These Gilded Seas

Chapter Thirty-Six: Masterful Illusions

The first thing I feel is rain.

It seeps down my back and soaks the flyaway pieces of hair that have snuck out of my braid. There's a rustling sound nearby, and occasionally, little, damp paint brushes slide against my arms and cheeks.

Wait. Wet brushes?

That can't be right.

A throbbing pain in the back of my head forces me to keep my eyes closed, so I try to piece the situation together using my other senses.

Rain falling in an annoyingly weak drizzle.

Leaves crunching under one—no, two heavy sets of footfalls.

Water whispering as it climbs over rocks.

Flowers emitting their perfumes, so strong that I feel slightly dizzy.

Whatever I'm laying on steps over something, and I tip to the left. A giant hand catches me by the waist. Then, it shoves me roughly back up.

"Watch what you're doing, Lot," a grating voice commands.

Lot.

Oh, Great Divine.

My eyes shoot open, and I start to buck against the giant's hold. Lot plants a massive hand on my behind and swears incoherently.

"Be still, princess," his brother says as he appears in my line of vision. "We'd really hate to drop you."

"Let me go," I growl.

"Can't. You've got an appointment with the master."

"I can walk!"

"Can you? Because the last time I trusted you to walk, you screamed." He grabs my chin as I start to rock in a continued effort to weasel out of Lot's hold. "Unless you want to end up like your friend, be—still—" He punctuates the words, baring his teeth at me.

My friend?

Sam.

I fall absolutely still as realization slams into me.

"What did you do to him?" I whisper.

Jett grins, winks, and then straightens up.

No. Please, Divine, no. If they hurt Sam, if they harmed a single hair on his body, I'll tear them from limb to limb. The fire in my chest turns into an inferno, and heat spreads across my face.

"If you hurt him, I'll kill you," I threaten, glaring at the twin in front of me. My nails dig into Lot's back.

"Then I guess I'll have to watch my back, because he's already dead," Jett says, sounding bored.

My heart stops. Not Sam. What did I do?

"You monster!" I hiss, thrashing wildly against his brother's hold. "Both of you!"

But they just laugh.

Like my guilt-fueled panic is funny. Like killing an innocent human being is funny.

When did I start thinking it wasn't?

Exhaustion quickly takes over, and I slump against Lot. The hot tears rolling down my cheeks don't surprise me, and neither of them react. What is Rosie going to do without a dad? Can her grandmother take care of her?

This is my fault. There's no doubt about that. I involved someone when I said I wouldn't. Just like I expected, they got hurt.

And now I've lost my dagger, too.

As I'm kicking myself for being stupid, the scenery changes. The trees around us thicken, replacing the flowers with purple-veined trellises of vines. The sky disappears, and we're encased in darkness.