Chapter 9
An ear-splitting scream tore Dominic from his slumber. Leaping from his bed, he didn’t bother to throw on a tunic and rushed out of his cabin.
By the time he burst into the storage room—where Adara slept, opting not to sleep near him nor the others—her screaming had stopped.
It was pitch black. With the flick of his fingers, Dominic ignited an oil lantern.
Firelight flickered through the darkness, illuminating the room.
Adara sat upright on her bedroll with her knees pulled close to her chest. Her arms were wrapped around her legs, nails digging into her skin where she held herself curled so tightly, like she’d fall apart if she let go.
Her shoulders shook. Her face was buried between her chest and her knees.
“What the Hel happened here? It sounded like someone had been attacked by a bloody lykren,” he said, voice raspy from sleep. His words came out harsher than he intended.
Adara raised her head, glancing at him with glossy, sapphire eyes. There was a hint of surprise in them. She quickly looked away. It was only then that he remembered he hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt. He almost laughed at the flustered expression on her face.
“I . . . Nothing. Leave me alone,” she said, waving a dismissive hand at him. Her voice shook with every word.
He scoffed. “Yeah, like I’m going to believe that was nothing.”
“It was just a nightmare,” she replied, voice rising in irritation, dragging a hand through her thick hair. “Go away, Nite. Not like you care anyway,” she muttered, hiding her face in her arms resting on top of her knees.
“You’re right. I don’t care about your stupid nightmares,” he deadpanned.
Adara lifted her head to glare at him.
“Everybody’s got things that scare them.
At least yours are all in your head.” It wasn’t until he spoke that he realized he should have kept his mouth shut.
He was supposed to be pretending to care about her, so she would return his affections.
It was the perfect opportunity to soothe her worries, and he was blowing it.
“You know,” she said, “the goal of this war is to get the other to fall in love with you. You’re not doing such a great job at that.” She laughed bitterly, wiping the corner of her eye before a tear could fall.
Dominic leaned a shoulder against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Neither are you, love,” he shot back.
Adara uncurled her body, stretching her legs out in front of her as she leaned back on her palms. “I don’t have to try,” she replied nonchalantly, like she hadn’t been on the verge of tears mere moments ago. “I have a natural charm that draws people to me.”
“There’s definitely something that draws me to you, but I wouldn’t call it charm.”
She raised her eyebrows at him, all traces of fear from her nightmare gone. “And what might that be, Nite?”
He suppressed a smirk. His plan was working. He intended to distract her from whatever fear had overcome her in her dream. There was no better way to do that than bait her into those sarcastic remarks she so loved to throw at him.
“I can’t quite put my finger on it,” Dominic said as he stepped closer. He crouched down in front of her, grasping her chin between his thumb and index finger.
She stilled at his touch.
“But I think it’s the overwhelming urge to gut you with my dagger and feed your corpse to a lykren.” He sneered. “Out here in the middle of the Plagued Sea”—he waved a hand—“it would be so easy.”
Adara let out a short laugh, tearing her face from his reach. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing we made a deal not to kill each other before someone wins.” She shot him an innocent smile as she lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers at him, flashing the scar from their blood oath.
Although it was his intention to bring her back to her usual snarky self, he hated that no matter how many times he threatened her, he could never get to her.
She had only ever laughed in his face at his threats while others would tremble in fear.
He wondered if she would act any different if they hadn’t made that oath.
Would she be more careful around him? Would she be afraid?
She should be afraid. He was the King of Keys, and Adara had thrown herself right into his thieving hands.