Holding my stare, she takes another bite and chews, clear fish juice dribbling down her sharp chin.
“Vicious? Should I call you that?”
Blink. Swallow. Another bite. She grabs the hand that’s holding my fish and pushes it toward my face.
Sigh.
Under her intense scrutiny, I get stuck into my meal, mind churning …
If we are where I think we are, how did she end up all alone on this island? How did she manage to get me here?
Why won’t she speak?
AndZyke… I wish he’d give me something.
Anything.
But he’s so deep, I can’t summon a single scale, and without a tail, I have no chance of outrunning the beast that haunts these waters. Which means I’m stuck here, on this island, with this strange and silent female—more weak and vulnerable than I’ve ever been before.
Oceans apart from Orlaith. From where I last saw her looking up at Zykanth with flat, fearless eyes I barely recognized moments before he buckled beside the ship …
That, above all else, frightens me the most.
Raging fire engulfs the house, devouring it until nothing is left but a black shell. It crumbles, feeding the swirl of ash and sparks skating on the wind with the cloying smell of baked flesh.
My knees buckle, a scream caught behind chattering teeth as I slam my hand against the sturdy trunk of a tree.
A hungry gravity makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Found you.”
Those deep, frosty words flog my heart into a wild gallop, and I spin, gasping at the sight of Rhordyn standing over me—masculine granite features lit by angry orange light.
His eyes are pewter spades unearthing me in heaped scoops.
His brow buckles, gaze spearing over my shoulder.
Frantic fear wrestles inside my chest.
Don’t look.
Please.
I start to back away—
He grips my chin so hard it hurts, forcing me to turn, to stare at the flaming carnage reflected in his eyes.
“Milaje, what did you do?”
I snatch his wrist in an attempt to free myself, see that my hand is smothered in bold red blood.
Drip …
Drip …
Drip …
I close my eyes. Squeeze them tight. Try to sever myself from the reality I can’t escape.
