The Reckless Reign (Book 3, The Culled Crown Series)

Chapter 50

Reubinon Palace, Pellarmus.
The day of the voyage to Erydia.

It was a bold move, hiding me in plain sight. Jaxon was gambling on me blending in with the other soldiers and, as we stepped onto the deck of The Felice, I realized that it was a good bet.

Most people, especially those who were used to living in a palace, had become accustomed to the presence of guards—so used to seeing them that it was as if they were invisible. And now, leaning against one of the railings, my arm pressed to Jaxon's, both of us staring at nothing, I was invisible too.

I stood unnoticed by anyone, as my friends boarded the ship. I waited for one of them to realize I was absent, for someone to be angry, for Nadia or Cohen or even Heidi to demand someone go back and get me. But no one said a word.

As dawn broke and the sailors aboard The Felice scurried to prepare to leave dock, I watched as my friends went to their assigned cabins, none of the concerned that I was still presumably locked in my bedroom. None of them appeared even slightly worried that I wasn't there.

Good goddess, they were really going to leave me.

Or, they'd wanted to.

Next to me, Jaxon was quiet. Even as other soldiers, men and women he knew, stopped to try to chat with him. He kept his back to the ship, his attention on the horizon, on where we were heading. I knew part of his reason for not engaging was because he didn't want to have to explain me to anyone, but there was something else there too—a jaw clenching sort of anxiety.

I turned towards the railing, mirroring his posture as I said, "You're on edge. Is it me?"

His lips twitched and he shrugged. "Yes. Yes and no. I don't like boats. Don't really like the ocean much either. The idea of being stuck in the middle of so much water for so much time..." A shiver went down his spine. "I'll be happy when we're back on dry land."

I nodded. "It isn't my favorite thing either."

"You never showed me, you know."

"Show you what?"

He glanced my way, the first time he'd taken his eyes from the brightening sky ahead of us. "Your ability. It's fire, right? I overheard some people talking about it. But you never showed me."

I smiled. "I used it on every run we went on."

His brow furrowed. "Really? But I never saw—"

"Here." I turned from him and searched the bustling deck.

My friends had already boarded and now we were just waiting for Darragh to give the signal and for our captain to take us from port. I nodded to a barrel fire a few feet away from us. A few soldiers milled about, their hoods drawn against the morning's chill and their hands outstretched towards the low-burning flames.

I waited until I was sure Jaxon was watching and then I lifted the flames higher. A few of the soldiers stepped back, cursing under their breaths as the heat scalded their hands.

Beside me, Jaxon grinned. "So," he said, turning back to the railing, "you were doing that on our runs? Every single time?"

"Did you think I just had a thing for exercise?"

He snorted at that. "I thought you had a thing for torture. Truly. One more run and I think I would have jumped off a cliff myself."

"No. Torture is Heidi's ability, not mine. I just used the runs as an excuse to get out. I do like to go on runs though. It helps relieve some stress."