Chapter 60 Wake
I lay on the floor of the Obsidian Star’s stateroom, my cheek pressed against the vibrating iron plates of the hull. Every time the massive ship crested a wave and slammed back into the trough, the impact vibrated through my teeth. The ocean I had once called a mother now sounded like a dying leviathan, groaning under the weight of the iron fleet.
My charcoal silk dress was a sodden, heavy ruin. The salt water from our escape had dried into white, crusty streaks that looked like bone dust against the dark fabric. But the salt wasn't the problem. It was the heat.
The black lines on my arms were no longer just marks. They were alive. They pulsed with a rhythmic, agonizing thrum that matched the beat of the ship’s engines. Under the skin of my wrists, the fluid felt thick, like hot tar trying to burst through my veins.
"Nerissa."
Klaus’s voice was low, barely audible over the mechanical roar of the ship. I didn't look up. I couldn't. My vision was clouded by a grey, oily film that made the lantern light look like it was underwater.
I heard the heavy click of his boots. He knelt beside me, the scent of ozone and wet wool hitting my senses. It was a smell I had begun to crave, a scent that meant the world hadn't completely ended yet.
"Get up," he said. It wasn't a command; it was a plea.
"I can't," I rasped. My throat felt like it was lined with rusted fishhooks. "The water... it’s different here. It’s heavy."
"We’re over the continental shelf," Klaus said. He reached down and slid his arms under me, lifting me as if I were made of glass. He placed me on the narrow military cot, his hands lingering on my shoulders. "The pressure is changing. The Blight in your blood is reacting to the source."
He was different. In the dim amber light of the cabin, Klaus looked more like the man I had first seen in the Abyssal Hall. The sapphire in his eyes was so bright it almost hurt to look at. Since I had taken the rot from him, his strength had returned with a vengeance, while I was being hollowed out.
I looked at the desk across the room. The map was still there, pinned down by a silver dagger. Those red circles—those Deployment Zones—burned in my mind.
"You lied to me," I whispered, the words bubbling up with a mouthful of black fluid. I turned my head and spat into the basin beside the bed. The ink swirled in the water, thick and shimmering. "You said we were escaping. But the fleet is behind us. You’re leading them right to the Gates."
Klaus went to the sideboard and poured a glass of clear water. He brought it to me, his fingers brushing mine as I took it. "The fleet follows the Admiral’s flagship. That is the law of the Navy. If I sail for the Gates, they sail for the Gates."
"To harvest them," I said, my voice rising into a jagged, painful edge. "To finish what you started at the Rift."
Klaus slammed his hand against the iron wall. The sound rang out like a bell. "I am trying to beat them there! If we reach the Gates first, we use the resonance. We seal the leak. The Emperor loses his supply, but the world stops dying."
"And what happens to my people when the 'supply' is cut off?" I challenged, struggling to sit up. The movement sent a fresh wave of fire through my chest. "Do you think the Emperor will just let them go? He’ll send the incendiaries, Klaus. He’ll burn the water to spite the silence."
Klaus turned to me, his face a mask of fractured granite. The scratch I had left on his cheek was a pale, thin scar now. "He’ll have to find them first. Once the Gates are sealed, the smog over the Citadel will clear. The vampires will be blind for weeks. It’s our only window."
He stepped closer, invading my space.
"I betrayed my Emperor for you," he hissed, his voice dropping to a register that made my heart hammer. "I killed my own sentries in that tunnel. I am a traitor to my kind, Nerissa. Don't you dare tell me I'm the enemy."
"You are the enemy!" I shouted, the fury finally breaking through the physical agony. I grabbed the front of his uniform, my fingers staining the silver braid with the black oil from my skin. "You’re the one who built the bone garden! You’re the one who dragged me into that tower! You don't get to be the hero just because you're tired of being the butcher!"
Klaus grabbed my wrists, pinning them against my chest. He was so strong it was terrifying. I felt the pulse of his heart through his palms.
"I am not trying to be a hero," he whispered, his face inches from mine. "I am trying to keep you from turning into a statue of ink. Look at your arms, Nerissa! Look at your eyes!"
"I know what I am!" I wept, thrashing against his grip. "I’m the rot! My father was right! I brought the death to the surface, and now I'm bringing it back!"
"You didn't bring it," Klaus roared, his voice shaking the small cabin. "The Empire did! They’ve been leeching the deep for a thousand years! You're just the one who finally made them see the bill!"
He let go of my wrists and backed away, his chest heaving. He looked wild.
"We've reached the first deployment line," Klaus said, his voice turning back into the Admiral’s stone. "The fleet is breaking formation. They’re spreading out to cover the Abyssal trench."
"Your fleet," I reminded him.
"My fleet," he conceded.
He walked to the door, his hand resting on the heavy iron latch. He didn't look back.
"Stay in the cabin. The air on deck is thick with the Scourge-mist. If you breathe it in now, I won't be able to stop the transition."
"Klaus."
He paused, his shoulders hunching.
"If we reach the Gates," I asked, my voice trembling. "And we use the resonance... will it hurt?"
He was silent for a long time.
"Yes," he said.
He stepped out and locked the door from the outside.
I lay back on the cot, staring at the iron ceiling. I felt the black lines on my neck creeping upward, a cold, oily sensation that felt like a thousand tiny insects crawling under my skin.
I reached for the Midnight Conch shell on the bedside table. I pressed it to my ear.
The heartbeat was there, but it was fast.
The betrayal didn't just taste like salt; it tasted like the man who was currently leading a thousand ships toward my home. He said he was saving me, but every mile we sailed was another mile of blood in the water.