Chapter 51 #2
The crew had been briefed about everything that was going on and ordered to remain at the docks until their leader returned, but Alastair had not indicated that they were to leave without him.
But if Kael arrived adamant that the captain had told him it was an order? They’d undoubtedly follow through.
Alastair would likely rip my head clean from my body as soon as he found out I’d overrode his command, but that deep-seated knowingness pushed me past that line. Kael was a friend, and I wanted him safe, something I knew would be understood once Alastair’s rage evaporated.
“But you…” Kael shook his head. “I can’t just leave you here, Rohen, not with everything going on. Not when the Others are lurking around every corner, waiting to strike.”
Lifting the skirt of my dress, I unsheathed my dagger. Dropping the fabric, I tossed it from hilt to tip before extending it to him. “I’ve had this blade since before I can remember. It has protected me through many tumultuous storms, through my close calls with Elaros. Take it and leave, Kael.”
“I-I can’t,” he whispered, glancing between me and the blade. “I can’t take the only weapon you have and leave you behind. Not only is that stupid, but it’s a fucking death wish, Rohen.”
Grabbing his wrist, I forced the hilt into his hand. “Stop insulting me and get the fuck out of here.”
“Rohen—”
“Go,” I snarled, pointing toward the door.
“Give the guards some bullshit reason that you need to go back to your room. Perhaps you forgot to grab the gift you selected for your bride.” Nudging him back a step, I ground my teeth together.
“Use that dagger if needed. I like to believe that it is somehow blessed by the gods for all it has aided me with, and I am confident it will bestow the same level of protection upon you.”
His gaze wavered, uncertainty clouding it. “Fine, but so fucking help me, Rohen, if you die, I will gut myself alive just to come find you in Elaros’s realm to kill you again myself.”
My lips curled upward, and my brows rose in amusement. “There’s your fire. Don’t let anyone dim your flame again. I will see you soon.”
Not giving him the opportunity to utter another word, I slipped back around the pillar and into the crowd.
Sweat-laden bodies brushed up against me; the heat they emanated was a telltale sign of the guests’ impatience for the upcoming ceremony.
And with the sun’s position in the sky dropping near the horizon, I knew I was running on borrowed time.
We all needed to be out before the last rays of sunset diminished into darkness. The instant they did was the instant that all hell would break loose. And in knowing everything I did from both the journals and my link to the Goddess of the Sea, I only had one chance.
Moving toward the tables where a display of food seemed to span for miles, I kept my awareness up.
Caspian Vayne wasn’t necessarily the easiest to spot in a crowd, but there was a certain aura he carried that made him stand out just enough.
Though I couldn’t help but wonder if he would billow with the same frustratingly alluring essence when he was surrounded and controlled by corruption.
I plucked a bunch of grapes from where they nestled amongst the assortment.
Popping one into my mouth, I savored its flavor as I followed the wall along the outer edge of the ballroom.
Each gap between guests became a window I peered through as I scoured for the other man I’d come for, the man who seemed impossible to pin down—
At the sight of him, my heart stopped beating.
Standing just beyond the ballroom, his broad shoulders stretched to nearly match the length of the door frame he stood in.
Clad in a doublet so tailored that my mind couldn’t help but wander, I admired the tautness of the fabric over his biceps and the broadness of his forearms that the embroidered guard panels curled around.
His fitted trousers were no different, form-fitting to his strong legs, which bore striations of years of manual labor.
Was he objectively attractive? Yes. Did that mean that I was attracted to him? No.
Gods, why is he so infuriating?
The grapes were the last thing on my mind as I simply tossed them over my shoulder.
Eyes exploring the waistlines of those within pocket-picking range, I caught the all-too-familiar glint of the hilt of a dagger.
With a smirk, I moved with the purpose of a trained assassin, one who had slain men without them even knowing I was around.
Snatching it free, the victim of my greed hadn’t even felt my touch, his engagement with the large-busted woman to his right clearly far more enticing than the auburn-haired thief who walked behind him. I admired the weight of the weapon, spinning it between my fingers as I approached Caspian.
My footfalls slowed, the distance between us closing.
Wrapping one hand around his waist and sprawling my hand flat against his abdomen, I angled the edge of the dagger against his throat.
With his sandalwood and oceanic-infused scent threatening to devour me, I drove my knee into the back of his thigh with enough force to cause him to bend.
As his ear came to fall inches from my lips, I spoke the utterance he’d offered me the night he ripped me off the streets of Darswyth.
Just with a twist of my own.
“Found you, Captain.”