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It’s on the tip of my tongue to offer to carry Evelyn, but that’s not a reasonable offer to make. The impulse isn’t reasonable, either. Everything about this woman has me twisted up in knots. The worst part is that I don’t know if I want to untwist myself … or urge her to bind me tighter to her.
I know what her answer would be. After all, her main priority is getting away from me. Or at least, away from the Cwn Annwn. But it might as well be the same thing because I am the Cwn Annwn.
I walk to the door and hold it open, watching her closely as she stumbles toward me. “Don’t fall.”
“And deprive you of a chance to catch me?” She moves past me, each step becoming steadier. “Hold your breath, Captain.”
The crew has cleared out, but I feel their attention on me as we sail into the bay where the village resides. Very few of them are happy with this turn of events, but they can join the club because I’m not happy, either. I have never questioned my purpose. I’m trying very hard not to question it now.
Except isn’t that exactly what I’m doing? The order came directly from the Council. I’ve read it on my desk half a dozen times since Evelyn came aboard. It might be a little sparser on the details than some orders are, but it’s clear enough. And the follow-up confirmed that the dragon killed more than a single person, though even one death would be enough to condemn it.
I’ve never done a separate investigation of an order on my own. I’ve never even considered that I would need to. I shake my head hard. No, damn it. I’m not a traitor. I’m only doing this for Evelyn, to ensure that she accepts the reality of her situation and stops doing things that will force me to hurt her.
I desperately want her to stay safe, even from us. Especially from us.
Neither of us speak as I use my magic to lift us down to the dock. The village isn’t visible from our current location, so I motion for Evelyn to precede me down the dirt road that leads into the trees. It’s only then that I see the strange look on her face. “What’s wrong?” I turn to follow her gaze, trying to find the danger that must’ve put the stricken look on her face. “What do you see?”
“I recognize these trees,” she says softly. “They’re just like the ones that grow around my late grandmother’s house.”
A strange feeling comes over me. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that several realms have the same kind of trees. Some of them are damn near identical to one another. There’s no reason to think we happened to land on the one island out of hundreds that actually leads back to Evelyn’s home realm. The odds are astronomical. Beyond astronomical.
“That’s not why we’re here.”
“If I gave you the slip, I might not end up home, but I have a feeling this realm wouldn’t be that unfamiliar.” She’s still speaking softly, almost as if she’s musing aloud.
Again, that strange fear takes hold of me. “It doesn’t matter if the realm is familiar or not. If you run, you will be hunted.”
“I’m already being hunted. That’s nothing new.” She starts up the path, leaving me to follow. By the time we reach the trees, one would never know that she had been injured a mere hour ago.
Reluctant admiration mixes in with my fear for her. She’s so damned fierce, and she might get knocked down regularly, but she bounces right back up. Yes, her honor seems strangely questionable … but I’m not even certain I believe that anymore. Someone without honor doesn’t weep for the life of a vicious monster. She did what she had to do to protect me and herself from the cat-sìth, but it brought her no joy. I understand that all too well.
We reach the village in short order, and it’s only because I’m watching Evelyn so closely that I see her miss a step, that I see the recognition in her green eyes as she surveys the buildings and the people moving about their day.
This island’s portal really does lead back to her realm.
She’s going to make a run for it again.
CHAPTER 16
Evelyn
THE BUILDINGS AND PEOPLE IN THIS TOWN COULD BE pulled straight out of a history book. At least if that history book drew from multiple different cultures spread across the world. There are the distinct roof lines of pagodas, and their inverse in rumah gadang with spiked gables. I even catch sight of several turf houses on the perimeter. The chaotic mix somehow comes together to create a cohesive whole.
The people are equally varied. There is every skin tone and body type imaginable. It must be market day, because there’s a bit of a crowd gathered in the open space between buildings. Stalls with brightly colored awnings offer fruits and vegetables I recognize—apples and pomegranates and squash. People haggle over prices in a way that’s so familiar, it actually hurts.
Human. They are all undeniably human.
Just to be sure, I pull my drained reserves of magic and cast it out in a faint circle. Sure enough, they’re human, albeit of a magical variety. The people closest to us give me a sharp look as I scan them, but they quickly look away when they see Bowen at my back. Their fear is so transparent that it actually gives me pause.
I look around again, and sure enough, people have melted away from us until we’re standing in a large circle. They haven’t actually fled, but I see a parent grab their child’s arm before the kid can run into the empty space. They sweep up the child and hurry away, their expression stricken. “Bowen—”
He wraps a careful hand around my wrist. “Don’t scan them. It’s rude.”
“It’s not me they’re reacting to,” I say softly. They watch him with a wariness one would give a hungry wolf that wandered into their midst. I study his expression, wondering if he sees it, too. The Bowen I’ve come to know would be incredibly bothered by this reaction, and sure enough, there’s a new tension in his shoulders. But he still doesn’t seem to be fully registering exactly how wary these people are. “Is this how every village reacts when you come into it?”
“Evelyn.” His voice is deeper than normal. Despite myself, I inch closer to him. This man exerts a pull of gravity all his own. “Stop trying to distract me from the fact that you’re looking for an exit.”
For once, I hadn’t been. I don’t imagine the portal will have a giant sign announcing its presence overhead. It certainly won’t be in the village center where anyone could tumble into it.
