He grinned as his eyes swept over his hardened crew. A few of them spat and cursed as they walked past. The ship lurched in the direction of the Death Dunes.
Mystic. Carina was amystic. Was? Oh gods, where was she?
As if reading my thoughts, Lord Astraeus shrugged his shoulders. “Fear not. She and the queensguard are on theKraken, heading to shore. Along with the feisty Ravindra.”
Nerissa. Thank the gods.
Lord Astraeus strode past me to the rail and surveyed the burning waters, with his back to me.
I surveyed my weapons as best as possible. My blades were gone. I couldn’t feel the leather straps against my chest, and the cumbersome weight of my bow and quiver had disappeared.
Freezing in the waterlogged boots, I wiggled my feet against the solid length of my dagger. Talon’s smooth hilt was in my palm an instant later, and my arms were around Lord Astraeus’sbroad frame as I reached for his neck.I would kill him. His rough hand wrapped around mine, and he twisted.
I screamed as my tendons strained against the movement, refusing to drop my dagger. My nails raked against his neck with my other hand. He snarled and the world flipped as he twisted and hurled me over his head, slamming my back into the sodden deck of theHydra.
Pain blazed through the back of my head as I blinked back stars. Body braced against mine, he shoved his forearm against my neck, my chest screaming as he forced the air from my throat. His dark eyes shuddered at the reaction, his forearm loosening its touch. He opened his mouth to speak when a heavily tattooed arm wrapped around his throat.
Astraeus grunted as Vulcan’s fist connected with his side, the elf attacking with unrivaled viciousness. Lord Astraeus slipped Vulcan’s hold, landing a blow beneath the elf’s chin.
Fast. The pirate lord wasfastto keep up with Vulcan’s attack. Perhaps not quite like the elves, but for a human, he moved like a mountain cat. Head pounding, I scrambled for my dagger. My hand reached for its hilt as a boot slammed down on top of its golden gem. I jerked my gaze up and came face-to-face with the sea green eyes of Astraeus’s first mate. I’d seen him in the tents at Odessa. He sneered at me, placing my dagger at my own throat. The move sent my heart leaping into my chest, and the Obscura thundered against the endless wall.
Astraeus barked a curse over the chaos. The edge of Talon brushed against my skin as I whipped my head around. Astraeus, livid and nose bleeding, lurched toward Vulcan. The ex-War Slayer feigned left but leaped right, swinging his leg to the side to catch Astraeus in the ribs, but Astraeus anticipated the move, spinning to the side and slamming his own muscled leg into Vulcan’s core. A grunt escaped Vulcan’s lips as he went down. Six of Astraeus’s men leaped atop him.
“Stop!” I screamed, jerking against the first mate as his men pinned Vulcan down, Astraeus cracking his neck and swiping his dark hair back in a casual movement.
His eyes whipped to mine, widening as they landed on the dagger at my throat. His mouth parted for a moment, his face going slack, before he schooled his features.
“Raek,” he said, holding a hand out, unspoken command in his voice. He blinked once, his eyes focusing on the golden gem at the hilt of Talon.
“Attack Lord Astraeus again,” Raek seethed into my ear, “and we’ll send the rest of your pointy-eared friends swimming.” He slowly lowered Talon, flipped it in his palm, and handed it to his captain.
Astraeus’s dark eyes bore into me as he wiped the blood from his nose and slid a hand over the thick scratches that stretched across the side of his neck and over his tattoos. His lips twitched briefly as he pulled his fingers back to look at the smear of blood I’d left for him.
“Get your men off him,” I growled.
Arms pinned, Vulcan’s head slammed back as a fist crashed against his nose. Another across his cheek, aiming for the twining fern that adorned the side of his face. Fresh blood coated his already soaked shirt.
“Stop!” I screamed, unable to keep the plea from my voice, ready to launch out of Raek’s grip. I yelped as his hand twisted my own, the same Astraeus had injured. “Please, stop.”
“Takethisbelow deck,” Astraeus snarled, jerking his chin at the men who’d lost their hold on Vulcan, the ones beating the living shit out of him.
“And bind her,” he added, nodding to me. “The Death Dunes await.”
