Witch Fall(115)

Lilette hesitated.

“You have the power to do it,” Nassa cried. “I’ve seen it!”

The panic in Lilette’s chest turned to something else—something dark like the shadows around the stars. As her chant built, the elements turned toward her, eager and hungry for her command—almost as if they knew they’d been used for evil and were eager to right the wrong.

Her voice lashed out like a whip, calling down lightning from the clear sky. It slammed into the ship. Once, twice, three times. Flames licked across the bloody deck.

Their boat picked up speed, fast enough that they’d left the guardians in the water behind. And Lilette knew what she had to do. She sang a current, one strong enough to pull them to her island.

The fire grew higher, spreading faster than the guardians could fight it. The screams started. It was the screams that brought the memory crashing down on her. This wasn’t the first time she’d escaped from a burning ship. Not the first time those she loved had died. Her eyes wide with horror, she swung around to face Han.

“You’re safe,” he said, relief in his voice. And then he collapsed.





Chapter 39



Han fell from his father’s grace and wore the brand of that encounter on his face the rest of his days. ~Jolin



The boat was packed with survivors. Through the dark night, no one spoke. No one made eye contact. Besides Lilette and the others, none of the Harshens seemed to know each other. They were a smattering of living who survived their dead.

Lilette was crammed in one end of the boat, Han’s head on her lap. He hadn’t opened his eyes since he’d collapsed. Hadn’t even flinched when she’d wrapped his wounds with strips from her robe. And that knife wound in his chest—she couldn’t think about that. She was safe here in this empty place. If she allowed herself to think, the emotions would kill her.

“There!” Nassa cried. “I see it.”

Everyone in the boat whipped around. Lilette didn’t need to. She knew the shape of her island by heart. They drew closer, passing battered ships and boats. Hundreds of haggard Harshens lined the beach, their forms dark against the moon-bright sand.

Some of the men in their boat took the oars and steered them neatly between the other vessels. Their boat pushed right up against the beach and began tipping to the side. The people inside spilled out onto the sand.

Galon knelt before her and gently lifted Han, passing him carefully to another man. The two of them carried him to a bright spot of fire, Lilette following numbly. The people made room for the men to set Han down beside the warmth. She took up her place beside him, watching his breath rise and fall for what felt like days.

Jolin suddenly appeared, plants filling her arms. She set them down and came back with two rocks, which she used to crush some of the plants. Others she laid whole on Han’s wounds.

Lilette watched her. “Why?” she finally asked.

Jolin froze and then started working again. “I didn’t know. Not all of it.”

Galon looked between them. “I’m going to see if anyone needs help. Call if you need me.” He squeezed Jolin’s shoulder and left.

Lilette felt no anger, no pain. She was in a place as vast and empty as the night sky. “I don’t believe you.”

Jolin’s shoulders slumped, but she didn’t stop working. “I helped them develop the veil. I gave them all my research. Dozens of new concepts—including one with variations of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal.” She looked over the ocean. “They tricked me, but only because I let them. I’m smart enough to put the pieces together—smart enough to know the pieces didn’t fit into the picture they were showing me. But by then I had already done so much for them.”

“And now they don’t need you anymore.” Lilette’s words tasted bitter. “They have all your potions and research.”

Jolin gently opened Han’s mouth and set the mashed leaves inside. “No. I wanted credit for my discoveries, so I always supplied some of the potions—I’m the only one who knows all the ingredients. It’s why they took me with them when they left.”

Lilette stared off into the darkness. “Did you know they were going to sink the island?”

“No,” Jolin said simply.

Lilette rested her hand on Han’s cheek. It was cold, but she had no blanket. She took off her robe and laid it over him, leaving her in nothing but her smallclothes.

Jolin watched her. “When they turned our ship and I realized what they were going to do, they locked Galon and me in my cabin. We dumped every single one of my books out the porthole.”

Lilette’s head came up in surprise. There was nothing Jolin treasured more than her books.