These Gilded Seas

Chapter Thirty-Four: In the Final Hours

The rest of my night is fitful. I don't sleep for more than a few hours because I keep waking up to check on Finn. He seems to either be asleep or dead, but I refuse to acknowledge the second as a true option.

Pink dawn starts to peek through the windows, and the other girls around me begin to wake up. Most of them shuffle to the bathing room right away, but some sit on their beds for a while, trying to wake up. Amaia arrives some time later and passes out steaming cups of morning tea.

Her eyes skim over me, but she doesn't stop. I'm still sitting in the same spot I was last night, propped up on my pillow, clutching Finn's pendant and trying not to panic about everything. Like it wasn't enough to have Eero away. Now this.

I want to tell someone, to get it all off my chest, but I can't.

If I involve Amaia or Josef, I'm dragging them further into my mess, and that could mean putting them in danger. They'd both want to be my refuge, to protect me from the evil chasing me, but... they can't. I've done this to myself, and I need to fix it.

By myself.

I just have to... get back to the water. Beg Zula. Barter something else away to him. I have to figure something out.

Too bad Finn's not here. He's the calm to my impulsivity. The logic to my emotion.

I need him now more than ever.

When Amaia's done passing out the tea, she comes to sit at the foot of my bed.

"You missed supper," she states, raising an eyebrow at me. "But considering you're here, in one piece, I guess the prince doesn't need to be scolded."

"No, no, he was fine." I rub the back of my neck. "We just... got busy on the boat and lost track of time."

"And the numbers—how did they turn out?"

"Low," I admit. "But we're going to fix it."

She gives me an odd look. "We?"

"It's... a long story."

For a moment, I think she might ask me to tell her anyway, but in the end, she just sighs and pats my leg. "You can catch me up later. We need to get ready."

"Ready?" I ask, pulling the blanket off and pushing myself to my feet. "I was actually going to ask if I could take the day off, since Eero's gone. I have somewhere I need to go."

Amaia shakes her head. "Not today, you don't. We need you around here."

"Why?"

"Master Ursus is here. Or will be, rather. He's in the city now, but he sent word ahead to have breakfast ready. Josef's been working since dawn."

My heart stutters, and the dress I'm pulling on falls to the floor. "He's here? Already?"

I'm not ready to face the advisor! Not with Finn about to die and Eero gone and... everything else! It's too much for one person to handle.

But Amaia either doesn't sense my panic or doesn't care. I'd vote for the former.

"Already. Now, get dressed and meet me in the dining room. Don't dally." She stands and calls to the rest of the room, "Up to it, girls! I need you at your morning positions in ten. Master Ursus will be here any minute."

That gets everyone moving. The girls who were still sitting in bed shoot upright, running half-dressed to the bathing room. A few girls duck out of the door, braiding their hair and pulling on their uniforms haphazardly. Little blonde Britta nearly trips over her own shoes as the tumbles out of the door.