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“Now,” he said. “About what I really want.”
I waited.
“Take us to the Eros,” he said.
I broke out in a laugh, spitting the remnants of the alcohol-water in his face. He pulled back with a grunt.
“The Eros?” I echoed, still laughing. “Are you dense? You truly believe in that old fairy tale?”
He used his sleeve to clean his face. “It’s not a fairy tale. It’s a real stone. One worth a lot of money when I get my hands on it.”
“And what does that have to do with me?”
“Neva,” he said, repeating my great-great-grandmother’s name. “She was one of the Guardians, was she not? That means you can take us to it.”
“You’ll have a hard time finding something that doesn’t exist,” I replied flatly. “My great-great-grandmother died at sea and never told our family of a location. Even if I believed in the Eros, which I must tell you, Captain, I do not, I couldn’t tell you where it is.”
Contrary to the clear message in my words, he smiled.
“I don’t need you totellme the location, darling. I can get it from you in other ways.”
He grabbed my wrist, twisting it so that my palm faced up, and extending my arm until it was flat. With his other hand he traced a line from my elbow to my wrist, sending shivers down my spine. His eyes dragged down my arm like he was going to eat it, his gaze meeting my eyes once more.
“Your blood will tell me where to go,” he said. “The blood of a descendant of a Guardian will be enough to find what I’m looking for.”
I struck his cheek. “Don’t touch me like that, you pervert.”
“Gah! Such a violent woman,” he hissed, rubbing his face. “Usually I’m into that sort of thing, but you have no charm to go with it.”
“No charm!” I returned, insulted. “I assure you, dear captain, I am one of the most charming and attractive women on this side of the Atlantic. If you had half a brain, you could see it.”
“Maybe that’s the problem. All the men you know only have half a brain.”
He grabbed me by the wrist again, this time bringing me to my feet. The world spun a second time, and I stumbled, crashing into his chest.
“Such an attitude, yet you’re falling for me already,” he teased.
I struck his chest to create distance between us.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” I replied, stumbling once more.
He reached out and tugged on my hand again, chuckling. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“To get directions,” he said, a deadly smirk engulfing his entire face. “Your blood will tell me all I need to know. It’s time to make it talk.”
CHAPTER 4—OLDER BROTHER
The salty air hit my face as soon as we stepped out of the room.
How did I not realize we were on a ship?
The ocean stretched out for miles into the horizon, the sun glistening on the water. In front of us were at least a dozen men shuffling back and forth around the deck, yelling at each other in playful banter. They laughed and burst into random songs as Adrian brought me down to the deck.
“Welcome aboard theQuetzalcoatl,” the captain said with a wave of his hand and an overly exaggerated smile. “If there’s anything you need, please don’t hesitate to keep your pretty mouth shut about it.”
He yanked on my hand, pulling me further along. The singing and banter stopped as we walked past, everyone looking over their shoulders to look at us. I straightened my dress as much as possible. If I was going to be gawked at, it might as well have been for looking good.
