Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Most of the collection crew stands already assembled and waiting on deck when the three of us descend the mainmast. Fin scurries to the steps, darting past Sig and Jorn, who step onto the wooden boards a moment later.
Sig’s stoic expression defines the entire tone of this afternoon, and I know she’s prepared for whatever we are about to face.
Weston follows closely behind as I descend the stairs, and walk down the hallway to our room.
I shoulder my full quiver and loop the bow over my torso, and Weston’s sword sings as it slides into his scabbard.
He finishes loading his vest with everything remaining on the desk, but when he turns back toward the door, I slide in front so he can’t open it.
“As much as I would love to pin you up against that door, we don’t have time for that right now, princess.”
Use of the nickname prompts an involuntary glare that only causes him to smirk back at me. I raise an eyebrow and cross my arms over my chest.
“What is the plan for this meeting? We didn’t discuss it last night or this morning. We have no strategy or contingencies. The First Guard should know it isn’t smart to walk into something like this without a plan, especially if it’s a trap.”
He matches my stance, crossing his own arms over his chest, and glares back as if I insulted him by questioning his tactics.
“The collection crew knows how we handle these situations. Remember, we have been doing this a lot longer than you have.”
“Not like this. Pulling someone off the beach isn’t the same as negotiating the rest of our time here. Not to mention if Dane is actually there, and last night was a lie.”
“Even if they show up with more than the two that Mara agreed to, our numbers and skills outmatch anyone left in the Voyagers. Dane, Storm, Mara. Sig could probably take all three of them by herself.”
“So we’re just going to fight them?” I say, throwing my hands up, but he doesn’t move.
“Not unless they attack us first. That’s always been the order.”
“And what if it is a trap? What if telling us the dust is gone was just a ploy to get us to let our guards down?”
One corner of his lips turns up. “I’m glad to hear you’re finally listening to me.”
Rolling my eyes, I cross my arms again. “I’m being serious. If Dane wants only me, then that’s my decision to make. I won’t put the entire crew at risk just to protect me. Refusing to sacrifice one person for everyone else is absurd. It’s not what a queen would do.”
His face darkens as I speak, but I hold my ground, not letting my resolve waver for fear of pissing him off by being willing to protect my crew.
He takes a slow step forward, closing the distance between us. “I think you’re forgetting one very important thing.”
The space is gone in the next instant as his hands clamp onto my ass.
He lifts me quickly, and my hands grip onto the firm muscles of his arms for support.
My back presses into the door as he steps between my thighs, pinning me there with the strength of his body.
He looks down his nose at me, and my chest heaves as I stare up at him, waiting for whatever has been brewing in his mind.
“My entire purpose is to stand between you and anyone who even dares try to harm you.” The low gravel of his voice makes my stomach twirl, and my lips part when his eyes trace my face, landing on them.
“No one is going to touch you. As long as I am breathing, I will fight to keep you safe, and that includes you sacrificing yourself.” His eyes flicker back up from my lips, and his teal pools land on mine, the severity in his gaze obvious as he lowers his voice even further. “Don’t even fucking think about it.”
“You still didn’t answer my question.” The words are breathy as I try to slow the heaving of my chest. “We can’t kill Dane, so what is the plan?”
“If they attack us,” he says, his tone much calmer than a moment ago, “there will be enough of us to get everyone contained and throw them all in the brig. We can discuss it and decide what to do after that. If they don’t, and this isn’t a hoax, then we give them our terms, and figure out if we can truly trust them.
If we can, then everyone has a choice. Here or there. ”
“What if it’s not that simple? After all this time and all the deception, do you really think it’s going to be as easy as we just coexist?”
“We don’t really have a choice. There’s nowhere else to go. It has to be that simple.”
Simple. My life has never been simple. Lonely, yes.
Dull, absolutely. But simple? I thought this journey to Dawnlin would be simple, but it has never been, not from the moment I discovered that the man I had been trusting was lying to my face, and continued to do so every day after that.
How can a life here that has been complex and twisted and built on magic and lies become simple?
Maybe Weston is right. Maybe now that our hope is gone, there’s no other option but for it to become simple to change.
I nod, and our noses brush, but my eyes stay locked on his. “Let’s go figure it out then.”
His eyes fall to my mouth again, and it parts in anticipation as he leans forward.
A barely there brush of his lips against mine makes my breath catch and heart race.
Before I can chase after him, begging for more than such a simple touch, he pulls away.
Mouth twisted into a knowing smile, he loosens his hold and lets the front of my body slide slowly down his, until my feet hit the floorboards, and I waver with the rush of the blood pounding through me.
Reaching around, he grabs the handle and turns, pulling the door open and gesturing down the hallway.
“After you.”
“Asshole,” I mutter. He chuckles softly as I turn on my heel, trying to ignore the desire coursing through my body.
I stride down the hallway, feeling his presence behind me as always, which does nothing to tamp down the way I wanted him to do more than barely kiss me, leaving me flustered and distracted.
My boots pound on the steps and as I emerge onto deck, but when my eyes fall on the Castaways with their serious faces and bodies covered in weapons, everything we’re about to do comes rushing back to me.
All my nerves and worry that had been plaguing me since last night are gone, even if only for a few minutes.
He was trying to distract me.
I glance over my shoulder, but he’s already put his Captain facade back on, and his long strides take him past me quickly to the front of the group, where Sig already waits near the gangway.
The energy in the collection crew is different from the last time we went to the beach, and even more different from when we left for the Oasis. Back then, we left the ship during daylight hours, and we are again today.
But this time, everyone knows why, and it isn’t to relax and let loose.
“Listen up,” Weston calls out, and the rumble of voices around me quiets.
“We’re meeting the Voyagers at the plateau.
Surround the area but stay concealed while we wait for them to arrive.
It should only be Mara and one other, but be prepared for anything.
It’s different this time. We don’t have the night to protect us, so stay alert in case it is a trap.
But remember, if he’s there, no one touches Dane. He’s mine.”
The rumble in his voice with those final two words sends a shiver up my spine. Weston promised me he wouldn’t kill Dane, but the vengeful look in his eye makes me feel that if that moment comes, I might need to remind him.
Or stop him. Again.
“Let’s move.” The gangway rumbles out behind him, and he steps to the side, letting Sig and Jorn lead the group down to the reef. The way he falls into step behind me has now become too familiar, but this time he’s so close, I’m worried he is going to trip on my boots.
Still air settles around us, thick with anticipation that disappears the moment we’re in the safety of the tunnels.
We move swiftly, winding through the darkness toward the plateau, and my heart races the closer we get.
The roar of the river overhead signals that we’re close, and with it comes a flood of my nerves.
Despite all my animosity toward him for following me around like a guard, it is comforting knowing Weston is within reach in the face of all the uncertainty. I finally have someone who is by my side because they want to be, not because they are hired to be.
Reaching my arm back, I brush my fingers against his.
When he hooks a finger around one of mine, and squeezes tightly before dropping it again, I’m able to breathe deep.
I’m not going into this situation alone, not like last time.
I won’t be trapped away from the crew with Dane, with no one knowing where I am. I have them, and they have me.
Sig halts just before the exit, the same one we used when I returned to camp, and the crew stops, waiting as Weston weaves his way through until he’s in the front beside her.
He doles out groups and indicates where each is to hide themselves while we wait for the meeting time to arrive.
He looks through the portal, scanning the area before waving us forward.
A small wave of relief washes over me that there wasn’t an obvious threat.
Maybe it isn’t a trap.
It takes only a few minutes for everyone to get into position in the lush trees that surround the plateau. Sig and Jorn stop on the flat, open area, but just as I move to stand beside them, Weston’s hand wraps around my elbow and he tugs me off to the side.
“Will you please hide in the trees?” he murmurs, his voice so low, only I can hear him.
“No,” I say incredulously.
“Lennox, please, I’ll be able to focus on whatever threats are coming if I know you’re protected.”
“Weston, I started all this. I’m not just going to hide.”