by LJ Andrews
Raine gnawed on the inside of her cheek until it bled. She studied Lurlina’s face. Her eyes were magical, like twinkling stars sparkling in the sky. There was wisdom in their depths, but her face was smooth and youthful. Her expression was not impatient—quite the opposite. Lurlina smiled sweetly, waiting for Raine to speak as if they had all the time in the world to sit in silence in the garden.
“I think…I think we were wrong about the Djinn, and…the Below,” Raine said softly, though with some difficulty.
When her lip trembled with emotion, Lurlina’s smooth hand took hers and patted it kindly. “I so desperately hoped you’d come to that conclusion, Raine. But why does this trouble you?”
Sniffling, Raine scooted closer to Lurlina, feeling the warmth of friendship overwhelm her. “I’m afraid Nova and our other friends could be in danger if they are still seeking the temple. They come with the plan to attack and take Kamali away. But the people of the village warned me of great dangers in the Unknown. I wish I had a way to tell them we are safe here.”
Lurlina nodded sympathetically. “This is exactly the message I wanted to send to Nova. I wanted to show her all is well. Launi has so many terrible legends about the Djinn it is no wonder she did not trust us.”
Raine agreed by nodding energetically. “The kingdom is filled with folklore. I just wish there was a way I could help dissolve the misunderstanding.”
Lurlina paused for a moment, tapping her chin with her finger. “Well, perhaps I could try to reach Nova once more. She just might let me in this time. Perhaps you could give me something to say only you and she would know, so I can say the message is from you.”
Raine thought for a moment, thinking of anything she and Nova had discussed with one another. “Tell her…tell her to stop denying her feelings toward Kale.” Raine smiled. “That should get her attention.”
Lurlina smiled widely. “This Kale is one of your companions?”
Raine nodded, though it felt as if her head was heavy, like her neck was resisting the movement. “Atlas and Kale have been with her from the beginning. But I know how she truly feels about Kale, even if she won’t admit it.”
“I think that might just work, Raine. I’ll tell you as soon as I’ve reached her. Hope for luck she won’t shut me out.” Lurlina patted Raine’s hand again. “Now, you should get some rest. Your chamber is made up with some supper. We were not sure if you would be back today, so I’ve had meals brought to your room in the event you arrived.”
“Thank you,” Raine said, suddenly completely aware of her rumbling stomach. She made her way through the side entrance, confused why her mouth felt dry like ash coated her tongue. Shaking the unnerving feeling away, she rushed to the grand bed chamber, anxious to rest and enjoy more delectable food from the Djinn.
Once Raine was well into the temple, Lurlina leaned back against the small wall behind the stone bench. She folded her arms, her red lips curling upward into a satisfied smile. A rustle behind her turned her attention away from the glowing lantern Raine had lit in the tower.
“Sister, did you hear the wonderful news?” she asked, turning toward Kamali who pushed through the tall shrubs and sat stiffly on the bench. “Nova will be here soon, I’m certain of it. All this will be over soon.”
Kamali closed her eyes tight, as a single tear fell onto her cheek. Lurlina wrapped an arm around her shoulders, ignoring how they stiffened. “My dear, I promise you will see this is all for the best in time. I promise. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to speak with the dear captain about a message that needs sending.”
Lurlina left Kamali sitting in the garden as red glowing insects flicked their cheerful bulbs around the marble fountain. Kamali’s lips tightened as if fighting against a scream yearning to escape. Nothing but silence surrounded her, as now the tears flowed like silent rivers down her face.
Chapter 7
The Plan
Nova flushed as she caught herself staring a moment too long at Kale’s bare back as he splashed water over his skin from the natural spring in the lower part of the cave. She stood back, pretending to sharpen her dagger, but kept catching glimpses of him out of the corner of her eyes. His muscles had defined since they’d first met aboard the Star’s Vengeance, and she was embarrassed how much it drew her attention.
Varick cleared his throat, causing her to jump back. “Father,” she said, breathless. “I didn’t see you there.”
“I noticed,” he said, lifting his brow and eyeing Kale as he pulled his shirt back over his head.
Nova’s cheeks burned so hot she was certain her father could see steam radiating off the surface. “I hate to tell you, father, but I grew up over the years,” she said, trying to laugh the awkward tension away.
Varick nodded, his jaw clenching as he dropped his belt with three different cutlasses onto the ground. “It doesn’t mean I have to like it, love. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get used to seeing you as a…woman.”
“You know, you weren’t that much older than me when you met Mother,” she said, giving his shoulder a playful shove.
Varick smiled, the corners of his eyes wrinkling in the pleasure of the memory. “I suppose that is true, but even knowing that doesn’t make me feel better. Your mother and I were quite reckless.”
“Tell me what it was like—meeting her, I mean.”
Varick chuckled and leaned against the wall. “It isn’t the grand romance you probably want to hear. We didn’t think much of one another at first. In fact, I’m quite certain your mother plotted my murder for weeks. And at first, I only saw her as a successful plunder, a treasure that would make me the wealthiest pirate in all the land.”
“Well, what changed? How could you both go from such feelings of distaste to marrying?”
Varick paused, and his eyes looked distant and sad as he thought of the memories. “One day it dawned on us that we weren’t the people we thought one another to be. Your mother proved to me she could think for herself, and through her stubbornness, she helped me see the error of my ways. And I like to think I showed her I wasn’t a bloodthirsty pirate out for slaughter. I was greedy, but not the killer like she’d been told about pirates. There just came a day when I realized I saw the woman she was, not the Djinn. Once I realized that, I knew I couldn’t live without her.”
Nova smiled imagining her mother scolding her father, who was supposed to be a feared pirate. She glanced toward the spring again, but Kale had left to the arena. Everyone was training harder since the Dachians and Kobb had arrived because Kobb was selecting a few of the most skilled fighters to craft special weapons for, and everyone wanted a bit of Kobb’s signature on their blade.
Nova re-latched the dagger on her hip, turning to face Varick. “So, when you think back to you and Mother falling in love, it isn’t so hard to understand that some things have changed over the years, right?” Her cheeks flushed when her father’s brow furrowed.
“No matter how old you are, Nova, no one will measure up to what I think you deserve. I know you’ve grown, and I couldn’t be prouder,” he said, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. “But I only wish I could have been there to see it happen. My last memory as a family was at your sixteenth birthday party, and now here you are…so grown up. It will take me some time, but I won’t take the young man outside and throw him off the edge if that is what you are worried about.” Varick smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they walked toward the arena.
“You wouldn’t think of it,” she insisted.
He scoffed. “Remember who I once was, love. I led the mutiny against Captain Phoenix. You’ll never know what I might do.”
Nova held up her hand, stopping Kale from swinging his blade against her again. Her throat burned as if she’d swallowed fire and her chest heaved in angry breaths from swinging the thin cutlass back and forth against Kale’s long curved sword he’d selected for the day.
“Give me a moment to catch my breath,” she said.
Kale wiped the s
weat off his forehead and stabbed the point of his sword into a soft spot on the arena floor. “You seem unfocused. I’ve seen you move faster than that,” he said.
“We’ve been sparing for over an hour, Kale,” she said defensively.
“No excuse,” he retorted. “Remember when Gold-tooth trained you, he wouldn’t let you give in to fatigue so easily.”
Nova’s heart stabbed painfully thinking of her late friend and mentor. Gold-tooth Taylor had been the one to rescue her from the Island of Bones, and the ragged, course pirate had become one of her dearest friends before the infection from the island had taken him to his next adventure out of this life.
“That was a low blow, Kale.”
“It was not,” he determined. “It’s the truth. Now come on, show me what you’ve got.”
Without letting her recoup, Kale lifted the sword and twisted on one foot until the blade swung smoothly around, powering toward her. Nova reacted with a jerk and blocked his sword just in time, but jarred her elbow from holding her cutlass incorrectly.
Shoving hard against the pressure he was putting on her weapon, she unlocked their blades, forcing Kale to retreat a few paces.
“If I would have been trying I would’ve killed you,” he said, twirling the blade in his hand.
Nova’s chest tightened as the Djinn power seared through her in frustration. Her cheeks burned as she unlatched the dagger, holding a blade in each hand. The Djinn dagger fueled the dark power further until she could practically feel the clash between Djinn and her humanity. The darkness urged her to unleash all her fury against Kale, to force him into submission. But her affection and self-control pounded back like a fierce opponent.
“Come on, feisty,” Kale said, his smile curving into the irresistible half-smile he often wore. “Don’t tell me you’re having trouble determining which side to control your movements.”
The darkness powered her muscles as she swung the cutlass first, putting Kale on the defensive, then twisting quickly, bringing the dagger around and forcing him to duck and move out of the line of fire. She reeled back inside her passionate movements. This was Kale, not Lurlina. She softened her frustration, harnessing the darkness slightly but not the intensity of the power in her movements.
She swung the cutlass again, slamming into the metal of Kale’s sword. Back and forth they moved, the clanging of their weapons echoing throughout the arena. Her mind came into sharp focus, and all around her seemed to blur so all she saw was Kale and his intricate footsteps. He kept his half-smile in place, occasionally spouting something arrogant about her lack of experience, which only pushed her harder.
The darkness pounded against her feelings for Kale but never seemed to push through the barrier. It was as if she’d built a stone wall between the frightening angst which so often accompanied the Djinn power and the pure energy of it. The power led her footing, her jabs, her swings, but the fact that Kale made her heart pound in her chest seemed only to join with the positive side of her Djinn. Humanity and the Djinn had joined in unison.
Nova stomped one foot hard on the stone floor, catching Kale’s ankle. Stumbling backward, he slammed against the ground. Nova quickly kicked his blade from his hand, straddling his chest so her knees pushed against his arms just below each shoulder. He was pinned. The tip of her dagger was planted just below his jaw, and her lungs gasped as adrenaline and power surged through her.
Kale’s smile widened, his chest heaving from exertion too. Her eyes burned with fury, her face pulled taut from the power she’d allowed to overtake her during the fight. Kale chuckled, which agitated her. She’d won. He was pinned; why was he still taunting her?
“Finally, you listened to me,” he teased.
Nova pressed her knees harder onto his arms, causing him to laugh though he was uncomfortable. “Stop telling me what to do,” she said. Her voice gave away the playfulness behind her demanding tone.
Kale’s smile fell as he freed one of his arms. Before she could react, he knocked the dagger away from his neck and pulled her face close to his. Nova flushed, feeling eyes on them from others practicing in the ring. She flushed harder, remembering her father had been close by speaking with Briggs and she was certain he was gawking with disapproving eyes.
“You found it, Nova. I saw it—the way to control the power to work with you,” he whispered close to her lips. “You need to do that every time. If you do, you can defeat anyone, and I need to know you can defeat anyone. I’m not certain I’m strong enough to risk losing you.”
The depth of his words overwhelmed her, and she lowered her face closer to his, forgetting about the onlookers. She brushed her lips over his, teasing him slightly, Kale closed his eyes expectantly, waiting for more.
“You’re just saying that because I beat you without even blinking.”
He smiled, pinching the sensitive spot on her waist playfully. “Whatever you say,” he said helping her to her feet after she released him from the ground.
Before he stepped back to get his sword, Nova tugged his hand bringing him close to her face again. “Remember, I feel the same about you going against our enemies.”
Kale cupped one cheek. “Don’t worry, I just plan to use my secret weapon as my shield. My half-Djinn super-warrior.”
Nova shoved his shoulder, sending him into a raspy cough as he gathered his blade. “I give up on you, Kale Tucker. You’re impossible.”
He shrugged and took a long swig from a leather canteen Hadwin had given to him. Nova smiled, but it quickly dissolved when the hairs on the back of her head stood on end. Turning quickly, she saw Maddox and Talia approaching with the Dachians close behind.
“Is that how you intend to fight against the temple?” Maddox asked.
“Brother, do not be so harsh,” Talia said, but Nova still detected a hint of arrogance as well in her words.
“Interesting blade you have,” Sabryn said. She towered over most of the men and carried a jagged sword on her hip which looked more like a piece of glass than a blade.
“How have you found the accommodations?” Nova asked Sabryn.
“Comfortable. There are many herbs to work with on this island, much more than the underside of Lacin, I have found,” she responded. “My two traveling companions, Amoni and Malick, believe they have developed a cure for the damage of one of those barbaric lead throwers.”
“Lead throwers?” Kale said under his breath.
“Your guns,” Talia answered for him. “The Dachians had never seen one before now.”
“You’ve never seen a pistol?” Atlas asked as he came closer to the group, stunned and impressed in one breath.
“We are healers and only fight to defend ourselves. We’ve found weapons made from the earth are sufficient for our needs.”
“I thought they were practically extinct,” Atlas whispered to Kale, who shoved him to stay silent.
“Thank you for working with us to find defenses that could be life-saving,” Nova said again.
Sabryn smiled, eyeing her curiously with her unique eyes. “Have you harnessed your strength? I sense you are still allowing fears and worry to overshadow what you can do.”
“Which is why her performance in training has me worried,” Maddox said darkly.
“There was nothing wrong with how she fought,” Kale said defensively.
Maddox scoffed, never looking at Kale, but keeping his eyes on Nova. “I thought you were supposed to be comparable to the Djinn. I suppose I was mistaken.”
Nova’s chest clenched as if someone had wound a cog too tight. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Maddox lifted a brow. “When you stood against Hadwin, I saw you battle like a Djinn, though Hadwin still bested you, but a Djinn nonetheless. Now, you fight like nothing more than a silly woman pretending to hold a blade.”
She clasped the jeweled hilt of the dagger tightly, feeling the power surge through her hand and trail up her arm. “You don’t know anything about me,” she grumbled. “We have faced
much and have always succeeded.”
Maddox chuckled. “You have faced pirates and thieves. You have never battled against the power of pure Djinn in their temple.”
Kale gripped his sword, growing tenser with every word Maddox spoke. But it was Nova who was in the most turmoil. The powerful arrogance spread through her like a comforting blanket. The power tried to convince her she could squash Maddox in front of everyone. She could prove her value to him if she only swung her dagger. But another part boiled to the surface like that of a child yearning for validation from a mentor.
Why did she care so what Maddox thought of her? He was arrogant and unfriendly. He looked at her like she was nothing more than a fleeting thing her father and Hadwin would soon tire of. Nova locked onto his smug expression, and without thought swung the dagger toward his chest, hoping to at least burn his skin as a warning to tread carefully with her.
Maddox easily dodged by flipping head over feet. His movements were silent and swift. She’d hardly noticed his dodge were it not for him being right in front of her. When he righted himself, he ended with a back flip (she believed was just for show) and smiled with the same arrogance that agitated her to begin with.
So, what if he was agile and could do flips. She was faster and stronger with the Djinn dagger, of that she was certain. Nova reached for her dagger once more to engage in what she was sure would be an epic sword play, but her hand came up empty.
“Looking for this?” Maddox said.
Nova gaped. In one hand, he held the jeweled dagger. Her eyes widened as panic struck her heart.
“How…how did you take it?” she stammered.
Maddox’s face fell again to the same cold scowl as he threw the blade back at her feet. The metal clanged against the stones, sending a vibrating force up her spine. It wasn’t comforting—it was chilling.
“As I said, you do not understand how to fight like a Djinn. Best leave it to those of us who do.”
