Heavy, brooding clouds obscured the morning sky, blotting out the sun and cocooning Ortega Key in a blanket of darkness. Rain poured from the heavens, crashing against the vendor stalls on the streets and turning the gravel to mud. Umbrella in hand, I moved from shop to shop, hounding the locals for information on beasts.
Clutching the handle tight, I sidestepped a deep puddle and continued toward another vendor. I could have stayed at the inn. No one would have faulted me for hiding from this torrential onslaught. But I couldn’t stand still. Out here, there was space to breathe. Space to think. Space to encourage distance from the man who, intentionally or not, continued to wreak havoc on my thoughts.
“Hey there. How’s your friend doing?”
Lost in thought, I hadn’t realized I’d meandered to a stall laden with fresh fish. Gleaming scales doused in rain glistened from buckets of ice, and a fiery redhead peered up at me as she crouched over the nearest one. Wiping her hands on an apron across her waist, she stood and smiled.
“Corinne, right?” I stepped under the awning and closed my umbrella, shaking water on the ground. “And do you mean Ozias?”
Her smile deepened. “That’s the one.”
“He’s fine. Is this a recent catch?” Gesturing to the fish splayed before us, I flashed her a grin of my own.
“Yeah, when we’re not ferrying guests, we’re fishing. We didn’t get our usual haul today. The coast along Queens Isle has the best fish, but the storm hit early and we had to turn back.”
A crack of lightning illuminated the sky. “Sorry to hear that.”
Corinne shrugged. “Personally, I’m glad. Lots of weird noises coming from the jungle.”
“Noises?”
She nodded. “Some sort of yowling. At first, I thought it was the storm, but I swear it’s something else.”
Sharp tingling stirred in my fingertips. The Myad. She’d heard the legendary beast’s mating call. A male, then. I inched closer to her. “Can you take me there?”
She placed her hands on her hips. “What? Now? No. If the storm clears up, we can go tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
A faint smile touched her lips, and she quickly glanced at my bestiary. “Private charter?”
“That would be best. I’ll pay, of course.” The thought of emptying my coin purse based solely on the hearsay of this woman sent my stomach reeling, but the Myad would be worth it. Hehadto be there.
“I’ll let my father know.”
I couldn’t keep myself from smiling. “Thanks for your help, Corinne. I’ve got to tell the others.”
“Tell Ozias I said ‘hi.’”
“Will do.” Freeing my umbrella, I darted out into the street and booked it toward the Roasted Boar. The Myad had probably made the dense jungle of Queens Isle his den. If he’d been away spreading his scent to attract mates to his location, he’d spend the next few days perfecting his lair.
It was either strike now, or wait and possibly face two Myads at once. Or three, if two separate females decided to follow his trail. Chances of taming him were low already. If more appeared, death wasn’t just a risk—it was a guarantee.
But I still needed a murderer’s blood to complete the taming. My mind reeled at the options. Oz was most likely to comply, but part of me wanted it to be Noc. I didn’t dare examine that notion long enough to understand why.
As if my thoughts somehow summoned the damn assassin, I hiked up the groaning steps of the inn to find him already lingering on the wraparound porch. The rain seemed to harden to ice, and I froze in place. Sleeves rolled past his elbows, he wore a black tunic that hugged the hard cut of his body.
My heart thrummed against my rib cage. “Morning.”
He parked a hip on the railing, turning his back to the road. “Morning.”
I couldn’t stand his slate eyes. So sharp and calculating and inquisitive. They threatened to crack me wide open when all I wanted to do was barricade myself shut. “I’ve got a lead on some beasts. We’ll head to Queens Isle first thing tomorrow.”
His jaw twitched, and he gripped the railing on either side of him. “Great.”
I closed my umbrella. “What are you doing out here?”
“I needed some air.” Bone-white knuckles gleamed at me. In terms of proximity, we were so close…
