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Perhaps she’s dead, the whispers cackle Good riddance Now you can finally be free of her torment
Fat drops of rain have started to fall I shaketo push away a blur of uncontrollable illusions, and turn around to head back down the ladder As the air beco until they shout inht burst In the corner of the ship,and stares at me ild eyes I s and look down My illusions cannot overwhelm me now, not here
The early raindrops turn into a torrent From the crow’s nest, one of our crew cries out, "Tie yourselves down!"
As I stuliainst the waves, nearly lost in the spray I can barely even stay on the ladder itself On the lower level, lanterns swing in the narrow corridors and I think I hear shouting co from the floor beneath me I pause The whispers in my head are restless--but this sounded real Still, I can’t bringI walk farther down the corridor until I reachseems muffled and distant, aside froainst wood
I make it to Violetta’s door, knock once, then step inside
She stirs on her bed, but does not look up at lance is all I need to know that she’s feverish, her eyelids fluttering, her dark hair das stand out pro her neck and ar under her breath Even in unconsciousness, she shifts uneasily when thunder rolls outside
She is getting worse, I realize as I stand over her Raffaele had thought that perhaps my nearness would slow her deteriorationbut now she looks even frailer than when I first saw her in Tamoura I look on for a moment as she turns in bed, her forehead slick with sweat, and then I sit down and brush her hand with in, to help us co your time here, say the whispers
A loud thud shakes the floorboards I startle and look back at the door It sounded like it came not from above deck, but fro of Inquisition boots, of a group of voices--but instead, the ship falls back into silence again
I frown For a nore it, but then I rise and leave Violetta’s side I step back into the hall of swinging lanterns
No one else is in the corridor
I clutcharound , and despite my attempts to concentrate, the walls blur into the floor and the floor blurs into the air, the lantern lights sether into faces and shapes The whispers turn into screaht shut the out the sound of the crashing ocean and eiano I remember his hand on ht reflected against his skin in the bathhouse Then I forceto steady One, two, three The hooked claws in my mind still, if only for a ain The sound of waves and shouts of men return from above deck
Then, another thud
It co Teren
A sense of dread creeps intohas happened--I can feel it I hesitate for an instant, wondering if ain The world seeh, and the whispers have lowered into a rumble Idown The ship pitches violently,A muffled thunderclap sounds outside The stor
The end of the corridor is pitch-black, and as the ship rolls, an extinguished lantern tulass broken I reach out tentatively with my power There’s fear here, the fear that comes with pain As I walk closer, I realize that there are two shapes lying on the floor, one of theuards stationed to watch Teren
Teren’s door is side open
My heart leaps into ht as a deafening clap of thunder shakes the ship I whirl around and hurry toward the ladder The back ofas I wonder whether Teren is hiding in the shadows But I know he’s no longer down here
I cli the corridor of our other quarters "Violetta?" I shout as I go "Magiano! Teren is gone!"
No one answers As the ship careens,wildly, I rush to the ladder leading to the deck and start clio, in a storm like this? We can’t lose him We need hih the air before I even see it So--fate, er buries deep into the wood of the ladder I look back to see one ofatan illusion of invisibility over ht and dart out of his way The Inquisitor stabs down at empty air, then blinks in confusion and whirls around He is afraid now too, and his terror feeds th "Show yourself, deainst my ribs So--another rebel--just like the one who had attacked rit my teeth and throw an illusion of pain at him But my concentration flickers, and I shudder into existence for a fraction of an instant It is enough for the Inquisitor to see ain, even as he howls in pain at my illusion