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—Tom
“I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
I look up to find Bowen leaning against the doorframe. He seems a little better now that he’s showered, but he’s still too pale. I also highly suspect the reason he’s leaning is because he can’t stand straight on his own reliably. I pat the bed next to me. “Come look at this.”
He joins me and peers over my shoulder as I read through a few other entries. Some of them are long. Some are short. All are from people relieved to be heading through a portal and out of Threshold before the Cwn Annwn can coerce them into making a vow. Considering who sent us here, I have to believe that at least a few of the Cwn Annwn are part of this network. Nox is more than proof of that, but there have to be more.
Bowen trails his finger down one page. “A couple weeks ago, I would have called this treason.”
“I know.”
He’s silent for quite some time. I let him think as I continue reading through the entries. My curiosity about these people, about how they got here, about how they’re getting home … it’s like a live thing inside me. I won’t pretend that I’ve been altruistic for any part of my life. Bunny had a strange way of looking at that sort of thing. Or maybe not so strange at all. She charged through the nose for her services, but more than once, I caught her slipping spells to people who never could’ve afforded her prices. I’ve done the same.
This is different.
This is … purpose.
“As a former captain, no one helping these people will believe that I genuinely want to be part of this group out of the goodness of my soul. They’ll assume I’m a plant.”
I carefully close the book and give him my full attention. “For a lot of people, they’ll look at your actions over the last twenty years. It will take time for you to prove that you’re something more than that man.” I make a face. “Though I’m not exactly sure how to handle that without getting us both killed by the Cwn Annwn.”
“Yes … that’s something I’m considering, as well.” He frowns. “But then again, Nox is part of the Cwn Annwn. It appears that they’re also part of this movement. I’m not sure how they manage that while being quartermaster to Hedd. There’s no way that he’s aware of this.”
“Agreed.” I shudder. From what I know of that man, he’s more likely to behead someone seeking sanctuary than to give them the means to return to their realm. “But if Nox is managing to pull it off, then I bet there are others, too. There have to be for this to work. They can’t be operating alone. This is too organized for a single person to be behind it. Maybe there’s a way to look like we’re fulfilling our vows, but to work against the Cwn Annwn.”
He stabs a single finger against the cover of the book. “Perhaps. But I find that I no longer have the stomach for monster killing. We’ll have to find another way. One that doesn’t paint a target on our backs in the process.”
I lean against his shoulder carefully. “What if we’re just very bad at what we do? We’ll try really hard, but those wily monsters will slip through our fingers again and again. Except mermaids. Fuck those mermaids.”
Bowen chuckles. “We don’t have to have all the answers right now. We’ll stay the night here and then head into the city tomorrow.”
I don’t want to go into town. I want to stay in this strange, magical place where possibilities seem endless and we don’t have to make hard decisions. It’s a silly dream. Life is full of hard decisions, and if we mean to work against the Cwn Annwn, then we have to figure out how to thread the needle. But he’s right; we don’t have to figure it out tonight.
“Let’s eat.” I stand and offer my hand. It’s a testament to how shaky Bowen is that he accepts it and allows me to tug him gently to his feet. Worry is a physical thing inside me. He needs to see a healer. A proper one. The wound isn’t infected or actively bleeding, but now that he’s clean, we definitely need to bandage it at least. “But first, I’m going to play nurse.”
I lead him to the kitchen and urge him into the chair. A quick stir of the stew reveals it’s almost ready. I have just enough time to slap a bandage on this man. In my initial search, I found first aid kits—or at least Threshold’s version of them—in every single room. I can appreciate the level of preparedness, but it does make me wonder how many times people end up here while bleeding out.
It’s not a comforting thought.
Bowen holds still as I carefully apply the bandage to his neck. The only nurse I’ve ever played is the sexy kind, but it’s a fucking bandage. It’s not rocket science. Even so, I can’t help being afraid that I’m messing this up. If he dies because of my ineptitude, I don’t know how I’ll live with myself.
“Evie.” He covers my hands with his and gently guides them away from the bandage. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay.”
I worry at my bottom lip. “All my magic did was stop the bleeding. Those mermaid teeth looked vicious. Even if they’re not poisonous, there’s no way you didn’t get some gross ocean bacteria into the wound. Maybe we should head into town tonight. I don’t know if it’s a good idea to wait.”
“Evie,” he says my name again, and I don’t think I really registered that he’d started shortening my name. It just sort of happened—kind of like falling for him.
“Bowen.” My voice is a little wobbly, but my world is a little wobbly right now. “I’m worried about you.”
“I know.” There’s so much satisfaction in his tone, my knees go a little weak. He smiles. “This is not the first mermaid bite I’ve lived through. The previous ones didn’t get infected, and I doubt this one will, either. Even so, it will hold until we go to Cato tomorrow. Ze’s good at zir job, and ze’ll put me back together again without a problem.”
The way he says that makes me think that this Cato has healed him from significantly worse, which does little to help my blood pressure. I’ve seen the map of scars across his body. I know he’s lived through a lot of horrific injuries, but that isn’t reason enough to get careless now. “It would be very foolish of you to die over something incredibly preventable.”
“I’m not going to die. At least not yet.” He turns my hands over and presses a kiss to each palm. “You saved my life, and you’ve bandaged me up. The wound is clean. Let’s eat and sleep; that will do more to help than anything else.”
I highly suspect that he’s being a bit patronizing right now, but it comforts me all the same. If he feels well enough to be high and mighty, then he’s not knocking on death’s door.
