33. Hook
In all my time in the Nassa, I’d never seen a storm like the one in the eddy. There’d been plenty of thunderstorms and rough seas, but nothing I could remember compared to the onslaught that accompanied sending the demon to its watery grave.
I’d held Never against the uprights with my body for what had felt like hours, both of us holding on for all we were worth as the storm did its damnedest to take us out.
And all I could think about through it all was what would happen to her if the waves won.
Every tortured scenario I imagined, while wind and rain and saltwater battered everything I cared about, tightened the noose around my heart.
I was inclined to say luck was the only thing that kept the ship from going down, but I knew better. For a storm like that to crop up when it did, where it did? It wasn’t a coincidence. I might not know exactly what it meant, but I wasn’t foolish enough to dismiss it.
That knowledge hung over me as we dragged ourselves up off the deck. As my men and I inspected the damage to the ship. As Never and I ate a late dinner with Leo and the others. And when we fell into each other’s arms hours later. It followed me everywhere, even into the tumultuous dreams that plagued my sleep.
None of those haunted dreams were about Petra. The creature wasn’t dead. At least, not in the way mortals died. But she was, for all intents and purposes, gone.
Finally.
Unfortunately, there were plenty of other things to worry about.
For starters, Never was hellbent on finding a way back to her world to check on her brother. I couldn’t fault her for that. When the tables were turned, I’d done everything I could to find my way to her.
And I would do anything to keep her safe and happy, even if that meant saying goodbye to her again.
Which was why, less than a day after we’d managed to limp out of the eddy with a cracked mast and half our sails missing, at a time when there was more work to be done than there were hands to do it, I was still in bed hours after the sun rose. I couldn’t bring myself to move her. Not when she was gloriously naked, with her lush body draped over mine in the most deliciously possessive position.
I’d thought about getting up and fetching us some food from the kitchen. By now, I was sure Cook had the place looking like new. I’d also thought about waking her to take full advantage of the fact that she was here with me.
For now.
Instead, I’d spent the last few hours staring up at the dark ceiling, my gaze tracing the beams while I agonized about what would come next.
I had tapped every source I could think of trying to get to Never’s world. I’d leaned on friends and enemies alike, and I’d called in every favor I’d ever collected. But it was all for nothing. The only thing with the power to draw me out of my curse and into the human world was Never.
She’d summoned me with the potent combination of her blood and my magic. Now that the latter had been returned to me, I was just as trapped as I’d always been.
Except, my sentence in the Nassa was mine, not hers. And if I was right about what was happening to her, there was a chance she could make that trip on her own.
A whisper of worry snaked through me at the thought, and I had the desperate urge to bury it. Because that troubling thought would inevitably lead to questions I wasn’t ready to answer.
What if she really could leave? What if all she needed was to learn how? Would she go and leave me behind? If she did, would she ever return to my world? That last one hinged on how she felt when she learned the truth, and I didn’t have high hopes.
I tried like hell not to think about any of it, but every time I closed my eyes and tried to enjoy the warmth of her skin pressing against mine, I couldn’t help it. I’d only just gotten her back.
“Morning, pirate.” Never’s voice was a balm, sliding over my nerves and soothing the raw edges better than the realm’s best enchanted rum. She trailed her fingertips down my chest, raising goosebumps in their wake. “You seem awfully tense for first thing in the morning.”
I caught her gently by the wrist, stilling her wandering hand. The need to roll her onto her back and make her come until her body was spent and her throat was hoarse was undeniable. But I needed to decide what, if anything, I was going to tell her before that happened.
“For the record, first thing in the morning was hours ago,” I said.
Her eyes searched mine. From the questions swirling in them, I was doing a terrible job of convincing her that nothing was wrong.
So, I kissed her on the forehead and let out a heavy sigh. “Unfortunately, I need to get up and see to the repairs.” When I moved to sit up, she rolled onto her back and watched me go, leaving all those lovely curves on full display. It was torture turning away from that delectable view, but it had to be done. “Can I bring you something to eat?” I asked, getting to my feet.
Every step I took felt like a coward’s retreat. I shouldn’t be walking away from her; I should be holding her close and telling her everything. She had a right to know who—no, what—she was now. Or, more accurately, what I suspected she might be.
Would the other gods come down to my level to punish me for sharing my power with a mortal? Maybe, but they hadn’t stepped so much as a toe in my realm in eons. If that disinterest carried forward, I might be able to hide what I’d done from them indefinitely.
For the first time in my long life, I sincerely hoped they’d all forgotten about me and that I stayed forgotten.
Never, on the other hand, wasn’t disinterested. She was intelligent and observant. She would figure things out on her own, given enough time. Factor in the way she seemed to be a magnet for danger, and the odds were high she would put everything together sooner rather than later.
I pulled a pair of pants from the armoire and slipped them on before turning to face her. She hadn’t answered my question about breakfast, and when I got a look at her, she was studying me.
“What’s on your mind?” she asked. She’d propped herself up against the headboard and pulled the covers up to her waist. Her crimson hair hung in chaotic waves around her head, highlighting the pink in her cheeks.
It took all my willpower to keep from closing the distance between us. “I just want to make sure everything is getting squared away,” I lied.
One dark eyebrow winged up. “Uh huh.” Then she motioned to the door. “Go on then. Go do your captainy things. I can find my own breakfast.”
“You’re sure?” I turned, snagged one of my soft linen shirts off a hanger, and pulled it on.
“Yep.”
She sounded convincing enough, but I could feel her uncertainty.
My gaze fell to my hands, remembering the way it had felt shoving so much power into her body. Nothing had gone the way I’d thought it would since the moment this woman crashed into my life, and this morning was no exception.
Only this time, it was my fault. It wasn’t fair to keep her in the dark.
Swallowing hard, I returned to the bed. She scooted over a few inches, giving me enough room to sit down beside her. “We need to talk.”
Her eyes narrowed, and the trickle of emotion that had been bleeding through our connection was cut off completely. That normally feisty tongue of hers darted out of her mouth, wetting her lips before she pulled her knees up and sat up straighter. “In my world, that’s a loaded statement.”
I was fairly certain that was the case in most worlds, but it didn’t change anything. “There are things you need to know.”
A booming knock filled the room, and Never eyed me like I’d somehow planned the interruption. Truth be told, I wanted to take that distraction and run with it.
Anything to avoid this conversation.
I turned and stared at the door, weighing that option before my principles won out. “Go away!”
“Would love to, buddy,” Leo yelled back. “But it looks like we’ve got another storm coming.”
I let my head fall back and closed my eyes. “Aye, be there in a moment.”
The covers rustled in the quiet, followed by the sound of Never’s bare feet padding across the floor. When I dragged my head up, she was standing in front of the windows with the curtains pulled back. My mouth watered at the view, despite all my worry and hesitation.
Even if I’d tried to stop myself, I wouldn’t have been able to. My feet moved on their own, carrying me to her.
She jumped the tiniest bit when I placed my hands on her hips, but when I leaned in and brushed my lips across the shell of her ear, she melted back into me. Her trust did powerful things to me. It riled that primal urge to pin to her the glass and sink my swollen cock into her almost as much as it called to the protector in me.
She was mine, but I couldn’t keep her if she didn’t want to stay. And she’d already said as much. Her first priority in life was her brother.
Who was I to deny her the truth when it was the very thing that could send her back to him?
“That looks like trouble,” she whispered. Her gaze was locked on the horizon where a wall of dark clouds was building.
“Maybe,” I admitted. Probably. A sense of dread slipped through our connection, and I bent my head to plant a kiss on her temple. “It’s likely nothing to worry about, but I’ll have a better idea after I get a look at things from the bridge.”
She nodded. “I’d like to check it out too, if that’s all right with you?”
I was stunned into silence for a full breath. Never Darling was asking for permission to do something? That was a first.
It was also evidence of her unease.
Maybe telling her the truth about everything can wait until things are a little more settled. A day, two at the most. That was the lie I told myself.
“Of course.” I let go of her, reluctantly peeling my hands away from her soft flesh. “Why don’t you get dressed and meet me out there when you’re ready.”
That was where I left her, standing stark naked with the light of the mid-morning sun spilling in around her. We were both caught up in our heads, working through our own problems. And while I had no desire to share my own self-serving thoughts, I would have given anything to know what she was thinking.
Did that make me a hypocrite? Absolutely, but I didn’t care.
On deck, temporary repairs were coming along nicely. My men were almost finished bracing the cracked mast, and our spare sails were being hauled out of storage.
Our first destination was the island of the shifters. In part for the ship, because the shifters were the finest craftsmen in the realm. But also for Leo. He hadn’t been home in ages, and he was champing at the bit to share news of Lily’s survival with his clan.
There would be a celebration, no doubt. Though I suspected the festive torches would still be burning bright when the first whispers of traveling to the human realm to bring her back—to rescue the clan’s long-lost princess from her curse—would begin.
“So, this is how you fix a broken mast?” Never asked, inspecting the boards and coils of rope bracing the mast.
“Cracked,” I corrected. “If it had broken, we would have had to erect a jury-mast.” When she shot me a questioning look, I added, “It’s a temporary mast constructed out of pretty much anything we can salvage. It would be shorter and weaker, but it would get us where we needed to go until a new mast could be installed.”
A distant rumble of thunder drew all eyes on deck to the clouds in the distance, but it was Never who asked the question we were all thinking. “Will we be able to outrun it?”
“We’ll do our best.”
She was silent for a beat before turning to take in the ship. “How did you learn about all this?” She waved a hand, encompassing the vessel and crew. “Were you like the Patron Saint of Sailors before you ended up here?”
An unexpected chuckle shook my chest. “No, but I’ve always had ties to the sea. My mother was Haliae, a goddess of the sea.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve heard of her.”
“She made it a point to go unnoticed.”
“So, that’s where the glowing eyes and healing powers came from?” She smirked up at me. “What about your dad? Was he a human?”
A little of my humor drained away. “He was a titan.”
Her head ticked the tiniest bit. “I thought titans were gods, too. I mean, that’s how I learned it in school.”
“They are.”
“Wouldn’t that make you… a god? Not a demigod?”
I took a moment to let my gaze drift out across the water toward those looming clouds. After so much time had passed, one would think the embarrassment and disgrace that came with being disowned would fade. I’d managed to bury it long ago, but it was still there, and now it came roaring back.
“When I was cast out and cursed to this place, my father disowned me. An act that included stripping me of the power I’d been born with, at least from his side. What remains is from my mom’s side.”
“Have you heard from her since you came here?”
I shook my head.
Never moved in front of me, rolled up on her toes, and kissed me softly on the lips. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I smiled down at her. “Everything that has happened led me right here.” I cupped her face in my hands. “And there is nowhere else I would rather be.” With that, I gave in to the urge to kiss her again, taking her lips with mine.
I couldn’t get enough of the taste of her, the scent of her, the feel of her skin against mine. If I’d known then what awaited me when my sentence was handed down all those years ago, I would have welcomed my banishment with open arms.
I would have counted the years, days, and hours waiting for her.
Only now, there was a chance she would leave when she realized she shared my powers, and I wasn’t ready to lose her again.