I doze for what’s left of the morning, my bed the sleeping mat I shared with the girls, every blanket we had heaped on top of me to make a warm little nest. I surface at one point to the shouts of the sailors as they help push the galley away from the docks, but I drift off again soon after.
Eventually I jolt awake from a deeper sleep, shadows reaching for me from the edges of my dreams. I sit up, shedding blankets grown suddenly too warm, and make myself focus on the half-lucid thoughts that have slipped through my mind over the course of the morning.
Here is the truth I don’t want to face: I’ve been carrying a spell in my mind that could destroy the royal family in a single breath, including Alyrra. She is precisely what our land needs— quietly focused on addressing the injustices she
