“You’re saying he’s blind?”
“For now. Sometimes the eyes repair themselves. Other times…”
“Wonderful. That makes everything easier. Simon?” She slapped him lightly on the cheek. “If you don’t move, I’m going to get angry.”
“Do it,” Simon whispered. “Get angry for me. Sweet, sweet Eliana.” He raised a trembling hand to her face, smoothed his thumb across her cheek. “It’s just what I want.”
“I’m hardly sweet,” she protested with a slightly nervous laugh. They ought to be moving, but she could not tear herself away from him.
“I can’t see you very well,” he said. “A blur of color, shadows for eyes, but I know your face even so. I’d know it anywhere.”
“You’re speaking nonsense. Do you know that?”
“I didn’t tell him anything,” Simon whispered urgently. “I would never. Never. Not about you. He could have cut on me until the end of time. He could have whispered in my ears until he killed me from the inside out.” He laughed again, but it sounded horribly sad. “It wouldn’t matter. I’d never tell him about you.”
She watched him struggle to his knees, dig for something in his trouser pocket.
“Where is it?” he whispered.
The ship shuddered once more. Rapid gunfire sounded from above; a horrible scraping sound shrieked along the hull.
“Simon, we have to go.”
“Where is it?” He yelled the question, a sob tearing his voice in two. “I lost it; I lost you!”
Then, with a small cry, he pulled a filthy rag from his pocket and held it out for Eliana to see.
“This,” he murmured, “belongs to you.”
She stared at the rag, at a loss. Was his mind breaking at last?
Hovering at Eliana’s elbow, Zahra shook her head. “I cannot see inside him. His thoughts are tangled with storms.”
“I tried to hold on to you.” Simon fumbled to fold the rag into her fingers. Then he lifted their joined hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “But I couldn’t. The thread was too strong for me. I was too young for it. And then your mother…”
“My mother.” The Blood Queen. If she believed that. Did she believe it? Tears gathered in her eyes. They didn’t have time for this, but if she moved away, the moment would snap, and she might never find it again. “Simon, what are you saying?”
“We are the only two left, Eliana. You and me. The only two who lived there.”
She ducked down to look at his face. “Where did we live? Tell me.”
“Celdaria.” He drew in a shuddering breath. “I tried to hold on to you, but time tore you away from me. We were only supposed to go to Borsvall. They were going to hide us from him.”
All the air left her lungs. Her mind raced. “From who? Corien?”
“He’ll never touch you. I lost you once, but I won’t ever again.”
She kept her hands folded around the little scrap of rag. Out of all things, she couldn’t move past one tiny question: “But, what is this?”
He looked down at the rag cupped in her palms and smiled.
“Your blanket.” The sorrow in his voice pierced her heart. “She wrapped you up in it, and when the thread ripped you out of my arms, it tore. I’ve kept this piece with me because it reminds me…of everything. Of home. We were so small, Eliana. And then I brought us here, and ruined everything. I failed you. I failed everyone!”
An explosion detonated; the ship rocked, heaving them both to the side.
“Eliana,” Zahra said tightly.
“I know.” Eliana cupped Simon’s face, looked into his ruined eyes. “We’re going to run now, and I can’t carry you. You have to help me. Just like you did before, in—” Her voice caught. Her necklace felt too sharp and cold beneath her shirt. “In Celdaria. Right?”
He nodded, then heaved himself to his feet. She propped him up against her side, slung her arm around his shoulder. Zahra leading the way, they limped out into the corridor and up the narrow stairs. Another explosion sounded, knocking them against the wall. Eliana hissed at the slam of Simon’s hard weight.
“Just give me a moment,” he said, his face tight with pain, “and then I’ll walk on my own.”
“I’m sorry, I know you’re hurt.”
“Don’t apologize to me, Eliana. Not ever.”
When they stepped outside onto the main deck, Eliana stopped cold.