12. Kaiya
”Come now, gentlemen,” Jaiel said, those wide lips of his curled into a smile as he leaned toward the man with the clipboard. ”I don”t want you as my crew any more than you want me as a passenger. But I have a job to do. So, let”s just play nice and get through this as quickly as we can.”
The shorter man shook his head, then pointed to something on his board. ”The lady may board, but not you, Roain!”
That word again. It was obviously derogatory, but what did it mean?
Jogging up to the group, I made sure not to stand too close to Jaiel. This might be the solution I was hoping for, and I wouldn”t even have to feel too guilty about it!
”Excuse me,” I said, offering a quick curtsey. ”I booked passage on this vessel. Are you the one to speak with?”
The Fae with the clipboard, likely the steward, turned toward me, and I gasped despite myself.
His eyes were a deep red with green flecks, and his teeth were little more than two rows of bone-colored needles. Even if Jaiel could use his charisma on this man, I don”t think he”d want to! Then again, maybe needle-like teeth were attractive in Fae culture.
He looked me up and down, and his scowl lessened. ”Maderoth? Yes, you can board. Move aside, lads, and let her through. And as for you.” He pointed at Jaiel. ”Get out of here before we make ya.”
I couldn”t suppress my smile. I”d been worried after the troubles at the gate, but perhaps today wasn”t so bad after all. Lady Frexin couldn”t fault me if Jaiel got left behind because of the ship”s crew she”d hired. Now, could she?
He”d obviously pissed off the wrong person, and I wasn”t stopping him from coming.
You reap what you sow!
”Yes, thank you, Sir,” I said, nodding to the steward. ”Have a lovely day.”
I turned to Jaiel. ”How unfortunate. It appears your unworthy partner must carry on without you. Give my regards to Lady Frexin and Lord Dimiri, won”t you?”
Jaiel”s jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed as I turned back to the steward, a satisfied smile still curling my lips. ”Now, if you could direct me toward my room —”
”Seriously, Princess?” Jaiel said, sounding exasperated. ”You”re going to leave me here after I just helped you get through the district gates? That”s cold … even for you!”
I ignored him, and the steward smiled his needle grin at me. ”Yes, let me get you that key,” he said, rummaging through his pockets.
”Fine.” Jaiel withdrew what looked like a letter from a wide pocket on the side of his pack. ”I didn”t want to have to do this, but I should have known better. It”s always the same.”
Holding up a letter to the steward”s face, he began to recite.
”By direct order of the Three Kings, if you do not provide Prince Jaiel Kierstall with the utmost support in any and every way that he requires, you will receive swift and severe action by the Imperial Military, which includes but is not limited to life imprisonment, seizure of assets, corporal punishment, and execution.”
He let the paper and words hang for a moment, before swiftly folding and tucking it back into its pocket. ”Now that that”s out of the way, can we please just play fucking nice and get on with this voyage?”
My eyes widened. I”d known he had support, but I had no idea how far it reached! Holy hells.
I turned to the steward, whose face and red eyes bulged with anger. Letting out a long string of curses, he spat to the side and nodded back at the sailors behind him. ”Let the fucking Roain aboard.”
With grumbles, they stepped aside.
The steward looked between Jaiel and me, and his lips curled into a smug, toothy grin. ”Unfortunately for you, there”s only one room left.” He pulled out a single key from his pocket and threw it to the ground between us. ”I”ll leave you two to figure out how that”ll work.” Then he turned and walked up the gangplank, the large Fae sailors following behind him.
My fists clenched at my sides. So close … I”d been so damn close to being free of him!
I looked at the key glinting in the early morning light, then up at Jaiel, who was staring at me with narrowed eyes.
”I can”t believe you”d try to leave without me,” he said, voice grumbling. ”Do you hate me so much, Princess?”
I rolled my eyes. ”Hate? No. I just think you”ll ruin this mission. And if you”d gotten yourself kicked off the ship because you pissed off the wrong person, who was I to stop it?”
He thought for a moment, and the creases between his brows softened. ”Fair enough. We can”t all be giving, kind-hearted heroes, can we? But in the future, you”ll have to try a bit harder. I”m not that easy to get rid of.” Winking, he gestured toward the gangplank. ”Ready to find our room?”
Hells! Somehow, I”d not even registered what the steward was saying … one room.
Bending over, I reached for the key, but Jaiel”s long fingers tugged it away first.
”Seriously?” I hissed.
”I”ll hold on to this for us.” His lips curled into a satisfied smile. ”Wouldn”t want to get accidentally locked out of my own room, now would I, Princess?”
”There”s a difference between letting someone deal with their own problems and actively sabotaging them,” I said, groaning. ”I don”t do the latter. Not when it could potentially interfere with my mission.”
His eyes narrowed, but he nodded. ”I think I”ll keep it anyway. Wouldn”t want you to have to fight that temptation the entire trip.”
”Fine.” I rolled my eyes, then turned and began ascending the gangplank. ”Which room is it?”
”Key tag says room 01-11,” he said. ”At least we”re on the main deck and not in steerage. That”s a first.”
”If we”re going to be sharing a room, we need to set some ground rules,” I said, pausing to face him. ”First, you stay in your bunk and out of mine. Period. Second, we”ll need to figure out a schedule for washing and getting ready. And third, if you want a guest, leave one of your hair wraps hanging from the door handle so I don”t stumble into something I”d really prefer to avoid.”
His lips curled into a smile, and he stepped closer — close enough that our chests almost touched, before bending so his lips were practically brushing my ear. ”Oh, I won”t need anyone if I have you, Princess. Do you really think you”ll be able to resist me when I”m sleeping nude in such tight quarters?”
I rolled my eyes and pushed him away. ”Absofuckinglutely, I will. You”re the last person I”d want to fuck on this ship, and that”s saying a lot considering that steward had a mouth full of needles.”
Shaking my head, I turned and resumed my ascent.
Jaiel chuckled softly.
”Well, in that case …” he brushed past me as we hit the main deck, ”I call the top bunk!” Then he darted off toward the opposite side of the ship.
”Hey!” I yelled as I chased after him, dodging deckhands and passengers.
He was too fast, though, and I didn”t catch up until we reached the edge of the passenger cabins.
”One more rule.” I said, catching my breath. ”No one can EVER know about this little situation.”
People knowing we were on a mission together was bad enough. But if they found out we”d shared a room?
Jaiel stopped at the entrance to a hallway and turned to look at me. ”Of course. I”ll even promise not to ravish you … unless you ask me for it, very, very nicely.”
Did he never drop the flirtatious prince act?
”I”m serious.”
”Don”t worry, Princess.” He chuckled. ”I”m teasing. This will be our little secret.”
I searched his eyes, but he seemed genuine.
”Fucking Roain,” muttered a tall, fish-like sailor as he passed us.
Jaiel ignored it, just as he had every other time, but I couldn”t anymore.
”Okay, I have to know. Why does everybody keep calling you that?” I cocked my head to the side and gestured to the man walking away. ”Did you sleep with the captain”s wife or something?”
The prince”s gaze slid to the side, and he reached up to fiddle with the earring at the top of his pointed left ear. ”Ehh — not quite. But it”s not something you need to worry about. They may act tough, but the tension always settles down in a day or two when they see I”m harmless.”
It was always like this? Holy hells. ”And Roain? What does it mean?”
”It doesn”t mater,” Jaiel said, shrugging as he strode off down the hall. ”There isn”t even a word in your language for it.”
”Wait. What?” I chased after him. ”It does matter! Try explaining, at least!”
He let out a pained sigh and stopped walking, but refused to look at me. ”Fine. I was born different from most Fae, Princess.” His voice was tight. ”You saw that earlier.”
His hands clenched at his sides as he forced himself to meet my gaze. ”The closest word in your language to Roain is Empty. I was born … empty … of what makes Fae a Fae.”
My throat tightened at the odd vulnerability in his gaze.
”It”s why I was so attractive to the kings,” he said, shaking his head wryly. ”It doesn”t matter, though.” His lips curled into a playful smile. ”I learned long ago that ignoring it makes it go away.”
Hells. My stomach sank.
Even I knew ignoring something didn”t actually make the problem go away.
But then again … who was I to judge him?
The entire morning, people had been yelling at him, spitting at his feet, and just being general assholes.
I”d have been furious in his position!
But he”d just let it wash over him. Every. Time.
And there I”d been … thinking he”d done something to deserve it.
”I”m sorry, Jaiel,” I said, voice tight. ”I —”
”Oh, come now, Princess,” his jaw ticked as he stared down at me, blue eyes serious. ”If I”d wanted your pity, I could have told you earlier. No.” He shook his head. ”I far prefer you fiery and full of insults. Besides. I”m genuinely fine. And no.” He held up a hand. ”Before you ask, it won”t affect the mission.”
Gods.I stared at him in horror.
Was that the impression I gave off — that all I cared about was the mission?
I mean, it wasn”t completely wrong. But I cared about people, too …
No. I resisted the urge to clarify. This wasn”t about me. And it wasn”t like I cared what he thought of me.
And hadn”t he said he wanted me fiery and full of insults?
Who was I to deny him?
”Well, then.” I said, forcing a glare. ”Let”s hurry and get settled in, asshole.”
He chuckled softly, then led the way further down the hall. We rounded a corner and came face to face with a narrow door with a dull metal ”11” on the front.
Jaiel withdrew the key, unlocked the door, and turned the knob before stepping back and dipping into a small bow. ”Ladies first.”
Rolling my eyes, I pushed the door open and stepped in.
A rich scent, like honey and vanilla, wafted out, rolling over me like a welcoming breeze. Inhaling deeply, my shoulders immediately relaxed, and I let out a long sigh.
Perhaps this wouldn”t be so bad.
Then I looked at our new room for the next two days and horror swept through me.
Holy hells.
An ornately decorated single bed filled the small cabin nearly corner to corner.
This was not some bunk room.
It was a fucking lovers” suite!