ARC: The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke

errand’s done?” I said, breaking the silence.
    Kolur glared at me.
    “I didn’t ask when we’d be back home.” The sails creaked overhead. “Just about your errand.”
    Frida sipped from her waterskin, silent.
    “I told you, girl, it’ll only be a couple of weeks, and then I’ll have you safely back on Kjora.”
    “It’s been a couple of weeks.” I pointed at the remains of our meal. “Are you planning to stop anywhere soon to restock? We’re going to have to start taking rations, you know.”
    Kolur gave me a cool look and then turned to Frida. “How close are we to Juldan? I imagine we could stock up on supplies there.”
    “Oh, not far. A day’s sail. Half a day if I can get the winds to behave. It’s a bit out of our way, but nothing too terrible.”
    Juldan. I thought about Papa’s carved map. Isolfr had told me the truth, then; we were far north, although not as far as Jandanvar.
    But Juldan wasn’t our destination. We were just resupplying.
    I frowned across the meal at Kolur, wondering how much longer until I’d get to go home. I’d be much more excited about this adventure if we were actually doing something.
    Kolur seemed to make sure he looked everywhere but at me.
    I lay in bed that night, unable to sleep. Frida had done up the navigation calculations and announced that we’d be sailing into the Juldan port late tomorrow morning. My mind spun with plots to keep Frida and Kolur on land, to convince them to forget their madness and sail back to Kjora. Passage on a ship back to Kjora would be too expensive for a fisherman, and passenger ships were rare besides, so I figured I wouldn’t be getting home otherwise. But maybe I could try to convince a crew into letting me join them. Ananna had done that. She’d spun a good yarn about betrayal and set sail that very evening. Maybe I could manage the same when we were in Juldan. I could call down the winds, after all, and it wasn’t like Kolur needed me, what with Frida on board. Besides, if I joined with a crew, maybe I’d have a chance for a proper adventure, like the kind in stories.
    But then my thoughts wandered away from the north. What if sailing home to Kjora meant that this Lord Foxfollow would follow us there? What if going home meant bringing horrors back to my parents and Henrik and Bryn?
    I wondered if that meant I believed Isolfr. If I trusted him.
    Things didn’t make sense.
    I stayed awake through the night, staring up at the lantern’s light sliding back and forth across the ceiling. The air crackled like a storm was coming. My body buzzed. I rolled over onto my side and slid my hand under the knot of fabric I used for a pillow.
    Sparks shot up my arm, radiating out from my bracelet.
    I shrieked and yanked off the bracelet and stumbled away from the cot, dragging blankets and my makeshift pillow with me. The bracelet glowed.
    I knelt down beside the cot, my breath caught in my throat. The air around the bracelet throbbed, humming with enchantment. Slowly, I reached out with one finger and poked it, this time prepared for the spark. It trilled up my arm, igniting all the residual magic inside me. I closed my eyes and grabbed the bracelet in my fist and concentrated–
    Gray mist. Sharp, curving claws. Black ocean water. Light. Light. Light dripping like blood. Mist.
    A scream.
    I dropped the bracelet and jumped back. The air was still crackling around me. I leaned up against the wall and took deep breaths and tried to decide what to do. Kolur, I had to warn Kolur. Or Frida. No, she would have sensed the magic before I did, she should already know–
    I heard a noise.
    It came from up on deck: a slurred thump, a muffled shout. I cried out and then slapped one hand over my mouth. I was so scared that I started to cry.
    Footsteps bounded past the cabin door, coming from the direction of the storeroom. They disappeared and reappeared overhead.
    I was too frightened to move. I closed my eyes and strained to listen. The wind