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And me?
I’m going to see what the rest of the realms have to offer. Without the future I dreamed about with Maura, there’s nothing left for me in my realm. No kingdom. No throne. No lover. I only have the money in my bag, but I’ll find a way forward. Anything is better than marrying some stranger and moving to a court where everyone will act the part of an enemy.
There’s the small problem of the Cwn Annwn, but surely they’re not as fearsome as Maura acts. The old man visiting my father’s court certainly isn’t. He seemed more intent on wine and wenches than anything else. I’m still not sure why he was in court, though. To the best of my understanding, the Cwn Annwn are essentially pirates who hunt the space between realms. They’re not supposed to care about what happens in the realms themselves, only that people don’t muck about in the in-between.
Personally, I have no intention of spending any time in that in-between. Which means I should be in the clear. There is the small matter of my stealing from them, but surely that old man will think he misplaced it and not realize who took it. It should be fine. Probably. Hopefully.
I’m one woman. I may not have a lot of life experience outside my father’s castle, but I’m a quick learner. I’ll figure it out.
I just have to lose my angry ex first.
We barely reach the docks when I spring into action. I step off the boat, fully intending to make a smooth exit. Unfortunately, my legs haven’t gotten the memo.
I read about sea legs and mentally prepared for the sway and tilt of a ship. But I didn’t expect to feel like the land is moving strangely beneath my feet.
A strong hand catches my elbow, keeping me on my feet when I stumble. I look up to find Maura standing too close. Her gaze drops to my mouth and then rises to my eyes. “If you don’t slow down, I swear to the gods, I will tie you up and leave you in my cabin.” She tightens her grip on my elbow. “Do not talk to me about how good you are at slipping knots. You can’t untie shit if I bind your wrists to your ankles.”
“You keep threatening to tie me up.” My breath catches on something in my chest. “Sounds like fun.”
“Like fun,” she repeats and then curses. “You are going to get yourself killed. You don’t have a lick of sense.”
I’ll lick your sense.
I manage to keep the nonsense statement internal. Barely.
Distantly, there’s a cry of a crowd. I can’t tell if it’s joy or rage. Crowds are tricky like that; their mood can turn dangerous without warning. I can’t see it, which isn’t the comfort it should be. This island isn’t big enough to hide effectively if it comes to that, and even if we could get back to the ship, there are the mermaids to contend with.
Mermaids.
I’ve heard stories, of course, but I pictured creatures that were more majestic and less murderous. The elemental fire users were the only reason we didn’t lose anyone during that harrowing experience. One we’ll have to repeat to leave the island. The realization makes my stomach hurt.
Maura motions to Daichi, and he checks the rope he tossed around one of the metal ties on the dock. He frowns. “Dockmaster or someone else should be here.”
“Yes.” She narrows her eyes. “Let’s head into town and find someone to clue us in.”
Daichi grins as if she’s given him a great gift. “You know where we’re headed.”
Maura rolls her eyes, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Of course. Gods forbid I doubt your selfish intentions.”
“Never selfish. What I do, I do for my crew.” He bounds off the boat and heads down the dock with long, ground-eating strides.
Maura motions at the other crew member. “Go with him, and keep him on task. We need that information more than Daichi needs his cock sucked.”
“You know how he is.”
“I do, but we haven’t been at sea that long. He’ll survive a few hours.”
“Yes, Captain.” They sigh and head after the navigator.
Leaving me and Maura alone.
I catch her looking at me strangely and fold my hands primly before me. “Are we going to stand here and wait?”
For a second, I think she might try to make me do exactly that. Instead, she shakes her head. “No, we’re sitting ducks here. Come on.”
I ignore her outstretched hand and start down the dock. The colorful buildings grouped just off the beach call to me. I didn’t come all this way to play it safe. I want to explore. There are so many new experiences here, I can practically taste them.
Yes, it’s a little scary, but what new experiences aren’t a little scary?
