Sniffing, I weigh the bloody thorn in my palm; so fine and delicate at the tip, stumpy at the base, the long, pronged roots making up its majority.
I lift my gaze, stabbing him with a hard stare. “Did you know that every time one of these is ripped free, it feels like the entire ear is torn off?”
He shakes his head with vigor, like he thinks that’ll absolve him. “N-no. I— I had n-no idea!”
Such a terrible lie. There’s no way he thought it feltgood.
“Shocking, right?” I set the thorn down and kneel at his side, reach into my pocket, and pull out a pair of pliers. His eyes bulge, fingers twitching to bunch despite his binds as I pinch his right thumbnail between the metal jaws and clamp down. I flash him a smile. “It feels a bit like this.”
Jerking my arm back, Iyank.
He screams so loud his voice cracks, hand trembling, blood splattering across the floor. His face crumbles, chest heaving, guttural sobs bubbling past his lips.
“Thankfully, our thorns grow back faster than fingernails,” I say through a twisted laugh that holds no humor, tossing the bloody pliers aside.
Much, much faster.
Perhaps I would feel bad about that, but the drugging numb of alcohol softens every sharp edge.
The world seems to rock beneath me, and I stumble onto my arse, landing so heavily my brain rattles. Deciding this is rather a decent spot to sit, I reach back and grip my dwindling bottle of whiskey.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret.” I drag a long glug, then tip the bottle toward the man, raising my brows as I swallow. “I know the one you seek,” I say on a hissed breath. “The one you believe will bring about the world’s end.”
His jagged moans whittle, eyes almost popping out of his head, and I note the deep shade of blue wrapped around the inky pupils. Far from the perfect match to mine, but beggars can’t be choosers.
“The one you use to justify thissickbehavior,” I spit, flicking my thorn in his face.
He flinches.
“She might do it, too.” I bank my head to the side, trying to narrow my double vision. “She might just end us all. But perhaps that’sexactlywhat we deserve.”
Again, his face crumbles, more sobs erupting from his twisted mouth, like he thinks the sound will save him. He’ll quickly learn it’s a waste of air. Waste of tears.
Waste of hope.
Perhaps I’d deal in mercy if it’d ever lined my pockets. But all they’ve done is take, take, fuckingtake.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” I mutter, leaning so I can dig through my pocket for the shaving blade, snapping it open. I lift it, sliding the honed edge across my scalp, severing clumps of iridescent hair that rain upon my shoulders and tumble to the floor. “You’ll tell me where you’re set to meet thisMadame Strings …”
Another shave.
“What’s expected of you …”
Another.
“Anything else you can possibly think up. And with each tidbit of information, I’ll give you one of those,” I say, gesturing to the basket beside me brimming with tall, plain candles and a shard of flint. “Precious flame you’ll need when the sun sinks and those shadows start tosing.”
Seated in Graves’s large desk chair, facing away from our company, I stare at the wooden shelf half-crammed with books, tracing the whorls of grain in the wood that reminds me of Rouste’s rolling dunes.
I can almost smell the sun-scorched sand. Can almost taste the sweet, watery fruit of a prickly pine bursting between my teeth. A perfect, calming distraction that stops me from spinning my chair.
Taking the lead despite the risks.
“Look, lady, I have no idea where his fleet is stored.” Captain Rowell’s ragged voice rumbles. “If I did, I’d steal a ship, collect me family, and get the fuck outta this Blight-infested shithole. And I’m not the only one who feels that way.”
“How many others do you think … feel that way?” Cindra asks from beside me, propped against the wall—arms crossed over her chest, her red merchant’s cloak hanging skewed over her curvy frame, the long, dreaded lengths of her hair bound into a tidy braid.
“Fair few. I know a handful of whaling crews ‘bout ready to throw in the barrel. Some of ‘em have teenage sons who know the way of the seas.”
