Page 29 of Courting the Fae Captain (Romancing the Realms #4)

‘In the event a bond is forged with one’s fated mate, not even death can break it. To attempt to force such a terrible deed is to invoke the wrath of the gods themselves.’

Fake It Till You Make It: Romance Edition

W e arrived on the beach without any further problems and half-carried Akira down the sand banks as carefully as possible, almost falling several times from the sand shifting beneath us.

I searched the boats for a familiar face and was oddly disappointed when I didn’t find Raithe amongst the various males manning them.

Maybe it was the exhaustion of the fight, or the mental load of thinking my friend had died for a hot minute, but I wanted his company.

‘ He doesn’t care whether you live or die ,’ a voice whispered in my head.

‘ He is just using you.’ The thoughts stung more than they should have.

The last time I’d seen him, I’d agreed to court him in the public eye, but that’s as far as the arrangement went.

Shortly before that, I would have killed him for botching my escape.

It was safe to say things were complicated between the captain and me.

I should have been excited to get off the island.

And while a large part of me was very glad to put it behind me, both literally and figuratively, another logical part of my brain knew that I was exchanging one prison for another.

Still, I’d take any opponent over those things .

And once I was back in the relative safety of my rooms, I’d be able to dive straight into my mother’s journal, which I kept hidden in the bedchamber.

I hadn’t read much beyond a couple of pages, too focused on my earlier escape attempt and what to do about the imprisoned females of old Rites.

I wondered at what I would find in its pages.

“I’ve never been more glad to return to the sea,” Akira said with a grumble as we trudged towards the boats. “I need a healer, food, and a solid sleep.”

“And a bath,” Sherai said, wrinkling her nose. “You smell like monster soup and carcass.”

Akira raised her brows. “Says the girl with chunks of guts stuck in her hair.”

“Oh, gods. Ew. Ew. EW!” Sherai shook her hair like a dog, then combed her fingernails through her coils. “Get it off me!”

“Relax,” Akira said with a grin. “I was just kidding. Sort of.”

I laughed, even as I shook my head. “See you both back at the castle. Unless they still expect us to do chores, I don’t plan on leaving my bed for the rest of the night.”

We helped Akira to one of the small rowboats and said our goodbyes as we each hopped on a boat and made our way back to the mainland. There were significantly fewer females than the number that had arrived; many boats returned empty of any females.

“So, you survived after all,” the male sitting across from me said with a toothy grin.

The voice was irritatingly familiar, and I realised he was one of the guards who’d escorted me days ago.

Without a bag over my head this time, I saw the fucker’s nasty voice was a perfect match to his ugly mug, worsened by the break I’d given him days ago.

The glimmering lantern hanging beside him did nothing to soften his appearance.

I considered the male opposite me. Once, I would have tightened my lips and simply obeyed.

I would have done anything to remain unnoticeable.

But the Rite was quickly teaching me how very capable I could be.

Sherai and Akira were also teaching me how females could empower each other and lift each other up.

I felt stronger for it—them. And because of that, I was quickly growing tired of bending to a male’s will or staying silent.

I was tired of being talked down to and treated like mud beneath one’s boot. So, I decided enough was enough.

I smiled sweetly and leaned back on the prow, putting my feet up. “How’s the nose? Not important enough to warrant a visit from the castle healer?” I clicked my tongue in mock pity.

A scar across his cheek puckered as he sneered. “You’re lucky I’m under orders not to lay a hand on you. The bosses want you all pretty for yuletide.”

“How thoughtful of them,” I said drily. “Now, where’s my money?”

He eyed me warily. “What’re ye on about, girl?”

“The bet,” I said matter-of-factly. “I believe you owe me 200 silvers.”

“I owe no such thing,” he spat. “Participants don’t get the luxury of gambling.”

“I gamble with my life every day. So much so that I’ve gotten a fair bit comfortable with taking the lives of others.” A lie, not that he needed to know that. “My hand, you see. It can be a little … clumsy.”

My hand drifted to my sword in emphasis. He tried to draw his own blade, dropping the oars with a thud, but I already had my blade placed against his crown jewels.

“Alright, alright!” he said, lifting his hands in defeat.

The tip of my blade cut into his pants ever so slightly, tearing them up from the seams. His jerky movement caused his cloak to flutter to the side, where a fat coin purse jiggled from his hip. Bastard was doing just fine from his so-called gambling.

“I’m thinking we might need to revisit the amount. Perhaps increase the price a little. Compensation for the grievance of throwing me on that damned island.”

His face turned red, the scar puckering into a furious shade of purple. “You thieving?—”

“Ah, ah, ah,” I said, shoving the blade up higher.

His face drained of colour as he looked at me and realised I wasn’t backing down. “Take it. Just fucking take the thing.”

He didn’t need to tell me twice. With a quick upwards stroke of the sword I slashed the drawstring of the purse and sent the bag up in the air towards me.

It jingled quite nicely when I caught it, and I settled back down in my seat with a small smile.

“So glad we could come to an agreement. Now row. I’m tired and in need of a bath. ”

The guard speared me with daggers the whole trip back. It didn’t bother me. As soon as we were back on the mainland, he’d have a hard time getting vengeance. Especially if a certain captain was stalking around the castle.

I tried not to jiggle the purse and make him angry enough to retaliate before we even made it there.

I tried really hard. Fortunately, the ocean was in a mood today and the tides were choppy, forcing him to put all his concentration into the tedious task of rowing us back.

I could have offered to help but … nah. This one delighted in the pain and suffering of others.

He deserved much worse than a little petty theft.

It took a while, but eventually we were on land.

Apparently, they didn’t care if we saw exactly where we landed or if we were escorted back by the guards.

I raced up the stairs, all too eager to go back to my rooms, and I didn’t stop running until I was back behind my door and had turned the key.

Only then did I allow myself to truly stop. I was safe.

Not just physically—my wound from that first day on the island was healing nicely, though I’d probably need to visit Margaery anyway—but mentally, too.

All the horrors that I’d seen and heard and done …

they came crashing down on me. I turned the tap and filled the small bath in the corner with hot water, and when I sank beneath its embrace, I didn’t come up for air for a long time.

Akira and I had paid a visit to Margaery for some expert healing care, and we had planned to eat dinner with Sherai in my room that night.

Unfortunately, the Pentad had other ideas.

So, instead, I sat at a long table in the dining hall with Akira and Sherai flanking each side.

I sipped on hot apple cider and sighed, nestling deeper into the chair.

The scent of cinnamon sticks, cloves, and orange sailed up my nose.

I relished the warmth as it slid down my throat to heat my belly.

After the test of the island, I didn’t even mind being forced to the dining room.

I had hot food, hot drinks, and two beautiful friends by my side.

And that’s what we were now. There was no point denying the kinship I felt for the two fierce females beside me.

Akira and Sherai had fought beside me like no one ever had—no one except my old mentor, Avadir, at least. I took note of the females seated at the table.

There had been 50 of us to begin with. Now there were only 20, including my group of three.

If Portia had anything to say about it, that number would dwindle even more before the next test. I tried my best to avoid her gaze, but she caught me looking in her direction.

Her eyes narrowed as they moved from me to Sherai to Akira, then to the empty seat beside her.

I could guess what she was thinking. Her right-hand ally was gone, and she’d come after my friends next as revenge.

“You know,” Akira said as she leaned in. “Removing her existence would save us a lot of stress.”

“Akira,” Sherai admonished. “We do not go around the castle murdering people.”

“What?” Akira shrugged her shoulders daintily.

“It was merely a suggestion. One I would strongly encourage you both to consider. Without her, our odds improve significantly. I don’t know about you two, but I’d feel a lot less comfortable if steak-knives-for-teeth over there found herself slipping on stairs one of these days. ”

“She does have a point,” I told Sherai. “Maybe we could just file down her teeth. Get them back to butter knife proportions.”

Sherai giggled and smoothed back her hair. “It would take the edge off.”

I stared at her. “Did you … Did you just make a funny?”

Sherai fluffed her hair and grinned. “It’s been known to happen on occasion.”

Akira bumped her shoulder. “Brains, beauty, and brawn,” she said wistfully. “Captain’s got his decision cut out for him.”

“Why choose? He could just keep us all. We could terrorise the castle inhabitants forever,” I said, fluttering my fingers as I whispered.