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“Ruby’s merchant friends. Ex-pirates. They will handle them.”
“Death?”
“Prison,” she corrected. “They can sort out which island’s prison.”
“Do you always get rid of enemies that way?”
Fascination riddled his tone. Not about to give him ammunition to taunt her, she shrugged.
“It depends.”
Silence. The four continued to shore, climbing their small boat and paddling to their bigger one without urgency. Klaus glanced at the castle.
“Either Emerald’s a heavy sleeper or we managed to keep that on the down low.”
“On the down low,” she confirmed. “The warlock was experienced.”
“I see.”
Assured that the pirates and warlock were no longer their problems, Sapphire made her way back down. Klaus followed her. Her energy dwindled by the second, agitating her. In frustration, she turned to him.
“Do you know what the problem there was?”
Klaus studied her face. “No. But I’m sure you’re about to educate me.”
“Two men with overinflated egos not listening when a woman tries to deescalate the situation.”
“All I saw was a man with power using it to abuse my guest—and three other men watching him like he was performing a very entertaining act. If you were a man, I would have done the same.”
“I had it handled. He was about to release me. You didn’t have to meddle.”
“You forget this is my territory and you don’t get to say how I handle things.”
“How could I forget when you remind me constantly?” she shot back. “You risked it.”
“Risked what?”
“Your life. For nothing. That was stupid.”
His lips flattened. “Are you calling me stupid?”
“No. I’m calling what you did stupid. Ego-ridden. Impulsive. Cocky. You’re supposed to be clever, so you should know not to engage a magic user like that.”
Black eyes widened, but her words didn’t trigger him. In fact, the more agitated she got, the more he seemed to relax as a smirk formed on his lips.
“I see now.”
“See what?”
“You hate me beyond existence, but your moral compass won’t allow me to die in their hands, even if it means our magical pact will be broken.”
Her mouth dropped open, then closed.
“There’s that ego again.” She paused, the rest of his words sinking in. “And I don’t hate you.”
Her voice held a rich coating of resentment, but he didn’t seem to mind. Klaus shrugged.
“They wouldn’t have killed me. Impenetrable hide, remember?”
