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“I don’t think that’s a good idea, lil shark.”
“Tomorrow we might die…” She pressed on, never taking no for an answer. “I don’t care about right or wrong or some notion you have in your head about why this can’t happen. I love you, Croygen. I have since the day I met you. And if tonight is all we have, I want to spend it with you.”
“Captain?” Zidane’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts, pulling me back to the present.
Rubbing my head, I exhaled. “Yes, we have a bounty on our heads in Shanghai.” Most pirates did. If Emperor Batara was known for his cruelty, Emperor Ju was going for most diabolical. He was old-school in his torture, taking up methods from Vlad the Impaler and Genghis Khan. All these men relished that they no longer had to play nice in the human world. The moment the fae were discovered and the worlds merged, they seemed to feel they had a right to be as horrible as they needed to be to keep humans “safe.” Total bullshit. Ju impaled more of his own people than anyone else for not paying their taxes.
His views on pirates were even worse than Batara’s. And he didn’t like me much.
“Maybe if you hadn’t fucked his wife.” Vane huffed.
Yeah, I did that.
“And then his eldest daughter the same night.”
“It was her twentieth birthday.” I shrugged. “I couldn’t say no to the birthday girl.”
“You really are a sick fuck.” Zid dropped into his seat with a laugh.
“You think you should talk, Zid?” I lifted an eyebrow. No one on this ship had any room to judge.
“With all our lives at risk, give us a good reason why we’re going back there?”
My gaze went to Scot, his chin dipping subtly.
Inhaling, I breathed out my answer. “Katrina.”
Confusion wrinkled the men’s brows. Corb, always the silent, unemotional one, even appeared baffled.
“Kitty-Kat?” Vane spoke.
“Don’t call her that.” I shot back, my voice lethal and deadly, jerking him back in his seat. A strange, protective vibe itched my shoulders because she hated others calling her that name. It could be intimate or demeaning. The fact that Killian could use it had always made me somewhat jealous. They had this bond, two kids growing up on a pirate ship together. It was not hard to see that he was completely enamored of her. And when I forced her off the ship, his admiration for me grew into animosity. Over the years, it turned to hate.
And in this world of cutthroat monsters, I couldn’t have any mistrust among my crew.
“Katrina made a vow,” I reported. “To Emperor Batara.”
Zid and Vane sucked in while Corb made a grunt of surprise.
“Why the fuck would she do that?” Vane sat up in his chair.
“To save her crew, her ship, and her life,” I replied, taking a sip of whiskey. “He has her going after something to cure his sick son.”
“And don’t tell me… it’s in Shanghai?” Zid ran his hand over his dreadlocks.
“Okay, so we drop her ass off, and we go on our way.” Vane lifted his hands. “Right?”
I wish it were that easy, but even when my mind told me it was the best option, I couldn’t bring myself to agree with the plan, something locking my jaw shut.
“What is she even looking for? Why can’t he get it in Singapore himself? Or have Ju ship it to him? They are allies.” Zid leaned over his thighs, no doubt realizing this was more than I was saying.
“That’s the thing. What she’s looking for…” I peered at my entire crew. “Might not even exist.”
“What do you mean, it might not exist?” Vane wagged his head in confusion.
“In desperation to save his son, Batara has her looking for something calledthe nectar.”
“Nectar? Like in flower nectar?” Vane asked.
