Chapter 33 #2
He shifted to get a better look at her. “What would you do? You’re usually full of brilliant ideas.”
Selene lifted a bare shoulder. “I don’t know.” She sat in thoughtful silence for a minute, then said, “He’s the sort of man who easily makes you think you’re a step ahead while quietly enjoying the fact that you’re walking straight into his trap.”
She twisted her body until she sat sideways between his thighs, her knees to her chest. “With Orestis, we knew what he wanted and why. We understood who we were up against. Alexandra was a bit of a wildcard, and honestly, had I not been raised to understand her the way I did, we might not be here.
“Thorne is different. He didn’t behead that entire crew because he was tired of your parents’ reign. This is personal to him.”
Everything she said made sense, but he couldn’t imagine what his parents would have done to ignite vengeance this deep and cruel. “Thorne joined my mother’s crew when he was nineteen, and he stayed with her for nine years. Maybe he just hated her that much—”
“He hated her so much that he’s spent the last six or seven years plotting the downfall of your entire fleet?” One of her blond eyebrows kicked up, and for a split second, Augustus was reminded how stunningly beautiful she was. He damned near forgot all about the seriousness of this conversation.
Oblivious to his trailing thoughts, she continued. “Your mother was a hard woman, but that hard? She didn’t demand the loyalty of her crew in cruel and unusual ways; she earned it by getting into the thick of it with them, and she had their backs. Always.”
Augustus wanted to get lost in this woman’s kiss all over again. The way she stood up for Cassia, even now, made him love her that much more. He settled with sliding a hand along her jaw, and as his gaze brushed her new scar, he arced his thumb over it.
Selene pulled his hand away. “Don’t,” she whispered.
“You understand that means nothing to me, don’t you?”
She bit her lip and turned her head. “It’s a small thing to be upset about, and when I think back to your mother’s scars, I never thought they made her any less. She was a beautiful, strong woman despite them.”
“You’re no different, i psychi mou.”
Tears lined her eyes with silver. “No. You were right about me. I wasn’t ready for one fight, let alone a war. I’m practically useless.”
“You’re far from useless,” he said, voice harder than necessary.
But she needed to hear him. She had to understand that what she’d done these past few weeks—starting with that fight in the marketplace—was something to be proud of.
“The people you saved told me what you did, Selene. You faced more than your fair share of men, and you saved lives. What you did won’t easily be forgotten. ”
He knuckled her chin up and forced her to look at him. “Those things I said back in Perean were born from fear. I couldn’t save you then, and I damn sure didn’t save you on that island. You saved yourself.” He summoned his wryest smirk. “If anything, I need you to protect me.”
Selene’s smile struck him like the sun. “Only from the monsters.”
Gus came out of nowhere and landed on the balcony railing with a thud and a squawk.
Selene stared at him for a few seconds, then released a sigh. “He sees land. Are we there already?”
Augustus scanned the glowing horizon, having planned their arrival for precisely this time of day. The scent of salt and smoke drifted in on the breeze, and faint shapes began to take shape along the horizon—masts, rooftops, and stone towers twisted with time.
“Welcome to the pirate city of Warian Bay.”
Warian Bay revealed itself in a patchwork of muted colors and chaotic charm. Dawn’s golden light spilled over the pirate city, casting long shadows over the tangle of mismatched buildings, the structures cobbled together from weathered wood, salt-streaked stone, and mismatched tiles.
“No sign of Thorne’s fleet,” Omar announced upon Augustus’s arrival on the quarter deck.
Between the way Selene cut off circulation in his hand and her earlier warning, Augustus wasn’t ready to celebrate just yet. “Let’s get some mercenary ships to scout the bay. Leave no mile unturned.”
He, himself, was already analyzing the ships bobbing in the water for clues, though most sails were furled. It appeared it was business as usual in the pirate city with the usual mixed bag of banged-up and scarred ships filling the bay, masts reaching for the sky, creating a skeletal forest.
“What about the Triarius Fleet?” Selene asked.
Omar frowned. “Nothing yet.” He met Augustus’s eyes. “We’ll have an eye out for them as well.”
“Thank you,” Augustus said.
As the Entia glided toward its berth, the world returned to sound and movement. Closer to shore, through the chorus of creaking ships, merchants shouted over one another from makeshift stalls.
The distant pang of homesickness unfurled and released within Augustus’s chest, replaced quickly by heartache. The last time he laid eyes on those docks, his father watched him go with a wave. That was the morning after his mother threatened to disown him if he sailed to Perean.
Augustus had left bitter and angry. He’d hated his mother then. Now, he’d give anything to hear her voice.
Selene tucked under his arm. “This is where you grew up?”
“This is home.”
The sea would always be his true home, but Warian Bay held a special place in his heart. He loved every narrow, cobbled lane and precariously erected building. He loved that nothing made sense, from the colorful shutters and flower boxes to the crude boards nailed over broken windows.
Augustus squeezed Selene close. “I’ll show you everything after I meet with Phya. I promise.”
Her lips dipped with a frown for a fleeting moment, but she managed a nod and a smile. “I can’t wait.”
The truth was, he was as nervous as she. Taran Phya had a lot of power, and it was well-known that a contract with him was to be taken seriously to the letter.
Within the hour, Augustus stood among his friends and allies, skirting dockhands unloading barrels, sacks, and unmarked crates. Omar and his people stayed aboard the ship with the Drynopians—Augustus refused to risk Roman turning this into a spectacle.
Besides, Augustus had plenty of back-up: the Blades, the Rangers, Lili and Petrina, and Selene. He hadn’t asked for it, but the mercenaries added a small show of force, as well, including the three heads of the Bladesworn.
Walking the familiar paths felt like a dream…or a nightmare. He’d grown used to the varying levels of attention over the years. The way women undressed him with their eyes or the antagonistic sneers of men from rival crews.
Today, women preferred to study the cobbled lanes, and men crossed to the other side to avoid him altogether.
Lili shuffled ahead of their group to come up on his side. She hadn’t ceased being angry with him, but that never stopped her from talking to him when she felt it absolutely necessary. “Something’s not right.”
“I know.”