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“Sebastian!” Zephyr’s voice cuts through the haze, and he rushes to my side, concern etched on his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I growl, waving him away. But Zephyr remains stubborn, folding his arms across his chest.
“It’s not nothing. Now you can either tell me, or I’ll get Smee.”
Another wave of heat washes over me, and I tense, gritting my teeth to stifle a groan. Nelvin approaches, limping slightly, but manages to flash his signature grin.
“Alright there, Captain?” he asks, one perfect eyebrow raised. Fucking elves and their cunning nature.
I straighten up, sucking in a deep breath as I try to shake off the pressure in my chest. “I don’t know what’s happening,” I admit, my voice strained.
Zephyr looks me up and down, his brown eyes widening as they pause, then he darts his gaze away, staring out into the sea. His dark green lips press into a thin line without a word.
Odd…
Nelvin’s laugh draws my attention and I watch him twirl on his heel before bringing his mischievous eyes to mine. “I’m no expert in blood oaths, but if I had to guess, your little witch wants to talk,” he says, smirking.
My stomach drops. Glancing down at my body, I curse under my breath. Screw leather pants. They keep nothing to the imagination. I close my eyes, letting my head fall back for a moment. “The gods are testing me… I will not know fucking peace so long as that woman breathes.” The raw truth of it settles heavily in my chest, and I can’t help but wonder how things got this complicated.
“There’s a simple fix for that, you know,” Nelvin says and I glare at him. I’m not in the mood for his jokes or his sly comments today. With a frustrated growl, I storm off toward my room, leaving Zephyr and Nelvin behind on the deck.
“Good luck!” Nelvin calls after me, but I ignore him, focused on the task ahead. My heart pounds as I brace myself for the confrontation with Scarlet—the witch who’s managed to entangle herself in every part of my life.
Whatever awaits me behind that door, one thing is certain: nothing will be the same once it’s opened. I untie the rope the men used to close the door since the latch broke, and I keep one end tied, taking the other end with me inside as I enter, ready to face the storm. I can only hope that I’m strong enough to weather.
“Do you have a death wish, woman?” The words come out like a snarl, but every emotion leaves me in an instant. I don’t even get a chance to tie the rope to the cabinet as I take in the sight before me.
She’s drawn a bath, having figured out the magic symbols the water elementals enchanted. It’s a network that pumps seawater through a series of channels to clean and desalinate the water. We wouldn’t be able to stay out here so long without it.
Steam rises from the water. She’s managed to warm it somehow. But she doesn’t sit inside the layer of bubbles. Instead, she’s naked except for the towel wrapped around her middle, like I caught her before she could get in.
My eyes trail down the length of her throat and my mouth goes dry, reaching the delicate curve of her shoulder, and the arches of her breast, peaking over the fabric edge. Her wide hazel eyes are frozen in time, staring at me.
Fuck me… This is it. This is how I lose the other half of my soul. This damn woman has me so wrapped around her finger that a single glance at her perfect body can sap me of the anger that seemed to boil my blood moments ago.
She’s standing next to the shelves, and in hindsight, putting someone suspected of being a blood witch in a room full of magical objects and grimoires wasn’t the smartest move. Still, if she wanted me dead, she would’ve killed me by now. I’d let my guard down countless times with this woman, trying to make the best of our arrangement and see if we could truly care for one another in marriage. She had plenty of windows of opportunity but didn’t. Not to mention she kept the beast from sinking the ship when she could’ve ridden it out of here and left us to die.
In her hand is a milky, white stone. A moonstone. The one I needed before her.
“Don’t touch that,” I say, finally mustering up the ability to speak.
“I’m sorry,” she says, quickly placing it back on the shelf and closing the cabinet door. “It’s beautiful. I’d never seen one that big—I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have touched it.” She hangs her head, clutching the towel close to her body.
I turn around, pinching the bridge of my nose as I try to erase the image of her from my mind. “I need you to control your emotions, please. I can’t focus and if we don’t fix the ship, we’re all going to die out here. And for the love of the gods, don’t touch the stone. It amplifies everything you feel. Which is great for someone lacking a shadow. Not so much for someone like you.”
“You mean for a witch…” The defeat in her voice guts me. I don’t know how to handle this. I don’t know what to do about any of it. Anyone else, I’d have booted her pretty ass overboard without a second thought, but I’m stuck…
That stone was the only thing I had before her, it allowed me to feel but it’s nothing like this. Even drowning in her emotions like I am, I’d much rather experience it all than be numb again. If she dies, the bond breaks and that is over.
It could take years to get my shadow back… She’s all I have.
“No, I didn’t mean as a…” I trail off, not wanting to say it out loud. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t keep flip-flopping between wanting to murder the people I love and wanting to fuck you senseless. So please, get in the bath. Splash some water on your face and get a grip. I won’t put the people on this ship in danger because you feel like being a royal pain in my ass.” My jaw clenches, teeth grinding together as I resist the urge to look back.
“Does that mean you don’t plan to kill me?” I hear her step into the water.
My voice softens. “I don’t know what I want anymore.”
My heart hammers against my chest, an angry tempo matching the fury coursing through my veins. It’s the only way I can think of to drown out the sadness and desire she forces upon me.
