The Price She Paid: Shadow & Bone (Book 2)

Chapter 2: Wanted Dead Or Alive.

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I gathered my things and followed Mal above deck to where Alina sat on a bench, flipping through the pages of one of the journals I had bought. She had stopped on one of the sketches of the Fold that I had made. The dreams were the same, the same village, the same people. The Fold always moved, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. We had both been having identical dreams, but the one occurring theme was the Fold.

Today's dream was different than the others. I had always been by myself in the Fold, until now.

She glanced up as we arrived, a look of uncertainty flashing in her eyes. I could feel her unease through our bond, her fear, her confusion.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice quiet.

I took the spot beside her, letting my shoulder press against hers.

"I could feel your fear through the bond, so I sent Mal to wake you."

"I'm okay, thanks."

The words felt hollow, as if I had said them so many times they had lost their meaning.

"Was it the same as before?"

Alina held up the journal, showing me the sketch of the village and the Fold closing in.

I swallowed hard.

"Worse."

"Hey." Mal knelt down in front of us, his eyes flickering between us. "Kirigan is dead. We saw the Volcra take him. No one survived." Mal was right, he had to be. He turned his gaze back to me. "You felt him die, remember? And you haven't felt anything since. He's dead, he can't hurt you anymore."

He may not be able to hurt me, but clearly, he could still haunt me from beyond the grave.

"Approaching Weddle harbor!" one of the deckhands yelled.

Mal stood up and grinned.

"Let's focus on what's next."

He walked up to the ships railing, looking out at the sea.

"This is the first time we've ever left Ravka. We haven't had a good meal or a good sleep in about two weeks and we're gonna change that soon."

Alina and I exchanged a look and joined Mal at the railing. I could see the city of Novyi Zem stretched out for miles and miles.

"You know, they have hot stones to keep your bed warm here."

I rolled my eyes.

I didnt care about hot stones. All I wanted was a nice bath, some warm food, and a comfy bed.

"Well, that's if they let us into the country first," Alina added.

"We just keep our cool, once we get past the check point, we'll be free and clear."

Mal, always the optimist of the group.

The second we docked, everyone was escorted inside one of the buildings that sat right of the dock.

"First class, left line!" a man called out. "Please have your papers ready."

I clutched the fake paper Kaz had given me in my right hand. It said I was from Ketterdam and that my name was Vivana Leanor.

"I hope we look like tourists from Ketterdam," Mal muttered.

"As long as these papers from Kaz work, we should be fine," Alina agreed.