Chapter 5
T he sea coats my mouth in salt. We’ve been working since before sunrise, hauling the last of the trunks, supplies, and ice boxes onto the ship. The vessel is significantly larger than the one we used to haul Sin back to the Vale after capturing him—this one having two decks, designated crew quarters, and an underdeck compartment for supplies and stores. Three large sails, tinged yellow from exposure and age, billow softly from the steady breeze rippling across the sea.
I let out a groan as I set a trunk down with a heavy thud. I check the locking clasps to make sure it's secure, then pat the dust from the hem of my black tunic. A few others are making laps around the hold—ensuring that all the storage is properly locked and strapped to keep them from shifting too much in transit.
We haven’t yet untied the mooring lines, and already my thighs and lower back are aching from hauling the supplies. There are a few hundred of us, mostly elves with a handful of transcendents mixed in.
And one vicious, little bloodwitch.
Though, I feel slightly less vicious half hunched forward, my hands resting on my thighs as my breath comes in rapid, tight pants. The crew is predominantly male, though I’ve seen a handful of women around too.
“Faring well, blood mage?”
I straighten at the familiar voice and whip my braid back behind my shoulder. “Never better, Commander, ” I reply, coating Vox’s title in sticky sweetness.
He clutches the ship’s manifest to his chest with one hand, the other hanging at his side as he steps off the last stair leading into the storage hold. His dark eyes do a quick sweep over me as he approaches.
“I assure you that despite your fruitless attempts to sacrifice me for your preconceived notion of what constitutes the greater good , I am perfectly well and able to perform my duties as part of this crew.”
Vox stops when he’s a few feet away from me, his expression fixed, but there’s something there. A flicker of something luminous in his near black irises, and a chill skitters down my back as I place that familiar look, one I’ve glimpsed on my own face many times.
The commander is hungry for blood.
“I will refrain from making my peace given I know the high priestess has done it on my behalf.”
“Do you always allow others to speak for you, then? In that case, who shall I report to while on board since you seem so unfit to represent yourself?”
That pulls a twitch from his mouth. “Were you expecting an apology, blood mage? I swore an oath to protect my people, and that is not a confidence I will betray. Loyalty is not something I’d expect you to scoff at, and I tend to be impeccable at judging character. Unless my sense is growing faulty in my… old age, ” he says, smiling around his final words. Vox has yet to tell me exactly how old he is, only that he is still considered quite young by elven standards.
My shoulders pull back, and I adjust my stance to match his head-on. “I do not deny my admiration for protecting your own, Vox. It is how little you thought of me that sours my stomach. I have my own to think about too, and you are a poor judge of character indeed if you thought I could not be trusted to perform the ritual had I been aware that my life teetered on the precipice of death when it meant my family would be protected.”
The light grin vanishes from his face, and after a few moments of silently studying me, he dips his head forward in a slight nod. “Very well. I apologize for not making you aware of the severity of the consequences we faced.”
“We? I hit my head pretty hard in that ravine, but I don’t recall you being unconscious for several days while your loved ones were left to consider the possibility that you would never wake.”
He drops the hand holding the manifest to his side and cants his head. “I’m beginning to better understand why Source spared you after all.”
I shake my head, about to ask him what he means by such a statement when he looks over his shoulder towards the stairs he descended. When he swivels back to me, he arches a blond eyebrow, the movement not creating a single wrinkle in his porcelain face. “You may want to return to the deck. Your… betrothed … has grown irritated.”
“Sin?” The elf must have heard something above us, hence his glance towards the narrow stairs.
“Do you have another betrothed?”
I push past him, and he grabs my forearm, halting me in place. I rip it from his grip, already baring my teeth, but relax when I see the commander’s stance remains casual. “You would be wise to keep your distance from him when he experiences the worst of his instincts,” Vox cautions.
“He is not some feral animal,” I snap.
“You may find it hard to distinguish him from one if you get too close while he’s… agitated. I have seen a lot in my lifetime, and I’ve heard even more. Transcendence, particularly in the beginning, often brings out the worst of both beast and man. Needs run high… carnal needs, Wren.”
Heat shoots through my forearms, my chest and belly also warming with the sudden surge of magic in my veins. “Are you suggesting something, Commander?”
“I’m merely cautioning.”
“That Sin may rape me?”
Another swell of my collective crashes through me as I say the words out loud, hating the bitter taste they leave on my tongue. I ball my fists and swallow thickly, willing my right hand to remain at my side and to not go swinging into his fucking face.
“You don’t have to heed my warning, but?—”
“You’re right, I don’t. Listen to me,” I say, taking a few steps toward him until my chest almost brushes the leather armor covering his. “All of you keep watching him like you’re waiting for something to happen. Sin didn’t just become a transcendent overnight. It’s been in his blood since the day he was born.”
“Repressing it has not allowed him to learn how to control his?—”
“I’m speaking, Commander,” I snarl. “Yes, he was forced to repress it, and yes the goddess’ magic dampened it further. And now that you’ve stolen what belongs to him, yes, he is having to learn how to manage the highs and lows he should have been able to practice a long time ago and could not.
“But perhaps I should be thanking you and your selfish manipulations because had you not stripped his blessing, then I wouldn’t get to experience this side of my soon-to-be Mate. And I assure you, I intend on exploring it fully, including the carnal urges you so delicately mentioned. But ever suggest something so vile and sick to me again, and I’ll show you what the worst sides of both beast and man really look like.” I spit the words at him, my lips splitting to reveal my teeth when I finish.
When he doesn’t respond, I give him my back and head up the stairs to see what has troubled my betrothed.