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“You’re going to have to be more specific.”
Her dodge may as well be a confession. I open my mouth to yell at her for being reckless, but Daichi chooses that moment to interrupt, his voice a whisper in my ear. “You have an audience, Captain.”
I snap my mouth shut. Right. The crew. I will have to deal with Juliette later. Right now, I need to see us through.
“Cai.”
Ze appears at my shoulder. “Yes, Captain.”
“You’re in charge. I’m taking a small group ashore to get the lay of the land.”
Ze raises zir brows. “Are we going to talk about the mermaids?”
We aren’t going to talk about any of this, at least until I know we’re not going to be facing down the Cwn Annwn…or something even worse. “Not yet. Keep the crew content, and we’ll give word if it’s safe.”
“We’re pirates. Safe isn’t in the job description.”
I give zir the look that statement deserves. I know Cai doesn’t want to be left behind, but one of us has to be here, and it won’t be me. Not this time.
“I’m coming, too.”
I don’t look at Juliette. “Absolutely not.”
“Either I go with you, or I go on my own.”
I release the helm so fast, Cai has to step in and catch it before it spins. “You’re out of your damn mind if you think you’re leaving this ship.” I advance on her, and a deep, dark part of me is delighted that she holds her ground. Juliette never knows when to bend. It probably comes from being born rich and privileged and never having to worry that someone will lay a hand on her precious royal skin.
Or maybe she knows I would cut off my hand before I raised it to her, even if I do want to throttle her right now. I refuse to examine how warm that makes my chest.
I lean down until my lips brush the shell of her ear. “I will truss you up and leave you in my cabin before I allow you to put yourself and my people in danger.”
“I’m excellent at undoing knots and picking locks. You can’t hold me.”
“Watch me.”
“Captain.”
I bite down a curse and turn back to Cai. “What?”
“Unless you want to put a guard on her, it may be wise to take her with you.” Ze’s glance at Juliette isn’t exactly kind. “She’s the reason we’re here. I don’t want her pulling some more strange magic and sucking the ship in again. We run the risk of leaving you behind and being unable to return.”
“I would never—”
Cai’s right. She could take my ship and crew and leave me stranded. The thought leaves me sick to my stomach. What a fucking mess. If I leave her behind, she’ll try to follow anyway. She may even do something foolish like attempt to swim.
The thought makes my stomach drop. “You’re coming, but if you make one wrong move, I’m gagging you and tying you to the mast.”
“Yes, Captain,” Juliette says meekly, every line of her pretty face repentant and innocent.
It’s a lie.
Which makes me wonder what else she’s lying about.
8
JULIETTE
I can’t stop looking around me. It’s hard to get a good gauge of the island, but it seems smaller than I imagined. Surely the fabled Atlantis should be larger than life.
This place is…almost mundane.
Not that Maura acts like it as her crew lowers a boat into the water and she directs me to follow Daichi down the rope ladder to it.
He’s an attractive fellow, tall, with short black hair, broad shoulders, and light brown skin. His eyes are almost inky, and there’s mischief in them as I step down next to him and take the seat he indicates.
He grins. “You’ve got our captain in a tizzy.”
A tizzy. Maura has never been in a tizzy in her life; she doesn’t know the meaning of the word. She snarls and snaps and curses, but she doesn’t throw childlike tantrums.
That’s my department.
Not that I do it often now. I’m an adult, after all. But my father hates what he terms hysterics, so indulging in that sort of thing is a surefire way to get out of difficult conversations with him. It’s a moot point now.
I have absolutely no intention of going home. Ever.
Another crew member whose name I haven’t caught descends the ladder, and Maura drops lightly into the boat a few seconds later. She glares at the docks. “No chance of getting in there without someone seeing us. Play this straight.”
“Yes, Captain.” Daichi isn’t acting quick with his words now. Maura’s tension has bled into our small group, and even I catch myself hunching my shoulders. It takes effort to straighten my spine and lift my chin.
I can feel Maura’s gaze on me, but I ignore her. This is still goodbye, no matter what else happens. I’m sure there’s a way back for The Kelpie; we just have to find the right person to ask.
