AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You have no idea.” I glance up at the door to the room where she still sleeps. “She’s the love of my life.”
“Glad you got that figured out. I thought you were going to make an ass of yourself yesterday and make me throw you out.” She tsks. “Jealousy is a fine thing to flavor fucking, but too much will ruin a relationship.”
I raise my brows. “I will strive to keep that in mind.”
“Good girl.” She half turns, and if I thought her smile was real enough for me, it’s nothing compared to the way she brightens. “Well, hello there, stranger.”
“Eloise.” The voice is deep and rough. “It’s been a long time.”
She leans on the bar and twines a strand of white hair around her finger, as coquettish as a woman a fraction of her age. “Never thought I’d see you around these parts, boy. I know how your people feel about the island.”
I freeze as the speaker comes even with me and leans wearily against the counter. It’s not his height or the broadness of his shoulders that makes my mouth go dry with fear. No, that fault lies entirely with the crimson cloak draped around his shoulders.
Cwn Annwn.
He sighs, seemingly oblivious to the way I’ve gone tense. “I’m on a retrieval mission, if you can believe it. Someone was foolish enough to steal from one of ours.”
“Is that so?” Eloise flicks a glance at me, and I am struck by the sudden suspicion that she knows exactly what was stolen and by whom.
I drop my hand casually to the dagger at my waist. Cwn Annwn might have been more myth than real to me until this point, but the man standing next to me is breathing the same air I am.
Which means he can die.
“Will your crew be joining you on this hunt?” Eloise is still flirting up a storm, but some tension has bled into her tone. “You know the monarch won’t like that, Bowen.”
“I’m aware.” His voice deepens a bit, going harsh. “They may be allowed to run this monstrosity for reasons unknown, but that doesn’t mean I answer to them.”
“You do on this island.” She straightens. “I highly suggest you present yourself to them, sooner rather than later. It’d be such a shame if this became an inter-realm incident. You’re too pretty for the creative punishments they come up with when they’re inspired.”
Bowen grimaces. “It’s already an inter-realm incident.”
“Mmm. It’s not the same and you know it. I suppose you’ll be wanting a room.”
“Better here than the inn. More people coming and going.”
She makes a point of eyeing his crimson cloak. “You stand out, boy. And I’m not talking about the pretty face.”
No matter what the witch says, he’s not pretty. His features are too brutal for that. Square jaw, large crooked nose, strong brows, and intense dark eyes. His long dark hair likely reaches his shoulders when it’s not tied back from his face. Scars mark his knuckles and the backs of his hands. Defensive wounds similar to those that mar my own skin. A fighter, but I didn’t need to see the scars to recognize that.
The sword at his waist tells me everything I need to know. It’s a style I can’t identify, much heftier than mine, and sheathed in a scabbard of leather, worn from time and exposure to the elements at sea. It’s not the scabbard of a nobleman, crusted with jewels and only there to be pretty. He uses that sword, and has for a long time.
I have to get Juliette out of here, and I have to do it now. I clear my throat. “Breakfast?”
“It’ll be up shortly.” Eloise winks at me, which could mean anything. Part of me hesitates to leave her alone with the Cwn Annwn, but the truth is that she could sell us out even if I’m standing right there. I can’t do anything to stop it.
Better that I escape with Juliette.
Even as I start for the stairs, working to keep my pace measured and relaxed, my mind is racing. If it were a matter of returning the piece of eight, I’d do it myself, but the Cwn Annwn don’t have a reputation for being forgiving. Juliette stole from them and then used that stolen item to travel to Atlantis, which is already a sore spot with them just for existing.
They’ll make an example of her—a deadly one.
I move through the door and shut it softly behind me. One deep breath and then I’m hurrying to the side of the bed. I press a hand lightly to Juliette’s mouth. “Wake up.”
I expect her to blink and stretch and ease into wakefulness. She doesn’t. She opens her eyes, seemingly completely coherent. It’s a neat trick, one I was forced to learn after a good number of nights when my life was in danger. I don’t like that she’s had to learn it as well, but that’s something to deal with another day.
