𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒

26. 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗱𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗴!

𝕴t didn't occur to Rilynn that when she left Ginny's house, she didn't know where Uma's ship was. When Rilynn ran out of the tower, she didn't look back and kept running without caring where she was going.

People stared, but no one cared enough to wonder why. It was normal to see people running up and down the alleys, some in fear, some creating the fear. Rilynn's heart was racing with adrenaline and a smidge of terror; she barely noticed that she'd been running in whichever direction.

The princess turned a couple of corners until she knew the space between her and Ginny was large enough for her to breathe. Rilynn leaned heavily against the stone wall, heaving for air, resting the top half of her weight on her knees. Rilynn didn't think she'd see the light of day. That was the most terrifying feeling, and Rilynn thought Ginny wouldn't let her go.

Maybe Rilynn was a bit ambitious about coming to the Isle, but she didn't expect someone to kidnap her and know about her healing abilities. Rilynn was way over her head here. She was alone and had no idea where she was or where to go; her chances of looking for Jay and the others weren't around.

"Quinnie!"

Rilynn straightened at Gil's voice; she ducked behind the barrels and peeked around, searching for the voice. She saw a happy Gil jumping toward Quinn, who looked upset after Ginny kicked her out of the tower.

The redhead lightened up to Gil, even smiling. "Hey, Guppy."

"Uma's been looking for you," he wraps an arm around Quinn's shoulders. "Where've you been?"

"You can't tell Uma."

Gil held a pinky. "Pinky promise."

Quinn smiled, shaking her head, but intertwined her pinky. "I was at Ginny's. She has the little princess, and I wanted to see who tied down the infamous Jay."

"She seems nice, doesn't she?" Gil pondered adorably.

"Between you and me, she is. I can see why Jay likes her," Quinn grabbed Gil's hand. "She's cute. Now, tell me what Uma's got planned."

"King Ben is on the ship, and Harry went and told Jay and the gang that they had to swap the wand for him," Gil was keeping something from Quinn, and she could tell.

"Just Ben?" Quinn furrowed her brows, pulling away from Gil suspiciously. "What about the princess? They're gonna want her, too."

Gil looked guilty. "Yeah, about that. Uma sent a pirate to Ginny's. She said something about needing the princess for the deal she struck with Mal."

"Well, Ginny's not gonna like that," Quinn was unbothered by his update. "Is she at the ship now?"

Rilynn watched as the two friends laughed and messed about, nabbing stuff from other people and laughing about it. They chatted while walking down the alley, so Rilynn took that as her cue to follow. Quinn and Gil led the way at a languid pace. Rilynn debated finding Uma's ship herself, but she didn't know where to go.

If she stays hidden in the back and doesn't bring attention to herself, Rilynn won't have any issues. But now that she thought about it, Rilynn felt the need to hide her hair somehow. But to her dismay, Ginny cut her only hair tie, so Rilynn was left with her hair down.

After a few minutes of following Quinn and Gil, Rilynn could hear the chatter growing louder. They were in Uma's territory now; Rilynn could see pirates lounging around, eating on the barrels, sharpening swords, or cleaning the deck. The princess couldn't follow the two anymore.

"Glad to have you finally join us," Uma announces when Quinn finally shows up. She sat on the deck near the wheel, looking down at the redhead. "Where've you been?"