Pᴇʀғɪᴅɪᴏᴜs || Tʜᴇ Cʜᴏsᴇɴ Eɪɢʜᴛ Bᴏᴏᴋ Fᴏᴜʀ

Chapter fourteen// News

Lucia
My hair whipped past my face, the wind carrying it. I leaned against the railing, my eyes flicking from the waves to the sky and back again.

"Hey."

I jumped and spun around. Niko chuckled as he stepped up beside me. I exhaled loudly, laughing softly myself. "Tellun's antlers, you startled me."

He crossed his arms and rested on his elbows. "Sorry. I thought you'd heard me."

"Obviously I didn't." I turned away again.

He was quiet for a bit, then looked over at me. "You okay?"

"Always." I answered, but I was lying. He wouldn't understand.

"Hm." Niko nodded.

I turned my gaze back to the horizon, aware of his eyes on me. After a while, his gaze was feeling creepy. I pushed off the railing. "I'm going down. To, uh, to see... uh... Navia?" I stuttered, backing away.

"Alright." His tone was tinged with sadness, but I ignored it. Maybe I was being selfish, but I couldn't stand to be around him right now. I headed off to the stairs and belowdecks. I halted on the steps, unsure what to do. Finally, I shrugged. Might as well go visit Navia. I started down to the girls' cabin, then paused at the door. Someone was talking inside. I listened intently, trying to make out who it was.

"There has to be a mole." The speaker was saying, sounding nervous and urgent. Her voice clicked in my head. It was Zay.

"But why'd you tell me?" Navia's voice rang out.

A mole? I thought anxiously. What does she mean, a mole? My mind whirled, and I missed the next bit of their conversation. I finally registered that Zay was speaking again.

"Me, Sasha, and now you." She was saying.

"Let's keep it that way, for now." Navia responded, pausing. "You have no idea who it is?"

Who it is? I stopped listening again, sifting through my thoughts. It could be Tazi, Sabien... it could even be Niko. My heart leapt into my throat. No. Impossible. Niko wouldn't do something like that. He was a genuine part of the team! I chastened myself logically. It's most likely to be Lizzie. She probably joined us to spy. I frowned. But her predicament was odd... it may actually turn out to be Sabien. The Hundred Isles have been occupied for a very long time... there's no way it could be Tazi; he's from Greenhaven itself! I jumped out of my thoughts as the door slid open. Zay stepped out. She spotted me, a look of surprise crossing her face as she opened her mouth. But she didn't have the chance to make a sound; I clapped a hand over her lips and shoved her against the wall. "Show me the note." I hissed, getting into her face.

"Mmmf!" Zay glared at me, but obliged and took out the note.

I grabbed it and scanned over it, letting her go briefly. I looked up. "You believe this?"

Zay bristled. "Of course!"

I rolled my eyes. "Come on, seriously? Your brother was working for the Conquerors! This has to be a-" I didn't get the chance to finish; she kneed me in the stomach. When I doubled over, she grabbed my neck and pushed me back until I hit a wall. I gasped for breath as her finger tightened around my windpipe, surprised to notice tears in her eyes.

"Don't ever speak about my brother like that again." Her voice was trembling with a mix of grief and fury. "And if you say anything about this note or the mole to anyone..." she drew a finger across her neck and tightened her grip to get her point across. I nodded in agreement. She released me and I slumped against the wall, sliding to a seated position. Zay eyed me angrily. "Oh, and one more thing..." she paused. "If I find out you're the mole and it was you who had my brother killed, then you'll be sorry." With that, the Stetriolian turned on her heel and stalked off.

I rubbed my sore throat as she vanished up the stairs, inhaling deeply. I stayed where I sat, running a hair through the curls that were popping lose from my side-braid. "Tellun's antlers." I finally groaned, leaning my head back. "Why can't I just have a normal life?"

Because, that annoying voice in my head responded, then you would've never met Niko.

My cheeks flamed and I quickly hid it in my palms. "Okay, not the answer I was looking for." I mumbled, finally pushing myself to my feet. I brushed off my short dress, which I'd taken to wearing in lieu of the longs I'd usually favoured. I also had a small dagger strapped to my left thigh underneath it. It's slight weight was oddly comforting. I walked back up the steps, emerging into the bright sunlight and squinting as I did so. My eyes took a moment to adjust, but once they did, they scanned around and locked on Niko where he stood at the prow of the ship. I made a beeline toward him.

He heard my footsteps and turned, greeting me with a soft grin. "Hi."

"Hi." I responded guiltily. "Sorry about earlier."

"Nah, don't worry about it." He waved away my apology. His deep chocolate eyes met mine, curious. "How's Navia?"

"Uh, great." I replied awkwardly. "Look, I-"

"Check it out!" Niko suddenly interrupted me, pointing. I squinted and made out a lump on the horizon that was slowly growing as we headed toward it.

"It's Greenhaven!" Sasha and the others had joined us at the railing, grinning at each other.

I looked over at Niko, suddenly only able to smile. "Finally!"

He laughed and put a hand over mine where it rested on the metal. "We're headed home."

It only took a few more minutes for us to reach the docks. All eight of us got of the boat with identical grins, followed closely by our guardians. We'd barely made it halfway up to the castle, however, when Lenori came down to greet us. Her face was grim, laden with sadness. Tyler stepped forward, briefly leaving Hoya's side. "What happened?" He asked in a soft voice.

Lenore sighed and shook her head, her gaze distant. "Tarik is dead."

DUN DUN DUNNNNN. Hahahaha I'm so mean :3 hope y'all enjoyed the chapter, only three more to go!! Btw check my extras book cuz a Halloween special is underway! (Also: I'm sorry I died. School is the bane of my existence!)