“What are you so scared of, Raze?”

He turns away, biting his tongue.

“That’s what I thought. I think I can safely argue that if whatever’s rushing you isn’t a big-enough threat for you to tell us about it, then we don’t need to worry about it. And I will argue.” I’m looking beyond him at the stone wall, my eyes blurring out of focus.

“I heard that changelings don’t need sleep.”

My glare shifts to him, skimming his blue eyes and landing at the tip of his nose. “You heard wrong.” I stand abruptly, not sure what I’m going to do.

Every lantern in the room flickers, flames responding to a command I didn’t mean to give.

I can’t lose control of my magic now, not with all these people here. I stuff it down, panicked, already backing away. I need to get out of here, now, before I catch the whole building on fire. I stand, ready to bolt for the stairs.

Before I turn, I let out one last attempt at intimidation, despite the fact that I’m tiny and trembling like an lapdog and probably the least imposing creature in the world. “And if you wake me before sunup, you can forget all about your precious treasure, your compass, your legacy.”

It’s an empty threat, and he knows it.

“Then, you can forget about the treasure, too!” he snaps. “And good luck getting rid of that tattoo!”

“That’s fine!” I lie.

“Fine!”

My chair slams into the table loudly enough to pause the chatter in the room and make the dragon lift its head again. I turn on my heel and stomp up the stairs.

chapter fourteen

Somewhere between the second flight of stairs and the door to our room, the bubble of anger beneath the surface bursts, leaving behind a storm of feeling I can’t define. Everything I endured today, everything I pushed through, everything I shoved down and ignored, all slams into me as hard as the bolt of lightning. I feel it overtake me.

The door slams behind me, my back pressed against it like I’m bracing against attack. Something heavy and invisible pushes down on me. My limbs tremble. I can’t breathe.

This isn’t how today was supposed to go. This isn’t how any of this was supposed to go. And now I’m streaked with burns, the Destiny is lost, and I’m facing an unknown journey with unknown people who might betray us at the first chance. It all crowds in around me. It’s too much. It’s all too much.

Sobs seep out from between my lips, shaking my chest. Hot tears streak down my face, and I hear myself wailing like a child.

There’s a draft in the room, wind whipping at my loose hair and drying the tears as they fall. I stumble to the little window looking over the inky darkness of the sea, but it’s already closed.

The wind is coming from me. A cyclone, building around me, twisting circles around the room, lifting and whirling around everything it can: the blankets on the beds, Olani’s cloak and bag, the curtains, the skirt of my dress.