“I’ll take care of Hedd, as we discussed. Keep the crew off me. Whoever keeps fighting after he’s dead needs to be removed.”
My stomach twists in upon itself. There’s no going back now; truth be told, there was no going back the moment we reached that safe house and understood its implications. I’m not supportive of wholesale slaughter, but all it took was a couple days on the Audacity to realize that plenty of the crew members mimic their captain in his values … or lack thereof. They’re not good people. They’re gleeful murderers, and they don’t much care if the creature on the other side of their sword is truly a monster or not. The night before the fight with the mermaids, I overheard two of them laughing about killing a selkie. A fucking selkie.
Without their seal skins, they’re practically human. But that didn’t stop those two crew members from ending this one’s life.
No, I won’t show mercy. Not to people who would gladly cut me down just for questioning an order. Not to monsters in men’s skins.
Bowen slips past us, light on his feet as he scales the side of the ship faster than anyone has a right to. Lizzie watches him go with an unreadable look. “You next, Evelyn.”
“If you wanted to stare at my ass, all you have to do is ask.” It’s a testament of how freaked out I am that I’m flirting with her. There’s certainly no intent behind it.
She snorts. “I’m concerned about those weak little arms of yours. If you take a tumble, I’ll have to catch you before your splash alerts everyone that we’re here.”
“Bitch.”
“I’m not wrong, and you know it.” She motions for me to precede her up the side of the ship.
I’m embarrassed to admit how right she is as I climb. Even with the solid rest I got last night, I’m exhausted. I want a cozy blanket, a racy romance novel, and maybe some hot sex in between naps and reading. I don’t want to be damn near ripping my fingernails off as I search for a handhold on the side of a ship in the middle of the night.
Bowen is a bastard for making the climb look so easy.
Knowing Lizzie is behind me, judging, keeps me moving. By the time I reach the top, my arms are shaking and I’m not sure I’m strong enough to pull myself over. I don’t get a chance. Bowen leans over the railing and then his magic wraps around me like a gentle hug. He lifts me up and deposits me next to him. I almost snap that he could’ve done that to begin with and saved us a lot of trouble. But he presses a single finger to my lips.
I realize why a moment later. There are three people hovering in the air, Their limbs plastered to their sides, and their mouths closed. It takes a moment to realize how they’re gagged. “Bowen,” I whisper. “Are you holding their jaws shut?”
“Yes.” He barely waits for Lizzie to land on the deck before he’s moving again. “As we discussed.”
It’s not a very good plan. Or maybe it’s brilliant in its simplicity. He’s going after Hedd, and Lizzie is to take care of anyone who attacks us. And I am supposed to find Nox and somehow convince them to see things our way. Like I said, easy peasy.
Before I can move away, Bowen grabs the back of my neck and pulls me in for a rough kiss. “Be safe, Evie. You can’t afford to hesitate. Not tonight. Promise me.”
I might hate this, but I’ll do anything to get back to his side. I want all three of us to survive to see the dawn, and I refuse to be the reason one of the people I care about falls. “I promise.”
He releases me slowly, as if it pains him to do so. And then he’s gone, striding toward the captain’s cabin. Technically, I’m supposed to be headed down to the crew’s quarters, but I follow my instincts and circle around to the helm instead. In the time that we were aboard the Audacity, I saw Nox there more often than Hedd. If the captain spent the last day partying like Bowen suspects, I bet he put them in charge.
Sure enough, I find them leaning against the wall with their eyes closed. Sleeping? Not sleeping? I’ve seen what they can do with their elemental magic, and I have no desire to be on the other end of that. “Nox.”
Their eyes fly open and the breath is jerked from my lungs. It happens so fast, I don’t have time to even make a choked sound. I claw at my throat, but it’s not my body betraying me. It’s Nox’s magic.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” They grab me by the throat and spin around to pin me to the wall. Only then do they allow me to breathe. Barely. “You should be at the safe house recovering. I expected Bowen to have a death wish, but you seemed much more practical. It’s a pity I was wrong.”
“I think so, too.” My voice is so raspy, it’s nearly incomprehensible.
“I’ll ask you one last time.” Menace radiates off them in waves. “What are you doing here?” This is not the charming, flirty pirate I interacted with a handful of times on the trip here. This person is dangerous. If I don’t find the right words, I have no doubt that they’ll kill me.
I spent a lot of time on the ride over considering all the charming, manipulative things I can say to get them on our side. They all fail me now. There’s only the truth. “We came to kill Hedd and his supporters. We want to know who’s running the network of safe houses, because there is a network; don’t tell me there isn’t. We want to help—by serving on a crew that’s loyal to the cause, not the C?n Annwn. Like you. Like the people on this crew.”
Nox’s face gives nothing away. “Not all of them.”
“Not all of them,” I agree. My lungs finally feel like they’re fully expanding again. It’s everything I can do not to suck in great inhales. “But those loyal to the C?n Annwn aren’t the reason you haven’t taken over, are they? It’s Hedd.” If Bowen wasn’t entirely sure he could take the captain in a fight without losses, then there’s no way Nox can do it.
They all but confirm my suspicion when they lean in close, pressing harder on my throat. “Regardless of what you think you know, that motherfucker is damn near unkillable. As long as he is captain of the Audacity, things will remain the same.” They push me away with a disgusted sound. “You came back here for nothing. All you’re going to do is die.”
I really fucking hope they’re wrong. “And if we don’t die? If we succeed, will you help us?”
Whatever response they may have had is lost in a roar that I swear shakes the very boards beneath my feet. It’s the only warning I get before the door to the captain’s cabin blows off its hinges and crashes into the sea. A body flies through the air and hits the railing hard enough to splinter it. He staggers to his feet, and I have to press my hands to my mouth to stop myself from crying out.
Bowen.