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" Cause I see
Sparks fly
Whenever you smile "
//
" That's the thing about illicit affairs,
And clandestine meetings and,
longing stares "
―AS WE ALL sit at the table of Kerch porcelain and crystal, I think about the words Yi and I exchanged in my quarters. The thought of the meaning behind her subtle hints of what the King, my father, might have done to her makes me feel sick. It felt so wrong to see someone who's usually a pure beam of sunshine break like that upon speaking, and the sound of her voice cracking with sadness is engraved into my mind, a sound I never want to be the cause of. I don't know how to react after learning about the way she was treated, and I can't help but wonder if she'd hate me if she knew who I really was. I know that once we reach Ravka, it will be inevitable and she'll have to see who I am, but I'm praying to my great grandfather's ex-wife's pet cat named Alesje that by then I'll have proved that I'm significantly more trustworthy than my father.
Our steward places food on the table, breaking me away from my thoughts. I'm exhausted from the days spent ordering my crew, staying on deck and lacking the sleep I need so that we could find the sea whip. I'm incredibly grateful to finally be able to relax and have a proper meal. There's fresh bread, roasted haddock, pickled radishes, and sweet iced wine. Despite Alina's reluctance to even join us on the journey to West Ravka, I can tell she's also grateful for the food and clearly has a fierce appetite. Yi shares the sentiment, thoroughly enjoying her food like an adorable doe having the best birch ever tasted. When she politely declines the offer of wine, I resist the urge to laugh. Of course she doesn't drink. Looking at her huge eyes and knowing her personality, I'm not surprised. It seems to go along with everything else about her, and somehow that amuses me immensely. Both Alina and her tracker friend, Mal, seem unsure about Yi's presence, and they certainly don't dance around the subject. I eat my food as I watch it play out.
"So, you worked for the Darkling?" Mal asks, even though it's obvious he knows the answer with the slight, bare disdain in his eyes.
Alina shoots him a sharp glare. "What he means is. . . what are you doing here?"
Yi regards them with her pale honey eyes. Her bronzed skin contrasts beautifully against the colours of my cabin, and she looks like a piece of art despite her huge, tangled curls and more-than-bedraggled state.
"Sturmhond told me that we're heading to West Ravka. He has a client there, apparently, and I'll be offered a proposition. If I don't like it, he says I'm free to leave," Yi states calmly.
