Arti scowls, her lips drawn tight. “Because he is not who he thinks he is.”
“What does that mean?” I snap, reeling from the news.
“Nothing that concerns you.” She lets out a huff of breath—and glances away. “He will go into the Dark Forest and die. That’s the end of it. His future is set in stone.”
“I don’t believe you.” A half-forgotten dream of Rudjek standing at the edge of a forest of endless night skims the edges of my mind. Just a dream. It didn’t mean anything. She’s lying because she hates the Vizier, and she wants me to think that my friend won’t come after me like he promised. “Keep your lies for someone else.”
Arti doesn’t let surprise paint her face for more than a moment. “It will devastate Suran,” she presses, her voice seething with scorn. “I only wish I could be there to see the great Vizier’s legacy falter.”
“The Ka-Priest should’ve killed you when he had the chance.” My words are full of all the spite I can muster, and I mean them.
Arti laughs. A genuine laugh I haven’t heard from her in a long time. But it’s short-lived as her mouth turns into a grimace. She hunches over, cradling her belly. The tethers of her curse loosen a fraction, and there’s slack in the cord that binds us. Before, Koré countered Arti’s magic enough for me to act. Could it be the child or the sickness that comes with pregnancy weakening her now? It might lessen the curse the further along she gets, giving me an opportunity to try again. I cling to hope. After so much failure, it’s the only thing I have.
I don’t dare test my freedom in front of her, lest she finds a way to tighten the noose again. My father startles, his back rigid. Does he sense the curse waning too? His shoulders heave up and down, and my hope soars. Fight it, Father. You’re stronger than her.
“Have Ty make more tea.” Arti winces, sweat beading on her forehead. “Try not to poison it this time.”
I can’t stand to look at her, not after the wine and tea, and the awful thing I said about the Ka-Priest. Nor after all the things she’s done.
A war wages in my father’s eyes, yet he remains in her trap and some of my hope fades. Koré said my mother’s curse could never hurt me, but the rest she cursed would die if they tried to strike against her. If my father has his right mind even for a moment, he’ll know this too.
I set off without a word. Let my mother wonder about that. Ty and Terra are in the galley below deck, gutting fish and shucking mussels for supper. Nezi must be off by herself as usual.
Ty wipes her hands on her apron and clears her throat. She and Nezi are loyal to my mother, but do they know the true extent of Arti’s deeds? Could I convince them to reason with her? I don’t know who to trust anymore, especially in my household. I miss my friends, and I miss when my only worry was if I would ever have the gift. Now that I’m below deck, Arti’s tether slips further. It feels like peeling off a heavy cloak for the first time in days. While there’s still slack in the curse, I’ll write to Grandmother. I’ll do it tonight.
“Hello, Ty.” Heat floods my cheeks.
Our matron shakes her head. Of course she heard the awful thing I said about the Ka-Priest. Terra keeps eyes on her work—her hands wrist-deep in fish guts. After Ty’s made me wait a beat too long, she lifts her eyebrows to ask, What do you want?
“Arti wants palm bark tea,” I answer.
Ty scratches her chin and shakes her head again to say, We’re out.
“I’ll go find some ashore.” Terra rises to her feet. “It shouldn’t be too hard.”
“I’ll come too,” I offer, eager to get off the ship. “I could use some fresh air.”
“Next time,” Terra mumbles under her breath, still refusing to meet my eye. “It isn’t safe at night for a proper girl.”
I start to protest, but Ty pushes aside her bowl of fish guts and stands up to make it clear that she’ll go with Terra. She sheathes a knife in her apron, and my heart lurches. It takes everything in me to hold my ground. Now that I know the truth, it’s hard to look at Ty and Nezi the same way. Sensing my apprehension, Ty rolls her eyes and sighs. Between this and my comment about the Ka-Priest, I’ve worn out my welcome in the galley.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out and rush from the galley in haste.
I stumble down the passageway, bumping into walls that reek of mildew. I don’t need to go with Terra. I’ll write the letter on my own and sneak ashore while the curse wanes. Between the ship rocking to and fro and my mother’s news about Rudjek, I can’t think straight. His voice shatters like glass over and over in my mind. I will find you! I promise. Even if Arti is lying, how will he find me when we’re headed to some unknown place beyond the Kingdom?
The lanterns bolted to the bulkheads push back the shadows but not by much. On my way to my cabin, I run into one of the crew. The man passes so close that his sour breath brushes my ear. He leers at me, his greedy eyes crawling over the length of my body. The demon magic hums like a pet viper beneath my skin, begging me to wield it. The man steps closer. I take a step back. I know what the magic is capable of. I have only to want it, to command it, to guide it. That’s what I hadn’t understood at the sacred tree. There, I’d let it command me, now I command it . . . and it feels good.
The magic laps around the man and his jaw goes slack. He turns away from me, his legs stiff, and takes the hatch to another deck. He’ll go straight to his bunk and fall asleep soon. When he’s gone, I let out a heavy sigh and wipe sweat from my brow.
Once I’m in my cabin, I waste no time. The room is the size of my closet at home—the home I may never see again. There’s a bunk bed with a musky quilt and a lumpy mattress, and a desk next to it. I rummage through the desk drawer for papyrus and a stylus. When I find them, I wipe my palms on my trousers. My previous failure edges at the back of my mind, but I don’t think; I let the words flow. When stylus meets paper, the sudden freedom fills me with renewed hope.
I wonder how Grandmother will react to my letter, when I must dance around the topic. She knows me. She’ll see that something is wrong. With her ability to travel great distances through the spirit world, she’ll be able to find us and see for herself.
“What are you doing?” someone demands, startling me.
I let the papyrus roll shut, hiding my message from view. I whirl around to see Nezi standing with her back pressed against the door. She crosses her arms and clasps her elbows. I didn’t hear her knock or enter the room. “Nezi?” I clear my throat as a fog lifts from my mind. I’m out of breath and irritated that she’s disturbed me. “I was writing down my thoughts.” I shove aside my annoyance and choose my next words carefully so she doesn’t suspect my motives. “These are trying times.”
“Do you despise your mother so much that you’d say such horrible things?” Nezi asks. There’s no spite in her question, only curiosity and surprise. When I don’t answer, she adds, “I talked to Ty and Terra.”
The curse has loosened its hold on my tongue, and it’s my first chance to speak my mind since meeting Koré in the alley. “Does she hate the Vizier so much that she’s willing to do such horrible things?” I retort. “Or is she only doing his bidding?”