AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She narrows her eyes, but something must show on my face because she nods instead of argues. Juliette turns to the parrot shop’s owner with a charming smile. “Thank you so much for keeping me company. It was absolutely lovely chatting with you.”
“Of course.” They smile. “Please come back and visit before you leave the island.”
“I absolutely will.”
I turn and fall into step next to her as we leave the shop. It only takes a few seconds to bring her up to speed. I clasp her arm and guide her back the way we came, near the tree line. “I need you to stay in the room so I can track down Daichi and update the crew.”
“Okay.”
I’m already starting to detail out my argument on why she needs to stay in the room when I realize she agreed with me. “Really?”
“Yes.” Juliette smiles, but her eyes are worried. “I know you think I’m reckless, but I occasionally do know when to quit. I don’t want to die, Maura. I’ll do whatever you tell me to. For now, at least.”
I don’t want her afraid, but if that’s what it takes for her to stay safe, then it is a small price to pay. All the same, I take her hand and raise it to my lips, then press a kiss to her knuckles. “Three days. We just need to hold out for three days, and then we get off this island.”
She watches me with sober eyes. “And then we’ll be together. “
It’s not a question, but it feels a little bit like she’s asking me to confirm. “Yes, Jules. And then will be together. Forever.”
17
JULIETTE
After Maura tucks me safely away in the room, she leaves to track down her navigator so she can send a message to her crew to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. A first, she wants to take the piece of eight with her in case the Cwn Annwn is tracking it, but I very reasonably point out that if he was using it to track me, he would have found me by now.
And…I might be starting to trust her, but there’s a small, scared part of me that is afraid she’ll take the magical coin and leave without me. She must see the fear on my face, because she doesn’t press me.
It will take most of the three days to get everything in order with her ship. From what I understand, even with the exit spell, we won’t entirely know where it will send us. In our realm, yes, but that could be anywhere.
For two nights, I listen to Maura detail her plans. How she’s outfitting the ship with plenty of food in case we’re nowhere near land. How she’s allowing the crew short trips inland to work some of their frustrations off. How Daichi and Cai are keeping things in line in her absence.
Most importantly, she updates me on Bowen’s actions. Apparently his trip to visit the monarch was successful, and he was granted permission to hunt. There’s fear in Maura’s voice when she describes how methodically he is moving through the square. It appears he’s staying in The Bawdy Banquet, which is probably the only reason she hasn’t pulled me out of here before now. Even so, the trip to the docks and out to the ship will be harrowing.
I care about the danger. Really, I do. But no matter how nice this room is, there’s only so much entertainment to be had. I am bored out of my fucking mind. Maura tries to keep me entertained with books and puzzles, but I’m not a creature meant for stillness. It’s only the threat of death that keeps me from giving in to my more chaotic impulses and slipping out to explore the island.
When Maura comes back around lunchtime on the third day, I’m about ready to climb the walls.
She shuts the door and slumps against it. “Well, that took longer than I thought it would, but the crew is now officially back on The Kelpie, so all we need is the exit spell, and we can get the fuck out of here.”
Knowing we are getting things in place to escape without me getting murdered should make me happy, but now that there’s nothing else to focus on, all I can think of is the future.
The subject we danced around for the past three days. “Maura… I want to know why you didn’t show up at our meeting place like you promised. I understand why you didn’t sail into the harbor…but you didn’t come at all.”
She drags her hand over her face and nods. “Seiko is bringing up lunch and drinks. Let me clean up a little bit, and then we’ll talk. Actually talk.”
I search her expression for some kind of trickery, but all I see is exhaustion. The past couple of days have taken their toll on me too. And though part of me wants to push this right now, what difference does a few minutes make? “Okay.”
