Page 55 of A Taste For Lies (The Apex Kingdom #1)
ELENI
Just before the sails come into view at the edge of the horizon, the crewmembers take up the call. “Pirates! Pirates!” They scramble to trade long scopes to better see the skull and crossbones flags, still undetectable to my naked eye.
“We won’t be able to outrun them.” Captain Nikos Ataxas appears at my side at the rail, his weathered face grim. “Best get ready to negotiate, Lady Ashbourne.” He hurries off, shouting orders at the crew.
Maeve exchanges a worried look with Carter. “I need Taran.”
Carter shakes his head. “He’ll never leave her. The ship could be sinking into the ocean before he’d leave her side.”
“It’s the third day,” Harlan cuts in, drawn by the commotion. Astrid, his constant shadow since the prince gave her the command, trails behind him. “It’s time he accepts that she’s not ever going to wake up,” he says in a matter-of-fact tone.
Maeve turns and faces the former key master, lifting her chin with an imperial air. He smirks back, nonplussed.
“Do go fuck yourself,” she tells him, her Elite enunciation crystal clear. Then she spins on her heel and strides off, presumably to the brig, her lavender skirts swishing behind her .
Carter’s mouth quirks as though he’d like to smile but can’t quite manage it. We’ve all been in a tense holding pattern since our escape from Ravenscrest, desperate for Alora to wake, terrified she won’t.
“I’ve never heard Maeve curse like that before,” Carter murmurs, as if to himself. “Didn’t know she knew the word.” His gaze slides to me and my pulse picks up, as it always does in his presence. “You’d better go after her.”
My eyes widen. “ Me ?”
“The one chance she has of getting him to leave Alora is if you agree to stay there with her.” He shrugs one shoulder. “He trusts you.”
“He trusts me ?” I squeak.
“Of course.” Carter’s brow furrows. “You love her.” My heart squeezes.
“She’s not going to wake up,” Harlan mutters again.
“Say that one more time.” Carter’s eyes light with a menacing golden fire I’ve never seen from the guardian. “I fucking dare you.”
“I’ll, uh, just go after Maeve then,” I cut in, taking two quick steps. But a moment of hesitation has me turning back to the males. “Behave yourselves. We’re all on the same side.”
“That remains to be seen,” Carter drawls. But at my frown, he adds, “Go take care of the wildcat. I promise I won’t kill your lover.”
My cheeks flush hot. “He’s not my lover!”
“Like you could,” Harlan counters at the same time.
Carter takes a step closer. “Care to test that theory, asshole?”
“Carter,” I admonish.
“Should have let Tare kill him,” he mutters. He waves me off, turning back to stare at the ocean where the black-and-white of snapping flags is clearer every moment.
I hurry down the creaking stairwell into the brig where Alora has been chained for the better part of three days. The sounds of the prince and his cousin arguing assault my ears.
“What’s the point of being by her side when this entire ship is going to be blasted apart by pirates?” Maeve shouts. “What was the point of any of this if you give up now? ”
“You’re not listening to me.” The prince’s voice sounds drained of all life, and when I reach the bottom step and catch sight of him, I can’t help but gasp aloud.
He won’t eat or drink unless Alora does, which means he’s been surviving on the same little bits of broth and water we can dribble down her throat. His facial hair has grown bushy, and his eyes are hollow, set within dark black circles. It’s only been a night since I’ve seen him, but he appears to be deteriorating ever more quickly.
“I didn’t say I won’t leave her. I said I can’t ,” he continues. “We both know you’re the better negotiator anyway.”
“I need the prince of the realm at my side,” she grits out. “The beast prince, infamous throughout Valenrae for his power, for his temper and for his bite. Not to mention, I don’t even know what the pearls can do because you haven’t told me . How am I supposed to negotiate when I don’t understand what I’m negotiating with?”
Taran’s eyes shutter. “I don’t know what it is you expect from me. I just told you, I can’t do it.”
“I’ll stay with her,” I offer. The prince’s eyes blink open and meet mine. Consciously maintaining a serene expression, I make my way further into the brig, keeping contact with his strange silver gaze. “I’ll stay right here, beside her, until you come back.” Without waiting for a response, I settle myself onto the pallet of blankets next to the cell and slide my hand through the bars to settle on Alora’s.
Her flesh is hot to the touch, her hair matted and sweat soaked. She whimpers and snarls in her sleep, but at my touch, her face relaxes just a bit. The prince drops to his knees beside me, his gaze fixated on Alora. I stroke the top of her palm with my thumb, and her breathing slows. Her sleep is still fitful, but it’s measurably improved.
I glance up at the prince, his sunken eyes kindling with what must be hope. Behind his back, Lady Ashbourne mouths, Thank you .
“Go help your cousin, Your Highne—Taran. I’ve got her.”
He shudders, a full-body shake that I feel in my bones. “Call for me immediately if anything changes,” he commands.
“Of course. Now, please, go. We’ll be alright.”
His gaze lingers on my friend, the look so laden with longing, it takes my breath away. Then, as if he has to physically force himself to do it, he turns away and strides up the stairwell for the first time since he brought Alora on this ship three days ago, Maeve fast on his heels.
“Wow,” I murmur. I turn back to Alora, her breathing now even, the pained furrow gone from between her brows. But she remains asleep, locked in a silent world I can’t enter. I sigh, leaning my head against the cell bars and shutting my eyes. Listening to the creak of the boat as it sways beneath me.
I wonder if anyone will ever love me like that.
“Oh, Eleni.” Her voice is cracked with disuse.
My eyes fly open and meet my best friend’s glowing amber gaze, clear and undeniably present, though shining with an animal-like luminosity. Through the tangle of her hair, her ears curve into delicate points, like the tufted ears of a lynx. And when she smiles, her canines are long and sharp.
My jaw drops open as Alora pushes herself up on shaky arms.
“Of course they will, my friend. No one could help but love you.”