Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Maeve steps into the boat and starts attaching the sail. I’m pretty sure it has moth holes in it. There’s no way she’s being serious right now. “Like I said, it’s only a few days to get to Khollu. It won’t be a comfortable trip, but between the two of us, we should be able to row even if we’re becalmed.”
Becalmed. With so many air elementals in the crew of the Audacity, it never occurred to me to worry about that. Another thing that could befall us. Damn it, I hate admitting that I’ve made a mistake, but clearly the selkie is not the asset I anticipated. “There’s no way I’m getting on that thing.”
“Okay,” she says easily. She yanks back the tarp covering the back half of it and bends down to grab a crate tucked up against the side. The motion brings my attention to her wide ass, and I almost forget my reservations as my mouth waters. She is so damned bitable.
“What do you mean ‘okay’?”
“I mean, okay, I’m not going to force you to sail with me.” Maeve straightens and dusts off her hands. “If you follow the path back to the village, Nox will likely still be in the tavern. You can join up with them again and wait for however long it takes to run across the Crimson Hag.”
I glare. I had thought to keep all the leverage in this little partnership, but the selkie is proving to be smarter than is comfortable. She knows I can’t afford to walk away from this opportunity. If I could, I never would have offered this bargain in the first place. “Let’s get this pathetic little death trap in the water.” I have been tortured for longer than the trip to Khollu will take. I can survive this. And the first thing we’re doing when we reach that island is taking over a real ship.
The shore here is made of the same small smooth rocks as the bay to the south. They shift under my feet, making me grit my teeth. Viedna isn’t a very large island—we made the hike from south to north in a few hours. I caught sight of a few houses along the way, bright patterns little more than a flash deeper in the trees, but there’s no buildings near us. I send my power pulsing out cautiously, pleased that there isn’t anyone lurking nearby. We’re in the clear. The sun is barely a hint on the horizon, pale fingers of light doing little to combat the darkness.
The perfect time to steal a boat.
Maeve holds up her hand. “Give me just a second.”
I watch with interest as she darts up a little incline, scrambling over the rocks like she’s part goat. She’s obviously done this a number of times before. I can’t pretend to know this woman, but anyone willing to jump on a boat and sail off after her stolen skin is someone I can’t imagine being content living on this tiny little island.
The island is beautiful. Even in the short time I’ve been here, I can acknowledge that. Low pale gray cliffs, rocks that cause the waves to crash and roar in a way that’s very pleasing when you have two feet planted firmly on the ground. Enough greenery to keep things interesting and probably provide for the people who live here. I didn’t get a good look at the people themselves, but every building I saw was well cared for, even if they’re all painted with those damned bright patterns that give me a headache. I can understand, at least in theory, that it’s a nice place to live.
But it’s so . . . constrained. It has to irk Maeve to be trapped here, relegated to hearing tales of sailors and Cŵn Annwn and traders rather than experiencing them herself.
I shake my head. What am I thinking? I don’t need to have sympathy for this woman. I have none to speak of. I just need her assistance for the time being.
Even so . . . I know what it’s like to be trapped. Both by family obligation and by an inability to travel freely. It doesn’t matter where I go, the responsibility of being a member of the Bianchi family follows, crowding closer than my shadow. There’s no escaping it. But at least I had a change in location to keep things interesting. My family maintains residences in several key locations across Europe and Asia, and in the last couple of centuries, we’ve expanded into North America. It’s important to make your presence known; otherwise, other people will begin to forget you. Or, rather, they’ll forget to fear you.
My mother’s worst nightmare.
Most leaders rule through either love or fear. I’ve never met a vampire who’s chosen the former. Well, I suppose that isn’t quite true any longer. My brother’s paramour is certainly doing her best to rule her people with an even hand instead of terror, but Mina is only half vampire, so she hardly counts.