Queen of Thieves

chapter 18

To his credit, Lamir didn't miss a beat. "You're sure?"

Cirdrissa nodded. "I can feel it."

Alice opened her mouth to protest, and then hesitated. She may not be able to fill a cup of water on purpose, but she had paralyzed her father accidentally. And right now, Alice felt shaky and unsteady. Lamir pulled a face.

"Can't Des do it?"

He said his name like most people said dirty socks, and Cirdrissa scowled.

"You teach kids how to control their magic," she pointed out sharply. "You should know how to calm a beginner down."

Lamir examined Alice with obvious distaste.

"Fine," he muttered. "Let's go."

Alice caught Des's eye briefly, but Lamir was already frog-marching her below deck, a look of steely determination on his face. He had to duck to avoid the top of the door frame of the captain's quarters. Alice took a seat on the desk, pressing a hand to her chest. She could feel her heartbeat slamming beneath her fingers.

"You need to calm down," Lamir told her, shutting the door roughly. "Or you're going to get us all killed."

Alice flinched. The sounds of the waves were muffled, but she could still feel the ship jerking beneath her feet. "I'm trying."

"Well," Lamir growled, "try harder."

"No offense," Alice snapped, "but you're not exactly a calming presence."

She cried out as the ship pitched sideways, almost knocking her off the desk. Lamir was there in an instant, his warm hand pressed against the damp material of her black gear. He let go immediately, as if she had scalded him.

"Focus on something else," he said sharply, taking a step back. "Anything."

Alice curled her fingers around the edge of the wooden desk. "I read about Alesehra today," she said, desperately racking her brain. "I learned that they have a sacred tree, one that chooses new rulers—"

"Something you care about," Lamir cut in, sounding exasperated. "You're trying to save your siblings, right? Tell me about them."

Alice blinked. "I—what?"

"Zayn and Zelda," Lamir said impatiently, and Alice stared at him, totally floored. She hadn't realized that he'd been paying attention when she spoke to Cirdrissa about her family. "That's their names, right?"

"Yes," Alice whispered. "Zelda's an artist." She ran her tongue over her cracked lips, trying to slow her breathing. "She paints people mostly, but she likes landscape, too. Zayn is musical. He plays the—"

The ship groaned. There was a bang as a board to Alice's left exploded, and Alice flinched as water burst through the cracks, spilling on to the floorboards. Her fingers twitched, and the water responded, ricocheting off the walls. Alice felt a fresh surge of panic. Oh, god. They were going to die down here. The belly of the ship was going to fill with water, and they would be trapped, and—

Lamir grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to look at him.

"And Zayn?" he urged. "What sort of music does he like?"

"Eighties," Alice whispered. "Classical, sometimes." Lamir's face was close to her own — so close that she could count the water droplets clinging to his dark lashes — but it was oddly comforting. As if the world was shrinking to just the two of them. "He likes Edvard Grieg."

Lamir pulled a face. "Grieg is so overrated."

Alice blinked. "You know who Grieg is?"

"And Chopin," Lamir said, the ghost of a smile on his face. "And Debussy, Beethoven and Wagner." He adjusted his grip on her chin. "You'd be surprised what I know about Earth, Alice."