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She scanned the length of me, playing out many moves of her own, and during such time, I was convinced of my original suspicions. “My name is Evelyn Zhou. And I am the ruler here in Varium.”
“I wasn’t aware Varium had a ruler,” I said with a quirk of my brow, wishing to see her reaction to my slight boldness.
She certainly didn’t disappoint. Evelyn’s nostrils flared only once before she plastered a sensual smile upon her face. “There are many things that have changed in Varium while the eyes of this world have been elsewhere. We are but a small town, and safety has been our people’s primary concern after startling rumors began.”
She thought Varium to be small? In comparison to what? I almost chuckled at her words but kept my face impassive.
Leaning against the railing and folding my arms, I took her in as a few additional men made themselves visible on her ship. Varium had been a rough place in the past, but by the looks of the tattooed muscle behind Evelyn, it was surely even more dangerous than before. Especially for those defying their likely self-appointed protector.
“Now, did my eyes deceive me, or were there casters aboard your airship, Captain? Their actions saved you from our usual attacks.” The smile spreading across her face was positively snakelike, regardless of the charm she attempted to throw behind it.
Evelyn Zhou was dangerous. And I’d keep Ainsley away from her at—
“That is correct,” Ainsley said, interrupting my internal musings.
Damn, that woman would surely be the death of me.
Evelyn’s smile froze as she took in Ainsley’s appearance, clearly—if only to me—giving her a onceover. “I would love to come aboard and meet some of my own kind,” she said. “It has been far too long since I have had worthy company.” She laughed and lifted a hand in the air with a dramatic flourish.
The men at her back sheathed their weapons and seemed to stand more at ease.
I looked to my first mate, whose eyes were trained so hard on the guest ship, that I thought he might bloody well burn a hole through it. His gaze met mine, and he gave the slightest of nods.
Rek would be prepared should we require a quick getaway. He was focused. Now, we only needed to ensure we didn’t reveal more of our hand than necessary.
“Please, feel free to come aboard. We'll ready a plank.” Those words had been difficult to utter, but I did so for Ainsley, and her alone. Hopefully, the expression on my face did not reveal the contempt I felt deep in my bones.
Pivoting, I addressed my crew—many of which were standing around and itching for a battle to ensue—and ordered them to load the plank across the ship. They obeyed, scurrying quickly and taking care of my request.
Ainsley moved closer to me, and Jo lurked down the back stairwell on the opposite side of Rek. She remained far enough behind us so that no one would see her until they had already come aboard.
“Do not divulge anything more than we need to,” I whispered covertly behind my hand as I raked it down my face when Ainsley was near enough.
She glanced down once, lowering her head, signaling that she understood, and then walked a few paces back and away from me, studying the newly introduced caster aboard our ship.
As much as I could without being noticed, I cataloged specific details of each of the five men that embarked my ship. Evelyn was the only female who’d come aboard, and the only one I could see out of the handful of crew members that remained behind on her vessel as the others boarded.
“Rek,” I said. “Offer our guests some provisions.” I wanted to separate Evelyn’s men from her as much as possible before any sort of magic discussions could be had, and Ainsley and Jo revealed themselves.
At my nod, Rek knew what to do. He eyed everyone warily as they crossed the deck. “You there, come with me. I’ll get you and your men a drink.”
Bruno narrowed his eyes. “Afraid not. I stay with Miss Evelyn,” he said, tilting his head and giving Rek a onceover. “The rest of my men? They may go.”
Ainsley gripped my hand and squeezed. “Aye,” I said and glanced at Rek. “Bruno, why don’t we allow the ladies to get better acquainted, yes?”
He scratched his chin and swiveled his gaze to Evelyn.
She smiled and sauntered toward us. “Bruno, dear, we are amongst friends. There is no need to be so uptight.”
Jo snorted and mumbled under her breath, “Uptight my ass. Ya couldn’t fit a kernel between his cheeks.”
Jackson’s echoing snort drew a glare from Ainsley. I’d nearly forgotten he was stalking around us like a shadow.
When Bruno didn’t relax, Evelyn placed a hand on the guard's thick forearm. Without a word, the tension in the man’s shoulders relaxed and he took a step toward me.
I eyed him cautiously.
He lowered his voice. “My apologies, Captain. I’ve been looking after Evelyn since her mother’s death. Sometimes I may take my role too far.”
