Cian twists on my right arm backward. I inhale sharply as pain shoots through my muscle. My grip slackens, allowing the rope to fall to the dock with a thump.

"What are you doing?" he snarls through clenched teeth. He stands behind me so I can't see him. I can only hear his heavy breaths in the silence, feel them as them graze my ear.

"I-I'm not doing anything," I stammer. I try to step forward, away from him, but he pulls me back.

"Then what are you doing with that boat?"

"What boat?"

Cian huffs. "I always knew there was something strange about you. You've been planning this for a long time, haven't you?"

"Planning what?"

"You're not fooling anyone," Cian snaps. "We both know you were stealing the boat."

I know he isn't buying my "playing dumb" act. But my brain hasn't caught up to the circumstances yet, and when I don't have a plan, I stall until I have one.

"I'm not trying to steal from you," I say. "I just, I was coming into work early, and I happened..."

"The door is locked, Liadan. There's no way you could've gotten in here." There's a slight pause. "Come to think of it, how did you get in the Nautical Guild so early in the first place?"

"The door was unlocked."

I expect Cian to fire back with something. But he doesn't respond. If anything, I feel the slightest weakening of his grip.

If I can just get to the rope, maybe...

"Do you know why the door was unlocked?" I ask.

Turning my head to the side, I catch the slightest glimmer of something in Cian's eyes. That familiar look of concentration, when you're deep in thought.

"I... guess I forgot to lock it again."

I inhale a deep breath, then yank my arm free from his grasp. Cian startles, then lunges for me. I'm just a little bit faster, snatching up the rope from the dock. Air brushes beside me as Cian falls onto the dock. With the rope in hand, I start toward the boat, tossing a quick glance over my shoulder.

Cian is running up the dock, toward the lever that controls the wooden door.

Darn it!

I toss the rope into the boat before tearing after him.

"There are no circumstances so dire that thievery is required," Cian calls over his shoulder.

He doesn't know the half of it.

My footsteps pound up toward him while Cian's hands land on the lever. The door creaks as it starts to descend. I shove him away from the lever, but he catches my arm, slamming my back against the wall.

The wind leaves my lungs in exchange for a hollow ache. I muster all my strength to surge forward and levy a kick to his stomach. He staggers backward, right to the edge of the dock where his foot slips and he falls into the water with a splash.

I quickly reel the door back up, taking steady gulps of air to regain my ability to breathe. I turn around to search the water for Cian when I glimpse a glimmer of purple. Cold snakes around my ankles, up my calves, and with it, a flurry of goosebumps crawl over my skin. My heart stops with dread.

Time has run out.

Desperately, I claw at my clothes, searching for the dagger. My hands settle on the hilt as the ice encircles my stomach. I stumble a few paces backward, but more of the mist forms a wall there. Blindly, I swipe my dagger through the air, trying to cut through the tangled mass.

Purple swirls in front of my eyes. I reach my right hand up to cut it away, twisting this way and that with my torso. The mist hisses as the blade slices through it, but for every particle vaporized, a thousand more swarm in from the outside.

My feet refuse to move, glued in place. The mist has claimed that part of me, and now, it reaches higher until it can consume me in its depths, holding me prisoner in an in-between realm of shadows and nightmares. Increasingly, I can feel it wrapping around me, so that I can barely move, can barely breathe. My right arm stills, yet my fingers dig into the blade's handle, refusing to release it. It's my only hope of escape, even if I can't use it at the moment.

Then, the mist swishes to the side, parted down the middle. The mist's grip loosens around me, freeing my right arm. I slice through the purple, and the thick purple scatters apart. My eyes flit about, landing on a figure standing in front of me for a split second. Cian swings an oar through the air, breaking up the mist so it no longer presses against me.

Together, we beat back the mist, him breaking up the densest clumps with the oar while I sever the ties the mist has to our world with my blade, albeit temporarily. As the purple thins, I glance about the dock. The tide has eased the boat forward, thanks to the rope no longer securing it in place. In fact, it's just a run and a jump away from me.

With another swipe of my blade through the air, the remaining mist scatters. A few bits dance about my ankles, but I can handle those later. They aren't enough to pull me from this world.

Cian doubles over, panting. I charge to the edge of the dock and jump. My shin bangs against the sailboat's wooden keel. I wince at the pain while scrambling behind the rudder, steering the ship out of the dock.

There's a splash behind me. I turn around, frustration exploding inside me. It's Cian. Hanging onto the back of the boat.

"Stop! You can't steal this!"

Of course there's yet another problem.

I try to turn around, but the boat veers to the side. I glance forward for a split moment to remain on course.

My ribs slam into the side of the boat as Cian shoves me away from the steering wheel. The dagger falls from my grasp, just a few finger lengths away. I grab it, then lunge for Cian, holding the blade to his throat. A little more pressure, and it will draw blood.

"Step away from the helm." My voice is deadly even, despite my ragged breaths. Against the blade, I feel Cian's throat bob. Slowly, he backs away, and I reach over with my free hand to steer the boat onward. I can only see the profile of his face, but his expression is hardened in a scowl. Despite being unarmed, his eyes pierce me with daggers of his own.

"Thief," he spits.

"We've established that."

I briefly glance around me, my rapid pulse slowly settling into a less frenzied rhythm, until I spot some rope within arms reach. Keeping the blade steady, I manage to grab it and secure Cian's hands behind him. I ought to tie his feet too, but I've run out of rope, unless I want to source some from the opposite side of the boat, which is impractical if I want to maintain our course. I have to try to get as far away from here before the mist regenerates.

"Sit down over there," I say, motioning to the deck across from me. "One wrong move, and I won't hesitate to make it your last."

Reluctantly, Cian walks to the spot and sits down cross-legged. Though his scowl remains, his eyes anxiously stare back in the direction of the island.

"You know what's going to happen when they find you, right?" Cian asks.

"Who?" I say distractedly. The sun rises behind me, and I use it to point my boat westward.

"The Tirisean Guard. My father does not allow anyone to take advantage of him or his business."

"Perhaps you didn't notice, but those officers are the least of my worries," I fire back.

For the first time, wariness flickers on Cian's face.

"Well, at the very least, you have to return me to the shop. That's my home, remember?"

"You should have thought of that before getting on my boat."

"It isn't yours!"

"Considering I left without receiving my final paycheck, I think it's a fair price."

Cian huffs. "I should've left you to that weird purple stuff."

I inhale a deep breath. Just ignore it. He doesn't know what he's talking about.

Cian looks around, more desperate than before. "Look, whatever reason you have for leaving so suddenly, there's no reason to bring me along with you."

A pit opens in my stomach. He's right, bringing him along is only going to make things harder for me. And yet...

"You've made it pretty clear that you're not going to let me have this boat," I say. "Even if you were to swim back, you're probably going to go tell your father what happened and send the guard after me. At least right now, they don't have definitive proof that it was me."

They may not be able to use a custom map to discover my location like they would do for most criminals, but I can't afford any more people chasing me down.

The boat cuts across the water, while the sunlight casts shimmering, orange-yellow rays on my path. Several minutes pass before Cian stirs, attempting to stand up.

I raise my dagger. "Don't even think about moving."

He drops back down onto the deck. "You don't understand. This is my job. My life. I have to go back."

I hesitate a moment as an idea forms in my mind.

"I'll let you go. If you draw me a map."