Chapter 25
DRAYA
Watching Lord Emerson talk to his daughter as if she were an abomination lit a fury akin to a roaring fire ablaze within my soul.
I was aware of human cruelty, and I knew Lord Emerson was no exception.
But I couldn’t imagine speaking to my own flesh and blood in that manner, and it infuriated me to know that Hazel had spent so many years dealing with him.
She deserved so much better than the hell he’d put her through, and I wanted him to pay.
Not to mention the rage I felt when I thought of the new information we’d gained in his quarters.
I had no doubt in my mind that Prince Inaki was still alive, and that he was being used and abused to assist Lord Emerson’s fleet.
Those figurines and the intricate carvings in the map were built with Talassi skin, and the mere thought made my stomach sour.
I wanted to rip the man’s head off before we left, but I knew that would be in bad taste.
It wasn’t our time to start a war with the humans, as we couldn’t put Prince Inaki in jeopardy.
That being said, it was imperative that we get back to the Capital and launch a rescue mission as soon as possible.
Aside from Lord Emerson’s infuriating behavior, watching Hazel interact with Maki was starting to irk me.
The sound of her laughing at his jokes made me want to stab my eardrums, and I couldn’t stand the sight of her hands clinging onto his shoulders as he transported her through the water. She was mine.
My what? I was still unsure. But she was my something, and I didn’t want him flirting with her.
So, as soon as we finished our tasks on Lord Emerson’s ship, I picked Hazel up and plunged us into the water, calling in Talassi to the rest of our team. We resumed the same diamond formation as we left the ship, and The Nayte Brigand bid us farewell a few miles out.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, tightening my grip around her torso and urging her head into the crook of my shoulder.
“For what?”
“That you had to spend most of your life dealing with that poor excuse of a father,” I replied, my chest feeling as if it were in utter turmoil.
“Draya,” her small arms held me tighter, and she leaned further into my chest. “It’s not your fault, nor is it your burden to bear. I’m free of him now, or as free as I’ll ever be, and now it’s time to liberate your Prince.”
“We’ve learned so much in the last few hours,” I said, my mind wandering.
Holding myself together was growing more difficult by the second.
“I don’t know what to make of it all, besides the fact that I want that man strung up by his internal organs across the bow of the ship.
Tortured first, then given a slow, agonizing death. ”
“Thank you for bringing me,” she said, and I looked down at her with a brow raised. “I’ve never done anything like that before. It felt good to have power over him like that.”
“Good,” I said, wondering how she was so eerily calm in a moment like this. “Your kind treats women terribly. I hope you never have to answer to anyone who looks at you as lesser.”
“Hmm,” she said, looking up at me with a small smirk.
“I don’t think less of you,” I said quickly.
“You quite literally tell me I’m weak and fragile daily,” she quipped back, clearly trying to hold back a laugh.
“And for that, I’m sorry,” I said. “You’re not weak at all, Hazel. You’re stronger than I could have ever imagined. I underestimated you.”
We swam in silence for the rest of the journey, but my hold on her body never faltered, much like the grip she had somehow placed around my heart.
I didn’t know what was happening to me. I’d never felt like this about anyone, but the thought of no longer holding her in my arms made my chest ache.
Hazel Emerson had imprinted herself onto me, and I wanted nothing more than to watch her grow into the strong, monstrous version of herself that I knew was aching to be freed.