Chapter 6
Chapter Six
FINLEY
From the inside of her jacket, Finley pulled out a tiny golden cylinder.
When she tapped on the bottom, a faint glow emitted from it followed by miniature pins and spirals shot out of the sides.
In normal circumstances Finley preferred to use her magic to disintegrate and rust locks and metal.
However, considering they were already underwater and the chains attaching them to the floor didn’t seem to be bothered by it, this would have to do.
She crouched to the ground and set to work.
“What is that?” Rafe asked with surprising interest. The most interest he’d shown in her the entire time they’d known one another.
“A gift from a friend. And no, not Ai,” Finley answered as she worked on loosening the chains binding her to the cave floor.
Rafe offered a doubtful look and raised his brows.
“It was given to me by a follower of Gallis who specialized in metal work and restoration off the western coast of Oxare. It has all these contraptions and buttons and functions. There’s so much to it I feel like I figure out a new feature every time I use it.
But my favorite is to get out of chains like these. ”
“A ‘gift’ like the Shadow Slayers were?'
Finley’s lip curled. "I borrowed those and have full intentions of returning them. But didn't you steal the weapons too?"
The wolf leaned against the wall with a smug grin on his face.
Rafe looked like a clever fae plotting a particularly mischievous trick.
With his slightly pointed ears and round face he did have a bit of an elvish appearance.
Finley wondered if, long before being bound to Stula, he had been a member of the fae.
She'd always liked the fae. They had such long lives they told the best stories and never needed to worry about missing out on anything.
There were moments, fleeting ones of course, where she wondered if she should have gone to the forest to hide with them when she was first cursed.
But she likely would have been stuck with the tiny fluttering ones with gray hair, who baked terrible cakes.
Not the tall elegant fae with weapons and adventure at their fingertips.
Rafe would have been one of those, Finley decided as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
Then she realized she’d been starting for too long and went back to work on picking the lock.
Hopefully he didn’t notice. Finley was never one to leave her gaze lingering on any man or woman no matter how intriguing they were.
“I had to persuade Rose a little to take them. Cal was a tad more difficult,”
Finley let out a single low chuckle. “That’s not surprising from what I’ve seen of him.”
She continued to work on the lock until it finally let loose and her leg was as free as a fish. She held the gadget up to show off. “So, am I doing this alone?”
“You’re willing to risk Rose’s life?”
Finley raised a brow. “You may serve Stula, but she hasn’t met the likes of me yet. You won’t be getting anywhere close to Rose.”
He paused and considered for a moment then gave her a nod. She knelt next to him, not entirely glad to be this close without giving him the punch he deserved. Even if he was cooperating for the time being. It could have been a good reminder to him to stay in line.
But if she understood the way things worked with Death’s Prince, he didn’t have a choice once commissioned to kill.
The details of how that worked, she wasn’t aware of, but she had a feeling Rafe didn’t get much of a say in the matter.
At least that’s what Finley told herself to feel better about working with him.
The amount of times Finley had to do something she didn't want to or hurt someone in the process-
Well… She didn't have much room to judge. She didn't get The Mystic and be in charge of fleets of ships because she always played nice.
Rafe’s leg was sturdier than Finley first thought. He was slim as though he could slip in and out and between the shadows. But it was all hard muscle. She bit her bottom lip. He could snap a neck with these legs. And hold a body down...
"So, you mean to tell me that you've been able to pick locks this whole time? Why have you stuck around this long or let the ogres capture you in Eral?" He asked.
His sudden question snapped Finley out of her ogling and daydreaming. She was lusting and fantasizing about his legs? She needed a good rut soon. It had been too long.
Finley pulled her focus back on the lock. "I know it might seem like everything I do is impulsive, but I have my moments where I need to think of a plan. There are times it's good for the enemy to think they're in control."
"And now you're ready for Amelia to see she's not?"
“Something like that.” She clicked the final piece, and the chain fell off his ankle. “I just needed the last piece of the puzzle.”
The truth of it was, Finley was being a little impulsive and didn’t have everything under control. She’d been standing still for too long, and if she remained so for much longer the smidgeon piece of control would be gone like the ocean tide. But no one needed to know that save her.
Finley stood only to find she was nearly nose to nose with Rafe. She was on the taller side than most women so when she had to raise her head a bit instead of lowering to look at him something felt unsettling.
“And I was the last piece?” Rafe asked, unmoving or seemingly unwilling to make more space between them.
His voice was unsettling too.
She shrugged a single shoulder, pretending like she hadn’t just been fantasizing about him. “Something like that. Let’s go.”
Tracking the direction of when people approached the cave with food and drink could only get Finley so far since they’d been transported there with magic so she couldn’t track where they were going or coming from on the way.
It didn’t mean she didn’t have any sense of location though.
There was always activity coming from the northeast direction, which meant it was a good chance that was where Amelia and her crew were located.
And probably — hopefully — Ai.
Finley stood at the edge of the cave ledge and jumped off into an elegant dive into the lake’s depths. They needed to hurry before anyone noticed they were gone and lost their edge, even though she would have loved to explore more. With a small splash Rafe dove in behind her and Finley led the way.
“So, what is the plan? If you want me to help you, I’m going to need to know at least a hint.”
Finley grimaced. “Only the bare minimum.”
They swam side by side and Finley told him only what he needed to know to pull this off.
And what she knew of so far. Teaming with Amelia and her mother was one of the riskiest choices Finley had ever made, and she couldn’t believe she was about to do it again.
But she needed to regain control of this situation, and the best way to do that was to keep Amelia close so she could keep an eye on her.
If Amelia wanted The Mystic, she’d find a way to get it.
At least this way, Finley was there and could get them out of any trouble Amelia might weasel them into.
Sure enough, right about in the direction she’d suspected, a dim green light glowed from another small underwater cave. A hint of a smile came to her lips, and she glanced over at Rafe. “Let’s have some fun.”
“It’s about time,” Rafe said back. A mischievous glint sparked in his dark eyes.
She raised a brow. “Not enough for you yet?”
“We’re getting there.”
Finley gave him a single look up and down.
One moment he was mopey and wanting to stay locked away so as not to hurt anyone.
The next he was as ready and eager to cause trouble as she was.
Interesting. She had to give him that. He was becoming more and more interesting the longer they were around each other.
Enough of that. This wasn’t the time to be contemplating the inner workings of the mind of Death’s Prince. Still, she couldn’t help but engage a little.
“Then stick around more and see what happens.”
Finley kicked harder and pushed her arms back, shooting herself deeper through the lake, and swam toward the cave.
Everything was dark, being far enough down where the light from the surface was like an overcast autumn day.
It was oddly still and empty as though the fish and creatures avoided this area.
As they came closer to the cave Finley wrinkled her nose.
Bodies of water always had interesting and sometimes foul scents.
But this? It was unlike anything she’d experienced before.
It was foul, stale, and sour filled with decay.
It smelled like death.
Finley’s stomach turned. Ai had to be safe. If she wasn’t, Finley would know about it she was sure.
How far down did this lake go anyway?
They did a few laps around the cave and the only entrance was the front where the green glow came from.
It would be tricky to get in without anyone noticing if people were up there, which there surely were.
If they’d been with members of The Mystic who were dedicated to Luana they’d be able to use shadows to hide themselves, but Finley didn’t have that kind of magic.
“Can you get us up there undetected?” Finley asked. “Does Stula let you hide in shadows or anything?”
Rafe paused and treaded water for a few moments. His dark eyes narrowed as he examined the space between them and the entrance. He extended an arm out to her. “Hold onto me.”
Not an answer but a direction. Finley wanted to bristle at the command.
She was the one who gave orders, not the other way around.
There was something about when he said it though.
The dark magic within him made her heart skip and it radiated off him.
It made her want to let him tell her what to do.
Finley grasped his arm and with a swift tug pulled her next to him. Her body crashed against his and he held onto her waist with a tight strong grip.