Rina slept the rest of the day and through the night. She woke with a pounding head and a body that felt as thick and slow as molasses. Fin jumped up from his pallet at the end of the bed—violet eyes rimmed with red, his caramel hair askew—and raced to the kitchen, returning with boiled eggs, cheese, black bread and tea with rum.

Despite the taste, the tea helped her to force the food down. When she was done, she sank back down under the sheets.

Fin had none of it, though. "You've slept enough. Time for you to take some fresh air—and I have meetings before we dock at Cartho."

Much as she wanted to stay where she was, her bladder had been full, and the thought of the sun on her skin and the kiss of the wind made her smile.

Now she sat on a wicker chair on the poop deck, the shore a green-brown streak. A crystal on a woven cord hung around her neck.

"Rub it," Fin had said as he cupped her face with a calloused hand. "If anything happens. If you need anything."

Yet again, her hand reached for it, involuntarily—or was it the other crystal? She wasn't sure.

'Rina," came a puffed voice. "How are you?"

She turned at Sara's words. Sara climbed the stairs. Dark smudges surrounded her eyes, the skin below them like deflated puddings.

"Sara, you look horrible!"

The woman laughed. "I can't say you look much better."

Making to stand, Rina scoffed. "Unlikely. Here, you need to rest."

Sara finished the climb and went to the balustrade, leaning against it with her forearm, waving away the offer of the seat with one hand. "No bother, I'll lay down soon. I just needed to breathe some air."

Reclining back in the chair, Rina nodded. "Is it only you up here?"

With a jerk of her head, Sara indicated the direction of the main deck. "A few of them came up, but most of them are resting before the others come."

That caused Rina to pause. "Others? I thought we were stopping for supplies."

A rueful smile crooked Sara's lips, like a bent reed. "Supplies, yes, including Mai's chosen, and those who have turned their back on him." Sighing, she leaned further, for a moment, her attention taken up by the water below.

Rina waited.

Sara straightened and turned back to Rina. "What have you heard of the changes?"

"Changes," Rina asked. "You mean in the Carnelian Way?"

"That, among other things. I also thought of the attitude of our people."

Rina furrowed her brow, uncertain how to respond. Did Sara refer to treason? She didn't know if Sara knew of her family's history. The execution of her parents had been public, but after executions, the Magisterium discouraged their discussion. She recalled something Pietro had said: They killed them to put fear into our hearts, then banished their memory. Like they never existed. Like they lived and died for nothing. She didn't want to bring Sara's awareness to her checkered past unnecessarily.

In the end, she just shook her head.

Something that might have been disappointment flashed across Sarah's eyes and Rina thought she detected the faintest slump in her posture.

"The Carnelian Way has been weakening. Why?" A shrug. "I imagine Mai, or the Magisterium, will tell us when we arrive in Nebia. Magister Nab spoke to you of the taint. That's always been there. But something is missing." Sara's gaze returned to the rocking blue and the thickening line on the horizon. Even exhausted, the woman's shoulders were straight. "I thought you might know more, seeing as you're treated differently."

Rina shifted in the seat. "It's only because I'm a coward."

The bark of Sara's laughter startled her. Sara's wan face now had hints of pink dusting its cheeks. A small vein bulged on her forehead. "Don't think you're treated like this because you have a phobia—you're a fool if you do." She shook her head, the edge of her smile twitching like a caterpillar reaching from one leaf to another. "Didn't you wonder why Mehdi behaved the way he did? It's not just because he fancies the pretty captain. He was dragged down, and I spent most of the day alternating between calming him and vomiting in a bucket. You're special to him."

"I already said, there's nothing between us. It's forbidden."

Sara's raised her hands, palms outstretched. "Calm down, Rina. I never said there was."

"You sure implied it."

For a moment, Sara's eyes reached heavenward. Behind her, the sea had lightened, and Rina saw the undulation of hills, the grey of cliffs, and patches of cream sand.

"I'll take that—though it's not what I meant. My point was, it does happen—affairs. Sometimes we had to... take certain interventions—which is one of the reasons they keep us separate from the Euran's.

The roll of Rina's stomach brought the dregs of tea and rum up her throat. Nausea washed over her, hot and cold.

Sara didn't seem to notice this. One of her hands held fast to the banister, while the rest of her body inclined toward Rina. Intrigue laced her words as she said, "Think about it. This proximity would never be allowed in Amadore, so why is it now?"

Rina sat up in her seat. "Because—"

Why the hell was it happening? The Denese didn't take lovers, not like the Euran's. Certainly not from them. They were matched based on compatibility, and if lucky, it was a good match. Not like Pietro and Uma, who's union lacked love, respect and children.

Over the years, she'd seen plenty of young Euran fieldhands walking hand in hand, kissing, and on a couple of occasions, when they thought they were the last, or the first, in the fields, doing far more against a cart or in a pile of hay. She knew how it worked. Olav had been the closest she got to a lover. Secret eyes, fingers entwined in the shadows of the alley, and one stolen kiss.

Rina did not doubt that if his mother hadn't been Media, he would have been whipped. As for the Denese, in addition to the lash, the worst punishment for being with a Euran was banishment to the mines in the Devastation, the minimum, an early assignment to a mate.

So why hadn't she been punished? Media knew something happened between her and Olav. Her looks made that clear. Yet, they'd done nothing. Nothing. Now, this.

Sara's head tilted to the side. Her dark eyes were large and seemed to see through her skin to the wrong and twisted things within her.

"Rina?"

She blinked. "Yeah?"

"You didn't finish your sentence."

"No. I..." She swallowed. "I suppose I don't have the words."

Sara nodded. "Nor do I."

A quiet sigh escaped Sara. She slid to the floor, and once again waved Rina away when she began to stand. "I think I might rest here awhile, in the sun. It's important, the sun. Did you know our bodies drink from it? It gives us energy."

Rina didn't, though the sentiment resonated with her—she'd noticed the change in her mood with the seasons.

"Wake me, when we get close, will you?"

Rina shook Sara awake an hour or so later, after giving up on calling out her name.

They had sailed through a narrow bay and now approached a harbour filled with small ships and watercraft. Beyond it rose the sprawl of a city. Similar in size to Amadare, but less dense. It had no outer walls. Instead, the stone and clay shingle buildings perched both on the thin track of flat coast and the steep hills behind it.

"Huh?" grunted Sara, body jerking.

"We're here."

"What?"

"We're at Cartho."

Sara propped herself up from the ground with one arm. She brushed back a sweep of her hair, then pressed her temples with thumb and forefinger.

"I shouldn't have done that."

Rina's eyelids were as heavy as wet wool. The thought of curling up on the floor sounded like heaven to her, and she said as much.

With a grunt, Sara pushed up. One ankle rolled, and she wobbled on it, before righting herself and yawning.

Rina yawned, too. Her body felt light and tingly—like if she didn't stay grounded, she would float away. She yawned again and rocked on her feet.

Sara chuckled. "They're more catching than the cold." Her hands ran back and forth over the smooth wood of the railing. "I'm so glad to see land again."

"Me too," agreed Rina. "Do you think they'll let us leave the ship?"

In answer, Sara arched one brow, the sun's kiss just visible on one side of her face, a long crease from a gap in the decking on the other. "Perhaps some of us." She sucked in her top lip and waggled her eyebrows.

The gesture made Rina feel like a scolded child, and she scowled. Her mouth opened, but before she could, Sara lifted her palms in placation again, and Rina's teeth snapped together.

They drew ever closer to the city. The sun arked toward noon, sparkling off the blue-green water. A dark line slunk a meter across the rocks of the water's edge, delineating the level at high tide. The vessel began to rise, the mages using the Carnelian Way to bring the deep-drafted ship as close to land as possible. Rina's body loosened, and she almost fell. Beside her, Sara dropped again.

"Shit! Sara, are you okay."

Sara swatted Rina's hands away. "Yes, yes. Just too much sun. I'm used to being indoors on solid ground."

Frowning, Rina left Sara to pull herself up and walked toward the steps. She could see down to the main deck where two sailors hooked their arms under the armpits of a young Denese woman and hoisted her, feet dragging, towards the hatch. Breath hitching, she pulled back, a hiss escaping her lips.

"What is it, Rina?"

Rina turned to Sara, debating whether to tell her and decided against it. The news would only distress Sara. She was tired, and the girl would be fine. She was Mai's chosen.

"Nothing. My mind got the better of me is all."

A smile bloomed on Sara's face. "They have the way of doing that, especially on this ship.

Rina smiled back with genuine warmth. Not since Martha left for Nebia had she been so comfortable with another person.

The peeling of bells from Cartho broke the spell.

☆☽○☾☆

A/N: 

Hi there, thank you again for reading. I hope you enjoyed it—if you did, please consider pushing that star.

Don't forget to let me know if something didn't make sense (if you have the time). I'm hoping to get this drafted in time for a solid edit before the Watty's deadline *fingers crossed.