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"Hands on the side," he says inyour legs over"

He lifts; I scrae, but I make it in I slide over on the bench to ives him a boost Then Hector and Belén vault over the side

Hector unties the thick rope holding us to the piling and coils it into the prow He pulls one oar frorabs the other With a dip and a swish, Hectorhis oar as a pole against the pilings Together they weave us out from under the dock and into open sea

I take a deep breath, relieved to have gotten this far The night is warone soon, even wet as I am Before us, the moonlit harbor is dotted with ships and slance?

At e net, a floppy wide-bri supplies: a dagger, bone hooks, twine, weights We’ve co boat

I whisper, "Should we pretend to fish or so?"

"In deeper water,ti he thinks we’ll be trapped in this boat whensharp andwatched I twist around to look at the city we leave behind My hand flies to y se

No wonder the sky was so bright No wonder we got away so easily My plan to create chaos worked too well "What have I done?" I whisper Mara turns to see what has caught my attention and lets out a little "Oh!" of diset away," Belén says "It’s just a few buildings"

Looking closer, it seems that only three, maybe four, structures are on fire Still, I worry for the people who lived and worked there Are they burning in the flaet out safely, I have destroyed their livelihoods The King’s Inn has stood on that spot for over a century

Is it really worth it, to destroy someone’s life to save my own? Even if I am the queen?

I turn my back to the flames and squeeze my eyes closed Now that we are away fro,What if they can’t contain the blaze?

I consider ordering Hector to turn us around, to face this thing I’ve done, to ht But now is not the time I must find the way that leads to life and the zafira; my country depends on it I just hope that once we’ve found it, h the bay, weaving between hulking ships Figures h it is not yet dawn Shadowy shapes stand at the rails, gazing toward the conflagration Surely they will turn toward us at any

But they don’t As we leave the bay and aio, still fading to deepest black along the watery horizon Shadowy but glorious estates dot the rolling hills and cliffs above us, with vined trellises and marble statues and sandstone terraces Soon we pass beyond even these The waters are caloes by We are alone, and very srows labored As the sun peeks over the hills, its light catches on the sweat of his brow and shoulders He closes his eyes, hardens his jaw, and keeps rowing

Belén struggles too Sweat runs fro his face in a gruesome patina of red and black There must have been a lot of blood Cauldrons of it, for sorate

I wonder when they last slept? Certainly not last night; Belén was tracking an Invierne spy, and Hector was ements for an escape that came too soon

"Hector" I lean forward and put a hand on his wrist

He looks up, startled, blinking sweat from his eyes

"Rest," I say "Both of you We are alone and safe for now"

"We have to keep going," he says "Felix’s ship will--"

"On my order, you will rest I need you sharp Mara and I will row for a bit And if a ship comes into viee’ll rouse you"

He lifts his shirt to wipe his eyes, and I can’t help notice his sto yard I s hard

Hector rests the oar on his lap and rolls his shoulders to loosen them "Have you rowed before?"

"No"

"Mara?"

"Me neither," she says

"I refuse to row," Storure it out Close your eyes so you don’t see how eratified to see his glimmer of a smile

"Trade places with rabs e to squeeze past each other I settle on the bench and grab the oar, saying, "There’s plenty of water in my pack Help yourself You should probably rinse the water skin first, though; it’s covered in sewage"

He does exactly that while Mara and Belén trade places; then, using my pack as a pillow, he slides under the bench and closes his eyes Belén stretches out beside hi and a few hard knocks against the side of the boat, we slowly push south

As the sun rises, the surface of the water beco Hoe ever find a single ship out here? What if it takes us days? Will our drinking water last that long? Though surrounded by water, we are as alone and barren as if we traveled the deep desert

In no ti burns with effort; ertips are rubbed raw Every stroke asp for breath Mara and I switch sides so we can abuse a different set of

To keep aze at Hector He sleeps soundly, his chest rising and falling with deep, even breaths His features have softened, and the hair at his tehtly parted

My lips tingle to remember his kiss It was desperate and tender and wholly unexpected--and as easy as breathing

Later, e’ve found this mysterious ship of Hector’s and are safely ahen I have time to rest and worry and a quiet corner to hide in, I will coldly reic And I will i off the man I love to marry my sister I’ll rehearse it in

But not no, as I roard an uncertain destination, his kiss still throbbing onhim sleep

Chapter 21

STORM is the one who spots the ship "There!" He points