“D-Did you really think… I’d give you the satisfaction?”
While I could understand what he was saying, each articulation became more slurred than the last. It was a warning that he was undoubtedly toeing the line between life and death. The increasing coolness of his flesh solidified it, and with the distance between the ship and us shortening, I shouted for the one thing I’d never bothered to demand at any point in my life.
“Help!”
The immediate eruption of activity sounded, and Leilani’s head poked up from the railing ofourhome. “Ace! What?—”
As if her voice awakened another one of the gods’ tests, Caspian’s crew responded simultaneously. Their attention settled on us, and heat immediately bloomed. Cannons shifting and weapons rising, a sharp whoop of demand roared across their deck.
“That’sourfirst mate!”
“What are you doing with him?”
“We will gut you alive if you take another step!”
“Our cannons are loaded!”
“We will blow these docks to pieces if you?—”
“Silence!”The enchantingly sharp, yet commanding voice erupted from behind me, and with it, everything silenced.
My chin turned, attention settling on those all-too-familiar emerald green eyes. Prowling toward me with ethereal grace, Rohen clutched the head of a royal guard in her hand, tossing it onto the dock without so much as batting an eye. The wound Caspian had inflicted along her collarbone still bled, but her expression lacked any hint of affliction.
No, this was a woman capable of decimating lands with the simple lift of a finger.
Glower landing on the ship full of Caspian’s men, she spoke again. “If you wish to test my already non-existent patience, then feel free. Though I wouldn’t recommend it, considering?—”
Boney arms jutted from the water beneath us, fingers curling around the wooden planks behind her. Rising as if summoned by the goddess herself, a torso bubbled to the surface, tentacles moving to slither around the various lines and ropes left on the docks. Heads slipping into view, my breath caught in my throat as I locked eyes with a skull-like shape—something human, yet so far from.
Yxalune.
“Rohen, what… the fuck?” I whispered, skin paling.
The corner of her mouth curled in amusement, but she kept her attention fixated on the men who demanded the hand off. “I have noissue ordering Yxaluneandher summoned Vellari to dismantle your entire ship if you keep running your mouths. In case none of you have realized, there are far graver opponents to worry about, alongside even graver threats,” she gestured to Syoran, who had grown limp once again, “Syoran is dying.”
Nipping at the inside of my cheek, I slowly peeled my gaze away from one of Yxalune’s many heads and peered up at Caspian’s crew. “I brought him here to ensure he didn’t die. We have an esteemed medic on board, and I… I planned to save his life.”
“Why?” a man barked, his question valid.
Swallowing my pride and ego, I shook my head as I raked a freehand through my damp hair. My eyes danced to the side to catch Rohen staring at me with something that looked like a mix of shock, wrath, but most of all… acceptance.
Loosening the breath I held, I spoke the seven words I never envisioned would leave my mouth. Not after everythinghe’ddone to me. And yet, somehow, I was ready to hunt down Caspian Vayne for a new reason.
“I think it’s time we work together.”
CHAPTER 43
Bound Blood
CASPIAN
Traveling was something I typically relished: exploring the nuances of the world beyond, by land or sea, and breathing in the freshness of life without the constraints of capture. But when it involved being paraded around by a bitch and herworthlessentourage? I fucking loathed it.
It’d been nine days since Sapphira’s betrayal and Syoran’s death, nine days since I’d opened my mouth to utter a single word. Not because Sorva had silenced me by demand, but because not a single ounce of desire to engage with her flowed through my veins. She’d attempted to bait me with manipulation tactics I was far too acquainted with, and the only response I offered was a shrug or the raise of a brow before brushing her off as if she were nothing more than a mere mortal.
She claimed the king and the Otherswanted to form some sort of truce with me. What it entailed and why? I didn’t have a fucking clue.
What had caught my attention, though, was when the Prince of Serevalen was shoved off the second boat that docked in Ellira’s cove. It was a woman who guided him, walking with powerful prowess as her dark cloak dragged across the earth—one far too similar to Sorva’s to becoincidental.
