I could feel Astraea’s eyes on me; she didn’t speak a note of reprimand for my behavior, but I felt it.
“You dare threaten me and my crew?”
Balthezar rose from his chair. I needed his anger, for him to test me, so heknew what I was capable of if given the right motivation. I wouldn’t take any chances on a ship full of pirates that had the most precious prize aboard right now and might be tempted to do somethingveryfoolish to obtain her.
“If you did know of my reputation, you’d know there isn’t a person still alive I’ve threatened.”
“Oh I know all about you, Nightsdeath.”
I didn’t correct the name. That dark presence might be gone, but the reputation remained power in my hands.
“Good.”
“Like how to truly kill you.” His eyes flicked to Astraea.
I warned, cold and promising, “If a single drop of her blood spills aboard this ship, accidently or otherwise, I’ll make sure the nymphs are fed generously with every single one of you.”
“Nyte,” Astraea said my name, and it worked to tame the violent beast inside me.
I forced myself to add a smile toward Balthezar, but he knew there was nothing friendly in it.
“I should have left you to drown,” he hissed, rubbing his throat.
“If you did, I would have had to waste time hunting you down for leaving her to suffer. You would most certainly have felt my threat while in your final breaths then.”
“We are grateful for your help,” Astraea said.
Balthezar would lean more toward her kind reception; I had played my part in letting him know any action against us would be a final mistake. This was why we made a brilliant team.
“Might I ask where you were heading?” Astraea continued, starting friendly conversation I had no interest in.
Instead, I continued my vague scour of the room, and what caught my attention next jumped a beat in my chest. Rested proudly upon a velvet cloth was a golden monocular telescope. It couldn’t be the one I thought of…
“Must you touch everything that catches your eye?” Balthezar grumbled.
Ignoring him, I picked it up, scanning to find any indication it might be the one missing from the Wanderer’s Trove. I would wager Drystan would know right away somehow.
“My brother has a fascination for such trinkets. He would appreciate a souvenir from our travels, don’t you think?” I asked Astraea, holding it up and keeping my interest tame.
“Nothing in this room is for sale,” Balthezar warned.
“Oh, he would,” Astraea gushed, coming to take it from me. She put on an adoring act. “I even find myself quite taken with it.”
“Name your price,” I said to the captain.
His eyes narrowed. “It’s an heirloom and has been in my family for centuries. That monocular is priceless.”
“Nothing of material value is priceless.”
His brown eyes flicked to Astraea as ifshewere his asking price, and every nerve cell rattled within me, ready to lunge for his throat again if that request spilled from his mouth next.
“They say the Maiden’s blood can cure any ills, and her hair can grant immortality to humans.”
“They also say a pirate’s soul becomes chained to the wicked depths of the ocean if they’re killed aboard, and I’m more than eager to find out if that rumor is true.”
Astraea said, “My blood can’t cure all ills.” Her tone was quiet, being reminded of her friend, Cassia. Astraea’s blood had only delayed the inevitable, but Cassia’s fatal illness would have taken her life eventually.
“Now you’ve upset her,” I said, teeth grinding with the echoes of Astraea’s sadness rippling through me.
