“I haven’t slept at all. Wha—what happened to your tail?” It was the first time I’d examined him closely in his wolf form. There was a dark stump where his tail should have been.

Micah growled. “Rhys sliced it off.”

“Oh my God.”

“He healed it. Doesn’t hurt any more.” Micah shook his head. “Anyway, who are you most looking forward to seeing when we return?”

Still eyeing his wound, I said, “My family. What about you?”

“Kira,” he said, without a moment’s hesitation.

“Who’s Kira?”

“She’s one of the wolves who came with us to The Shade, and a friend of mine… but I’m trying to gather the courage to ask her to be my mate.”

“Ohh.” So my suspicions were correct. Rhys had fed me a pack of lies. “Why haven’t you already?”

“She doesn’t know that I’m in love with her. I suppose I’m worried how she’ll take it.”

I felt a pang of guilt as his words reminded me of my best friend. Griff. I missed him so much. I hoped he’d been doing okay in my absence. I still couldn’t shake the pain I felt for having turned him down. I hoped that he would find someone else so he could stop thinking about me.

I hoped that Kira wouldn’t friendzone Micah the way I’d done Griff.

“You should ask her as soon as we get back,” I said. “I don’t think you should delay it any longer. You’re a great guy, Micah. You’ve nothing to be afraid of. Just tell her how you feel and she’ll either say yes or no. At least you’ll have done your part.”

“Thank you, princess. You know, I think I will.” He paused. “By the way, I still haven’t asked you. Do you know what Rhys used me for?”

I gave him a grim smile. I was about to answer when Caleb swore behind us. Micah and I whirled around to see him gripping the wheel so hard his arm muscles bulged beneath his shirt.

We hurried over to him. “What?”

“Something has gone wrong,” he said through gritted teeth. “The boat is swerving off course. Way off course.”

“What do you mean?” Micah asked.

“It’s stuck on starboard.”

My heartbeat doubled as I tried to help Caleb—as if my help would make a difference. Micah was still in his wolf form since the sun still hadn’t emerged from the horizon, so without his grip, there was nothing he could do to help.

Caleb stared at the two of us, his face lined with worry.

“Something very strange is going on,” he breathed.

No sooner had he said the words than footsteps climbed the wooden stairs behind us. A tall woman with long light blonde hair emerged from the dark staircase, wearing a flowing green gown.

She smiled faintly at us, her blue eyes sparkling. “It’s not all that strange,” she said.

Chapter 30: Caleb

I had a split second to make a decision. Trust this witch enough to hear her out, or flee while we could. But trust and witch weren’t two words that belonged together in a sentence. At least, not in my world.

I threw myself at Rose, scooping her up as I raced across the deck and dove into the sea. I hoped that Micah would follow my lead. I held Rose close as I kicked down hard. But I couldn’t risk staying under water for long. Her human lungs weren’t capable of holding in oxygen for a tenth as long as mine could.

When Rose’s arms tightened around me, I surfaced for her to gasp for breath. I threw a glance back over my shoulder. We were still in close proximity to the boat, the witch still standing on the deck. I was relieved to see Micah’s shadow swimming beneath the water alongside us, a few meters away. I allowed Rose five seconds to recover before I dipped under again.

But this time, as I tried to push us deeper, my legs froze. As much as I tried to kick, they wouldn’t budge an inch. When Rose began to grow restless again, I had no choice but to surface. This time when I raised my head above the water, we were but three feet away from the hull of the ship. The beautiful witch looked down at us. My heart raced and I struggled to kick down again, but it was useless. I looked around for Micah, hoping he could take Rose, but I couldn’t see him. Perhaps he too had been paralyzed somewhere, engulfed by the rough waves.

Rose’s grip around my neck tightened, her whole body trembling. I held her tighter, trying to let her draw strength from me even though I was barren of it myself.

Chills ran down my spine as the witch began to speak. Her voice was calm and smooth, almost melodious.

“After all the trouble I went to trying to keep you two safe—first diverting the warlock, then protecting you on your journey back—I would have thought you’d at least have the courtesy to hear me out. Don’t you want to know who I am and why I’ve done all this?”

I glared up at her, though I kept my mouth sealed.

“My name is Hermia Adrius, sister of Thalia Adrius, present ruler and Ageless of The Sanctuary. I’m here to guide you to safety. You cannot return to The Shade.”

“Why not?” I growled.

“It’s no longer safe. The island’s protective spell collapsed under pressure of the black witches. They’ve now taken over. You must come with me if you want to survive.”

Rose stopped breathing, every last drop of blood draining from her face.

“Even if your words are true, why would you want to help us?” I spat. “You owe us nothing. Why should I trust a word that comes out of your lips?”