden. We’ll give the King the runaround, convince him we’re looking for you, and keep an eye on your prince. Meanwhile you two can take a skeleton crew off West to raise the troops. How does that sound?’

  I reach for her hand. ‘There’s no one I would trust more
with my ship,’ I say, squeezing her fingers.

  ‘So how are you going to get there?’ Toby asks.

  ‘Do we have any of the Fleet still with us?’

  ‘A few,’ Harley says. ‘But if you’re thinking of taking one of their ships, think again. We need them here.’

  Bronn turns to me. ‘We’ll steal a ship.’

  ‘We will?’ I raise an eyebrow.

  ‘This island is crawling with bandits and I know the coves here. Trust me, we’ll find something.’

  I can’t help but grin at him. Despite everything, the prospect of running off with Bronn to steal a ship is beyond appealing.

  ‘Then we have a plan.’

  I never thought I’d enjoy crossing the harsh terrain of the Sixth Isle, but alone with Bronn, walking hand in hand, I find myself surprisingly content. We’ve split up from Harley and Toby, who’ve returned to the Maiden to sort out our crew, and now we’re heading to Torin’s castle before embarking on finding a ship.

  ‘So you’ve decided then,’ Bronn says as we navigate our way over sharp rock.

  ‘Decided what?’

  He gives me a sideways glance. ‘I’m not stupid. There’s only one reason you’d be willing to return to this castle and that’s for the books. You want to talk to Esther, don’t you? You want to become a Mage.’

  I sigh. I’m not sure Bronn really understands my pull towards magic. He’s never heard its call and is grounded in a world where, to him, it doesn’t exist. And yet he knows, or is at least starting to realise, how very important it is to me.

  ‘You saw what magic could do,’ I say to him, the image of two magnificent and terrifying water raptors flashing into my mind. ‘And I’m beginning to think that Torin was right, that there can never be true unity without it. I’m not sure we can bring peace to these islands unless I find a way to harness it.’

  I tell him about my conversation with Old Tatty, and of my encounter with Raoul. Bronn’s very quiet when I speak of the prophecy, and so I decide he doesn’t need to hear everything. I don’t mention the foretelling of my death.