In the Veins of the Drowning(35)

I stilled. Blood raged through my ears. “Gods’ power…” I breathed through the light feeling that began to fill my head. “No. You’re… no—”

His acerbic tone fled, and he sounded suddenly like he was speaking to some spooked creature that was a moment away from a rampage. “I believe you’re the daughter of the Great Goddess Ligea.”

My thoughts came clipped and quickly. Theodore telling me he knew me. The Great Goddess Ligea’s statue in Nemea’s ritual room, her face chiseled to dust. I supported myself against the back of the settee.

I’d already given my word to Theodore, and it was my bleeding duty to honor it. I’d likely die trying. “Not possible,” I squeaked. The sickness from our bond had settled, but I still felt ill.

“You have her face.”

I shook my head. “That’s why… that’s why you look at me like that… isn’t it?” I needed air. I needed to move. On weak knees, I bolted for the unlocked door and ran out onto the ship’s deck. It teemed with sailors.

My feet slapped over the damp planks as I wove through the crew. The sky was a fiery red now and the salt wind whipped at my hot cheeks. Sea mist fell over me like the gentlest rain, sparking over my skin, clinging to the silk of my borrowed gown. I ran straight from the stern of the ship to the bow.

Behind me, Theodore’s voice boomed. “Everyone belowdecks. Now.”

I only heard the clomp of boots as the crew obeyed. The ship captain echoed the king, hurrying the sailors away. But I didn’t watch them go; I bent over the ship’s rail, not taking my burning eyes off the water. Though it frightened me to no end, though I dreaded what sort of monster it might make of me, I preferred its horrific mystery to what Theodore seemed so certain of.

He came up behind me with slow steps. “Lady Imogen…”

I whirled. “You ass. You sneaky, egotistical—this is just another ploy to keep me under your thumb, to use me.”

The wind ran through his dark hair like fingers; it tugged at his black shirt. “No. That’s why I need you to get the prophecy from the Mage Seer,” he said, soft, impassive. “She will tell you the truth.”

“What do you care whether I believe it or not?” My hands were fists, clinging to my now-damp dress. “I have this power—that I cannot control in the slightest, mind you. Why not just force me to use it regardless of whether a prophecy proves you right?”

He gave me a sullen look. “I do not wish to force you—”

“Oh, how good of you. Thank you, Your Majesty.” I gave an angry laugh. “You want me to want to go on a mortal hunt for a powerful deity, because it’s my divine duty.” My anger was wholly untethered, whipping through me. “And what could possibly be more rewarding than fulfilling it? Who wouldn’t want to die a hero in service of one’s king? I have no desire to be like you—” I jabbed a finger against his chest. “To scrape myself empty for others and call it noble.”

He’d gone rigid, eyes locked with mine. There was only the sound of the wind snapping through the sails. The sea crashing against the hull. That plucking sensation came again in my chest, deep in the middle, and I wished I could cut it out. Theodore and I stood still before one another, an abyss between us. I saw no way of bridging it.

I didn’t bother trying to stifle the tears that rolled down my face. Theodore looked… stunned. Helpless. He blinked too much; his full mouth opened and closed as his mind clearly reeled.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I demanded, through my weeping.

He shook his head. “I… I don’t know what to do with you.”

I swiped the windblown hair from where it stuck to my wet cheeks. “You do. You’re sending me to my death—”

“Stop. No.” He covered his face in his hands for a moment. “Right now. With you… emotional… in front of me.”

I cast my gaze out over the horizon, toward the red, sinking sun. I tried to school my features, steady my breaths. The ship pitched and swayed, and even I knew that the crew would need to return to their posts soon to keep us on course. One last deep breath of salt air. “Another day and this bond will settle. Then we can both enjoy some space from one another,” I said, gaze stuck on the last dash of sunlight. Without glancing back at him, I started for the confines of the stateroom. His warm hand wrapped around my wrist. I glared down at it, then up into his eyes.

They bored into me with a fathomless expression. “An embrace,” he said.

“A what?”

He tugged on my arm, forcing me a step closer. “Lachlan said an embrace—closeness—might help ease things.”

Had he not had the direst look on his face and a patch of red creeping over the top of his collar, I would have thought the suggestion was in jest. I might have laughed at the ridiculousness of it had my chest not felt like it were caving in.

I gave my head a confused shake. “You hate me.”

His brow pinched. “I don’t—”

“You called me a gnat.”

“Imogen.” His grip tightened on my wrist, and I stopped breathing. “I would like to find a way to make you feel better right now.” His voice was all warmth, curling around me. “This is what I can offer.”

I thought of our escape, when he’d held me to calm my shaking body and how the bond in my belly had glowed. I remembered the outline of him, the feel of his heart beating against my spine. The memories alone filled me with frisson.