Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Kade
Thunder rumbled from above and the sea’s sky released its first droplets, but the icy sting of rain did nothing to distract Kade as he marveled at his mate. He’d discovered that he loved nothing more than the sight of Evelyn’s resolve, glinting in her steely gaze like a sharp blade.
And tonight, she held a makeshift sword, one Kade had whittled from a broomstick. Her strikes clattered against his own practice weapon, echoing off the Sel’s quarterdeck.
Pride warmed Kade’s chest as he blocked her next blow. She didn’t meet his stare, her focus locked into their drills. Frustration leaked from each strike, and Evelyn clenched her jaw so tightly, Kade swore his werewolf hearing caught the sound of her grinding teeth.
Rough seas and winds had delayed their journey north with Captain Flynn and his crew of vampyr pirates. They stood around, watchful as Kade and Evelyn trained together, a daily routine they’d adapted—Kade taught Evelyn how to wield a blade, and she helped train him with his new magic.
Adrenaline rushed through Kade’s veins. He’d fantasied moments like these, training with Evelyn. Though, their partnership, love, friendship far exceeded his wildest fantasies. His body hummed, his heart raced.
This, it sang.
Kade struck from overhead. Evelyn pivoted and swiped downward, catching Kade’s attack. They both stilled. Amber collided with gray, and despite the restless and uncertainty chilling the briny air, they smiled at one another.
In two long strides, Kade reached Evelyn. He grabbed her waist and dragged their bodies flushed together, audience be damned.
“Oh, get a room!” Linx snorted off to the side.
“I believe they’re called cabins on ships,” Todd said.
Evelyn giggled, pushing Kade to arm’s length with a small smile lighting her features. She gestured her hand towards his practice weapon.
“Your turn.”
Kade sighed and relented, handing it over. More recently, they’d practiced his power in the quiet, empty hills of Sorin, far from watchful eyes.
As if she sensed his thoughts, Evelyn leaned in close and said, “There’ll always be an enemy with their eye on you during battle.”
Kade grunted, fighting a smirk. “Aren’t you a wise teacher?”
Evelyn shrugged. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“No,” Kade said quickly. “Not in the slightest.”
“Practice drawing your power forth and keeping it steady.” Evelyn stepped back, putting a respectable distance between them.
Kade appreciated it, averting his gaze from the burn still healing on her hand.
He opened and closed his own, reaching for this power, awakening it at his command not with emotion. He inhaled next, grounding himself to the wooden planks underneath his boots despite the ships constant up and down movement.
He focused on his hand, not the waves, vampyr pirates or Evelyn standing a few feet away. Blue glowed at his palm first, then bled to his fingers. His power surged forth, but Kade grasped hold of it, pulling it back—he, his wolf, and power aligned as one.
His hand remained the same shade of pearly blue, no more, no less.
“Kade, that’s brilliant,” Evelyn whispered.
He inhaled her encouragement and used it to draw a tad more.
Wind blew across the quarterdeck. The sails flapped insistently
A sphere of power formed above his palm, and blue light pulsed in circle around his hand like the light that ringed around the moon. Kade turned his wrist, flexed his fingers.
His power moved with him.
“It feels . . . a part of me.” Kade glanced up at Evelyn, for once wonder for his power flushing through him.
Evelyn nodded. “Your power is you. You’re one and the same. Can you call it back?”
Kade’s brows pinched as he rallied more control and dimmed his power. It resisted at first, but with a stronger tug, it answered. Blue light drew it inward, and Kade’s hand no longer shined with his power.
“Well done,” Evelyn whispered with a smile reaching her eyes, the first in some time.
Todd hollered while Linx whistled. The vampyrs, on the other hand, narrowed their gazes, shoulders stiffening with caution.
“How do you feel?” Evelyn asked.
“Spent,” Kade sighed.
The ship lurched against a mighty wave, and the Sapphire Sea splashed against the hull. Salt thickened the brisk air, and Kade’s nausea roiled to life.
“Aye! Is your fur green when you shift, wolf? You’re a questionable shade this evening.”
A steady hand grasped Kade’s shoulder, and his inner beast growled at the vampyr standing at his side.
He’d spent three days near Captain Flynn on the Sel, and Kade wished for nothing more than to smack the vampyr’s smirk clean off his face.
He reminded Kade of a fox, not a wolf. An agenda lay beneath the surface of his friendly demeanor.
Beside him, the captain’s quartermaster, Jasp, hid nothing from view—his disdain for Kade or vampyr fangs. His hood cast shadows across his sneering face. Kade’s inner wolf bared its teeth, but he rallied his instinct to attack what he’d once considered the enemy.
Thus far, the captain had held true to his word since he agreed to take them north. The fog parted around the ship, lone fjords jutting out of the sea to the west. Ice fractured as the ship pierced through the waves.
Since the ship sailed with a vampyr crew, it buzzed with commotion at night. The sails ballooned under a cloudy sky, crewmen cried commands, and Captain Flynn winked as he left Kade and Evelyn for the stairs to the quarterdeck.
“Puke overboard, not on the deck, for bloody hel’s sake,” Jasp said.
“Here.” Linx appeared at Kade’s side, handing him a cup with steaming liquid.
He detected warm, comforting herbs.
“A tea to help with your sea legs. I know it’s a few days late, but took me some time to dry the herbs well enough with all this mist and fog.”
“Thank you,” Kade said.
“I also had to make sure it didn’t taste like shit,” Linx said.
“Gods, I’d not trust her assessment.” Todd wrinkled his nose. “Linx enjoys cabbage.”
“With the proper care, it’s a delightful vegetable.” Linx frowned, crossing her arms.
“It smells rotten.” Todd shivered.
“As entertaining as this is,” Belle said, “we’re here.”
The witch held up Uzoma’s coordinates and a map, pensive stare locked out onto the choppy waves.
“Anchor!” Flynn called.
The ship lurched forward, and Kade grabbed the railing for support. “Moons, I really hate boats.”
Above, the moon’s light bled through the gray sky. It glowed more yellow than pearl, and Kade racked his brain. Had the days blurred so quickly he’d lost track of the last full moon? He shook his head, blaming his worries on Evelyn’s dwindling days.
“Better drink that tea.” Linx winked, pushing the cup up to his lips. “You’ll feel the benefits in no time.”
Kade relented, and found his weapons master was right—Linx wasn’t the best judge on taste.
Still, he downed the musty tea all to rid the shake of the sea from his limbs.
By the time the ship had stalled on the waters, and Belle had set up her space to draw the muince up from the depths, his stomach had settled.
Vampyrs lingered off to the side, their animosity mingled with the fog and under hoods, their predatory stares watched Kade and company. They seemed less than thrilled to have them on the ship, but their loyalty and orders came from Flynn, who watched Belle with curiosity.
The witch drew a circle with salt, laying the map at the center and using rocks as weight to hold the corners down. Evelyn crossed her arms, nibbling her lip, and Kade planted a kiss atop her temple.
“It’ll be alright,” he whispered.
“I know.”
He stepped back, giving her space, but stood at her side if she needed him. Kade’s own nerves, thankfully unrelated to the choppy waves, swam in his gut. The spell to get his mate’s magic back hinged on locating her muince.
“I’ll need a drop of your blood,” Belle said.
Evelyn nodded and placed her hand in the fellow witch’s.
With a small prick of a needle, Belle drew blood at the tip of Evelyn’s finger.
She didn’t wince or complain as Belle wiped blood onto a cloth, but Kade noticed for the first time a new tiredness clinging to her, one that hadn’t been there in Morrow.
His gut twisted—how had he not recognized it before?
His jaw ticked as Belle approached the edge of the ship. Her golden curls twisted in the wind. With Evelyn’s bloodstained cloth in one hand and the other splayed above the water, she chanted.
At first, the winds whipped by at the same speed, and the waves dipped and ebbed. Then the sea hissed. Below, the waves churned, twisting like a cyclone. The winds stilled around the ship, snaking through the sails and circling above the water. Belle’s magic brimmed in the air.
With eyes closed, she continued to chant in a language Kade didn’t recognize. The sea groaned again, and bubbles festered at the center of the whirlpool.
Kade peered over the edge, eyeing the shift in the water. The magic in the air intensified. He caught a sweet scent, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Belle’s eyes sprang open, and the surface broke, revealing a shimmering object dripping with water and seaweed.
A necklace, with an opal pendant mirroring the gray sky.
“Belle, you did it!” Evelyn said, rushing towards the banister. Wind unraveled her obsidian curls, framing her bright smile.
The young witch beamed, and across the way, Todd winked. A blush crept over her cheeks, but she blinked back into focus. Evelyn’s muince wavered twenty-yards from the boat’s edge. It floated towards them, and Kade’s hope rose to the surface—
The necklace halted.
Belle winced, hands shaking as she focused on her magic.
“What is it?” Evelyn asked.
Sweetness entered the air again, growing more and more distinguishable. Kade’s inner wolf’s hackles rose. He dropped his hand to his sword’s hilt, bracing as the temperature and energy shifted.