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There’s no getting out of his hold for now, so I turn my attention to the ship and crew. At first glance, it looked like a pirate ship from a movie, but it’s not quite the same. The whole space is saturated with magic, and it’s apparent in the way some of the bits and pieces are moving without any crew doing the moving. The big crimson sail overhead unfurls and the ship jerks a little as we catch the wind.
The other thing that’s different is that everyone appears recently bathed. In fact, the ship smells … kind of nice. Like pine and lemon with the faintest whiff of mint. It smells a bit like the protection spell Bunny put into her cleaning spells. Makes me think of Sundays being hauled out of bed and put to work. I always bitched, but now nostalgia hits me so hard that I have to blink rapidly against the burning in my eyes.
Bunny isn’t here, and I’m in danger.
I close my eyes and try to focus. The captain is moving rather smoothly, almost like he doesn’t want to jostle my stomach on his shoulder, but that must be a coincidence. The guy just gave me the option of joining his merry band of murderers … or drowning. After that trip through the portal, I am not going out by drowning. No, thank you.
I’m in Threshold.
I still haven’t processed that. I might have poked the captain about the Cwn Annwn being myth—everyone knows both they and the Wild Hunt actually existed and still ride in the dark of certain nights—but I honestly thought Threshold wasn’t real.
Once upon a time, the realms used to be much closer to one another. People and creatures could jump them easily, which is where a lot of stories of myths and monsters come from. No one knows what happened to make crossing all but impossible, only that it was a very long time ago. So many generations have passed that people have stopped wondering.
But … Threshold? A realm that’s still connected to every other realm in existence? The possibilities make my palms itch.
The captain shoves open a door and the light dims as we leave the deck. I honestly don’t know what I expected. Nothing about this ship matches expectations for … pirates? I’m not sure if this crew even qualifies as pirates as I recognize them.
Cool air brushes my bare skin and wet clothes and makes me shiver. The captain sets me on my feet and I waste no time looking around. There’s a large desk near a trio of massive windows that look out over the water and the wake of the ship’s passing. Polished wood floors. A door on either side of the room.
It’s bigger than I expected, and I pause to take in the space again. I’m no architect but I’m certain the walls go well past where the end of the ship should be. Is this a pocket realm? But then how is it looking out at the water we’ve just sailed through?
My attention goes to the desk. It’s not made of any wood I recognize and the surface shimmers a little. Magic? I try to take a step forward but I’m still bound with the captain’s power.
I glare at him. Gods, but he’s even more attractive now than he was when I first opened my eyes. Dark hair that’s just long enough to be termed roguish. A nice square jaw that probably shatters the fists of anyone who tries to punch him. A well-muscled body that is obviously used to hard work, clothed in fitted pants, a loose black shirt with a V that gives a tantalizing glimpse of a broad chest sprinkled with hair, and a duster I want to steal right off his back. His eyes are almost as dark as Lizzie’s … No, best not to think about Lizzie or how furious she looked when I saw her last. How murderous.
If I can get through a different portal, I really will be beyond her grasp.
I tuck the thought away. It’s a potential plan for the future, but first I have to navigate this mess I’ve found myself in.
The captain surveys me with a critical eye, his expression all forbidding lines that do not give me a thrill. “If I remove your gag, will you behave?”
Absolutely not. I try to look sincere as I nod. He doesn’t seem convinced, but the power wedging my jaw shut eases. I open and close my mouth a few times. It doesn’t actually hurt—he was remarkably gentle, with superior control—but I’ll take any drop of guilt I can dredge up. It’s an excellent lever to get people to do what you want.
Unfortunately, there’s none to be seen on his face. If anything, he looks more irritated. “I didn’t hurt you, so stop playing that game.”
“Maybe I have a glass jaw.”
“You don’t.”
He’s right. I abandon that line of manipulation and move on to the next. “I didn’t mean to end up here. There was a glitch in the portal I was using. I have a family that needs me. Children. Four of them. If I don’t get back, they’ll starve.”
He might as well be carved from granite. “What are their names?”
I blink. “What?”
“Your starving children. Their names.” He snaps his fingers. “Quickly.”
“Dean, Sam, John, and … Cas.”
The captain doesn’t seem convinced. “Even if that were true, which I highly doubt, it makes no difference. We have our laws for a reason.”
“Your laws. Not mine.”
“You’re in Threshold, Evelyn. They’re your laws now.”
The way he says my name is so severe, I don’t know what to do with my body’s reaction to it. I simultaneously want to flee the room and climb him like a grumpy tree. Which is just further proof that my hormones cannot be trusted.
First Lizzie, who was totally willing to let me die and will undoubtedly try to hunt me down and kill me for betraying her.
