Chapter 29
CHAPTER 29
N eve climbed the narrow stairs from her quarters to the deck of the Pandora.
The fresh salty wind teased her hair and cloak, and the ship’s huge white sails whipped overhead. The water was choppy and rough—a reflection of the blustery clouded sky.
Drue, a boatswain, and Riella were teaching Eleksi how to trim sails. He gave Neve the ghost of a wink as she passed, before he continued hauling coils of thick rope.
“Are your quarters comfortable enough?” asked Jarin when Neve joined him at the helm. “They aren’t large, but we’ll arrive in Klatos tomorrow, the winds be willing.”
Neve snickered. “I slept in a forest clearing the night before last. The quarters are exceptional, by any standards. Thank you. I’m very glad you and Riella could offer passage to Klatos. It would’ve taken us days on horseback.”
“I’m equally glad our paths crossed,” replied Jarin, his eyes on the horizon. “I only hope we arrive in time to intercept Prince Davron’s ship before the royal guard has the chance.”
“I fear the royal guard is not his worst worry.”
The pirate grimaced. “Aye. The captain of his vessel is almost certainly an assassin, from what Eleksi says. I pray he and Amelie survive.”
Neve gazed at the steel-blue water miserably. If Davron and Amelie were traveling on a ship with a Spider King, their odds of survival were low indeed. Would he even get to set foot on Zermetic soil again, let alone lay claim to the throne?
“I dearly hope they’re alive,” she replied, chewing the inside of her cheek to shreds.
“I’ve only ever heard rumors of the Spider Kings.” His gaze drifted to Eleksi, who was scaling the rigging. With his black clothes and almost superhuman agility, he looked every bit a spider on the ropes. “But I’ve heard enough to make me think we should temper our expectations where Davron and Amelie’s safety is concerned.”
Neve sighed. “Sadly, I believe you are correct. I faced three Spider Kings. Even with magic, I only survived because of Eleksi. Davron and Amelie would need to be prodigious fighters to stand a chance.”
Jarin made a slight adjustment to the wheel, angling the Pandora farther from the land, which rushed past on the right, dark green and brown. Neve held the railing to prevent herself from falling over. She admired Riella anew for her sure-footedness on the ship—the siren had only had legs for a matter of months.
“Although, Davron survived my mother’s wrath for ten long years,” said Jarin over the strong wind. “Let’s not discount the prince just yet.”
“That’s true.” She paused. “This is probably silly, given all that’s at stake, but I confess I’m nervous to meet him.”
Jarin glanced at her. “You are? Why?”
“What if he views me as a threat, like Meliohr does? After all, we know little about him, except that he can be ferocious. If he’s still alive, I must convince him I have no wish to claim the throne.”
“You are his blood,” said Jarin. “I daresay that will mean more to him than you think.”
“ Illegitimate blood. That makes a difference to a good many people.”
“Give him a chance, at least. You won’t know until you speak to him.”
“Are you nervous? Because of—” Neve faltered.
“Because my mother murdered his family and forced him to live in exile, alone and cursed, for a decade?” asked Jarin with a resigned expression. “I am, yes.”
She nodded in sympathy. “It wouldn’t be rational to blame you for your mother’s actions. But grudges aren’t borne of rationality. They’re borne of bitterness and rage.”
“Aye. Sins and virtues echo through the generations. Thrones aren’t the only thing a person can inherit. Demons can be passed down, too.”
“Here’s hoping you and I are both pleasantly surprised, then.”
She thought of the invisible scars Eleksi bore due to his father’s mistreatment. Neve herself had harbored a lifelong void where a father ought to have been. Wounds of kin came in endless varieties, and precious few people seemed to escape such injury altogether.
“Whether he loathes me or not, I’ll do whatever I can to help the Nikolaou cause,” said the pirate, his gold pendant gleaming on his sternum in the muted daylight. “My blood owes his, and the fate of Zermes is more important than any grudge.”
Neve gave a small smile. “He’d be lucky to have you on his side. And Jarin?”
“Yes?”
“I’m very sorry about your mother’s death. Whatever else she was, she was a brilliant woman.”
A muscle worked in his jaw. The apple of his throat traveled up and down as he swallowed once, then twice, before speaking. “Thank you. No one has said that to me, except Riella. And I understand why. It feels like a crime, to mourn her.”
“For what it’s worth, Levissina is regarded as something of a legend at Starlight Gardens, because of what she did to Reynard.”
Jarin snorted. “That heartens me, because it would hearten her.”
He smiled fondly, his gaze distant.
The Dark Tide Clan emblem caught Neve’s eye, the black and white flag snapping in the wind.
“Sometimes I worry I’ll choose the wrong path,” she admitted. “Sometimes I worry that I already have. I struggle with the magic I possess. The nature of it.”
She looked down at her darkened fingertips. Despite the coloring not signifying good or evil, she couldn’t help recalling her blackest talents every time she saw it.
Jarin seemed to understand, as she suspected he might. “My mother didn’t struggle with magic. She struggled with her personality. Her thoughts and emotions took her to dark places, and she let them. Your personality doesn’t seem like hers, to me.”
“But I have darkness in me. I can feel it.”
He waved his hand. “We all do. Believe me, it’s more dangerous to pretend you don’t. There’s no day without night. No land without sea. The real test is what you do with your power. Do you use it to stomp on innocents? Or to protect them?” He nudged her. “You’re alright, Neve. I promise.”
She watched as Eleksi walked along the deck toward her. He was comfortable with his darkness. Not only that, he seemed comfortable with hers. She could be herself around him. Never before had she experienced that.
“He’s head over heels for you, you know.”
Her attention went back to Jarin, who was smirking.
“Excuse me?” she asked, although she’d heard him quite well.
The captain laughed. His eyes found Riella, who was talking animatedly to Drue further along the deck. “I recognize a captivated man, because I am one.”
Eleksi reached them, saving Neve from having to answer. Pieces of his black hair had fallen across his forehead, blown by the wind. Unsurprisingly, he navigated the rocking of the ship with ease.
“You survived Riella,” said Jarin with a good-natured grin. “No small feat.”
Eleksi folded his arms. “She said she’d shear my flesh from my skeleton if I harmed Neve.” He paused. “I think she might have meant it.”
“Riella’s protective instincts are as strong as her predatory ones,” said Neve, patting his bicep, which was pumped from exertion. “But yes, she does also mean it.”
The day passed quickly, the sun never fully appearing from behind the clouds. The gusty conditions meant the Pandora’s pace was particularly swift. As the sky darkened to dusk, the air’s chill cut into Neve’s face.
Night fell, and the pirates gathered on deck to eat and drink. Mostly drink.
Neve perched on a barrel as various flagons were being passed around.
“What’ll you have, sorceress?” asked a red-bearded man with friendly eyes. “We’ve got stomach-splitting rum, fine Velandian wine. And Sacral Sip, a liqueur made by our friend Kohara. Helps with sea sickness and makes ye feel like you’re floating.”
Neve smiled. “I suppose that’s the one I ought to try. Thank you.”
She took a sip and tasted a potent coconut flavor. The concoction did settle her stomach and gave the moon a new pleasant glow. Licking her lips, she passed the small glass bottle to Drue and leaned back to stargaze.
At sea, the stars were bright, even accounting for the drifting clouds. She half listened while the crew peppered Eleksi with questions. They were eager to learn tactics of evasion and infiltration from him.
As the night wore on and the drink continued to flow, a gigantic splash and a shout rent the night air. A pirate had fallen overboard. His crew mates fished him out with a hook on a long stick, and deposited him sodden and shivering on the deck.
Standing, he streamed water and wobbled over to Neve.
“Cast a spell on me, please?” he slurred. “I’m bloody freezin’.”
Drue cut in sharply. “She’s a sorceress of Starlight Gardens, Dinah, not a common parlor magician.”
Neve narrowed her eyes at the drenched man, feigning offense. Then, she hopped off her barrel and blew a puff of air from the palm of her hand, imbued with magic. The puff turned into a powerful gust of heat, blowing back the man’s hair and drying him completely in moments.
The pirates roared with glee.
“Me next, me next,” said one, elbowing drunkenly forward. “Cast a spell on me.”
Immediately realizing her mistake, she looked haplessly at Eleksi, who snickered and stepped to her side.
“Come, Neve,” he said, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her to him. “Let’s go to bed.”
To a chorus of cheers and wolf whistles and boos, the pair bade goodnight to Jarin and Riella before heading below deck to their quarters.
“Can’t have them tiring you out with magic tricks,” said Eleksi, locking the door behind them. “You need your strength, little witch.”
He peeled off his jacket and shirt, his skin damp with sea spray, and removed his long boots.
All day, she’d craved him. Not just physically, either. Being close to him felt so good and natural. She wanted his breath on her cheek, his hands holding hers, his words in her ears.
The quarters were cozy, with honey-colored wood paneling, a plush bed, and little else. The room rocked and creaked in time with the ship.
Neve’s sea-legs had improved already. She balanced herself without thinking, despite having had to concentrate hard just that afternoon.
Sitting on the bed, she took off her damp robes. Beneath, she wore only a black silk slip.
As Eleksi stood over her, his silver eyes flashed in the fluttering candlelight.
His perfectly toned torso was all dark lines and bulges of muscle. Heat pooled between her legs as she gazed at the outline of his erection against his trousers. The sensation of his hands in her hair, his fingertips gliding firmly against her scalp, made the heat in her build further.
The longing of his heart for her emanated from him like sunshine, bathing her in bliss. He leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers, inhaling deeply as he kissed her, long and deep. She tugged off his trousers to free his huge, rigid cock, while he massaged her breasts. After a sly glance up at him, she wet her lips, which were swollen from kissing.
Entranced, he watched as she pressed her lips to the shaft.
“Neve,” he groaned. “I hope you know I’d let you kill me a hundred times, if only I could feel your touch.”
Extending her tongue, she firmly ran it all the way up the velvety shaft to the wet tip. He moaned, threading his fingers through her hair and making fists. Her chest teemed with now familiar lustful red energy, pulsing from her skin in fine vapors. With feather-light strokes, she tasted his cock, making his eyes roll back.
The throbbing between her legs became too much to bear. She eased his steel-hard shaft from her mouth, the head flushed and slick. Eleksi’s body was tensed, his eyes staring at her with bottomless desire.
He went to push her back on the bed, but she held her palm on his chest and turned around on her knees and elbows instead.
With a grunt of approval, he slid her little silk dress up over her waist to expose her soaked entrance fully from behind.
He held her hips steady against the rocking of the ship while he guided his cock into her aching depths. He drove into her again and again, until she could no longer hold herself up on her hands, lying stomach down instead, panting and moaning in pleasure. With a final deep and forceful stroke, the ship crashing against waves, Neve and Eleksi climaxed together. She gasped as he flooded her insides with his hot seed.
Naked, they lay in each other’s arms, the ceaseless rocking of the ship sending her quickly to sleep.
In her dreams, Neve plummeted from a great height, a woman screaming in her ear. She fell and fell, knowing her life was about to end, feeling wistful and sad and satisfied. From far above, haloed by stars, a face that looked impossibly like her own watched her fall.
By the time she awoke the next morning, the dream was lost to her, as if blurred by the ocean current and washed away with the tide.