“While I am flattered by your concern about my well-being,” he said, in about the most pompous tone possible, “focus on finding the sword. Not me.”
She shut her mouth but wondered about the charm. Why didn’t he make one for every Nightshade? Was it rare? Did he want his people to stay cursed?
A small boat with paddles floated at the docks, waiting for them. Grim couldn’t portal them to the thieves, lest the sword be there and sense his power. Isla had asked if she could use her starstick, and he had said no.
She tried to grab one of the paddles, but he snatched it out of her hand. She sat behind him, watching his back as the muscles rolled. The sight should have disgusted her.
She wished it disgusted her.
It was miles to the isle. His paddling never weakened.
“It’s surprising,” she said, staring at him. The ocean was dark as ink around them. The moon was a paltry crescent.
She thought he was going to ignore her, but after a few minutes, he said in an annoyed voice, “What, pray tell, is so surprising?”
He was facing the opposite direction. She couldn’t see his expression, and perhaps that made her bold. “Your flair is portaling. You can go anywhere without lifting a finger. Yet . . . you climb quickly. You can paddle well. You are . . . muscled.”
“Ogling my body, Hearteater?” he asked.
Isla’s cheeks burned. She was suddenly extremely grateful they weren’t facing each other. “Only in your dreams,” she said.
He sighed. “Is there a question?”
“Yes. It’s been hundreds of years since war. You can portal anywhere with half a thought. Why keep up with your . . . fitness regimens? Why . . . when you have so much ability?”
“I have never relied solely on my powers,” he said. “A person’s mettle is determined by who they are beneath them.” He turned to look at her, lip curled in disgust. “And only a fool waits to prepare for a war until one is declared.”
She was silent after that, until the boat roughly washed up onto the pebbled rocks of the isle.
He turned to look at her. “I won’t save you,” he warned. “If it’s you or the sword, it will not be a difficult decision. I will find a way to get it without you.”
“I am aware,” she said through her teeth.
“Good.”
The thieves’ base was a tall structure with long and rectangular windows, all covered with thick fabric, which made their approach much easier.
“We look for the sword. If we don’t find it, we get information,” he said.
The first window they approached was unlocked and unguarded. Grim opened it from the bottom, and they slipped through without issue. Isla supposed the thieves weren’t worried about any Nightshade visiting their isle at night. Who would be able to?
Inside, there was only silence.
“I’ll search the top floors,” Grim said. He swept past her, leaving her alone. The room was unremarkable. Just a place to store supplies, by the looks of it. She removed the top of a barrel and found some sort of alcohol. Before she left, she listened.
There wasn’t any noise in the hall either. Maybe the thieves were asleep?
She crept along the first floor, going from room to room. One looked like a kitchen. One had a few tables. The walls were stone. Wind whistled through large cracks. It was freezing.
Isla finally reached a hall, lined in windows. She carefully pulled part of one of the curtains away. The sea crashed nearby. The slice of moon illuminated the water. She saw its reflection in the waves.
She pushed the curtain back into place, then walked backward, admiring the high ceiling. Wondering if Grim was almost done searching the top floors.
She didn’t even hear them coming until a blade was already against her throat. “I wonder what you might go for,” the voice in her ear said.
Training overruled panic. In a flash, she grabbed his arms with both hands and pulled, giving some distance between the blade and her neck. She curved her shoulder up, bent under his arms, hands still gripped on his wrists, twisted to his side—and stabbed him with his own dagger, over and over and over. Terra had tested her in this exact scenario.
The man slumped to the ground. He looked surprised to see blood puddling next to him. He was still alive, just in shock. She couldn’t afford to be. She took a step, and two more Nightshades were on her.
She reached for her blade, and they reached for theirs.
They struck first. Isla dodged the first man’s blows, steel echoing through the room. More would come. She knew that.
Where was Grim? Had he searched the floors already? Had he run into his own trouble?
She remembered his words. He wouldn’t save her. She needed to save herself.
The next man struck, and Isla raced to defend from both sides. Sweat shot down her temple. She had never fought like this before. Training was one thing . . . real fighting was another. One of the Nightshades aimed for her head and just barely missed.
Her fingers felt around the side of her pants, slipping into the specially designed pockets that held her throwing blades. It wasn’t her dominant hand, but Terra had ensured she was proficient in both. She gripped the blades between her fingers and threw them at one of the men, just as he was going for another blow.
One landed in the middle of his chest. The other landed in the middle of his throat. He looked down briefly before falling forward, accidentally impaling himself on his own sword.
Nausea rolled through her stomach. She had just killed her first person that she knew of . . . Should she feel guilty? He had been attacking her. But she had invaded his home . . .
The blow came out of nowhere. The other man struck the side of her head with the hilt of his blade, and she immediately fell to the floor. Her ears rang. Blood dripped down her temple.
He could have killed her, but he didn’t. Which meant he was thinking of other uses for her. Anger and fear made her breathing uneven.
In the fall, she had dropped her sword. The Nightshade approached. He kicked her weapon out of reach, and the metal clattered against the marble floor. He smiled as he walked toward her. His eyes roamed down her body in a way that made her want to retch.
“I think I’ll keep you for myself,” he said. “I like them with a little fight.”
Grim. Where was he? Was he coming?
The man stepped forward. From this angle, he was framed by the window curtain behind him. He grinned as he approached. He wanted to be closer to her. He wanted to be pressed against her.
She decided to give him exactly what he wanted.
Before she could have second thoughts, Isla rushed to her feet and shoved herself against him with a roar, his blade slicing her arm in the process. He tensed in confusion. She pushed as hard as she could—
And sent them both crashing through the window. The curtain ripped away. Glass shattered.
The man screamed for half a second before his entire body melted into ash beneath her. She gasped and accidentally inhaled some of it. The rest stuck to the blood on her arms and face.
Isla stood on shaking legs, caked in what was left of the man. She turned very slowly to see Grim standing in the hall, staring at her through what remained of the window.
She bent over and retched.
Grim just watched her as she walked through the open hole in the wall. She used one of the other curtains to try to get the ashes off her. “Did you find it?” she asked before heaving again.
“No,” he said. “But I found him.”
That was when she noticed the Nightshade on the floor, bound and gagged. “I’ve asked you three times about the sword,” Grim said. “I’ve described it in detail. You know what I am referring to. Now, for the last time. Where is it? Is it here?” He ripped the fabric from the man’s mouth.
The Nightshade made a sound like a whimper. He shook his head.
Grim sighed. “I really didn’t want to get my sword dirty,” he said.
Then he cut off the man’s hand.
The Nightshade screamed a wild sound. She watched the man’s hand spasm on the ground and felt like she was going to be sick again.