Page 24 of Death’s Kiss (The Order of the Tide Raiders #1)
“You are such a sadistic little shit,” I tease while laughing up to the wide open night.
Kleio laughs long and hard, the sound of it is as close to a home as I’ve ever known.
“Coming from the stone-cold-bitch herself, I’ll take that as a compliment,” she quips, pushing the significantly lighter bottle into my hands.
We sit in comfortable silence for a few beats, my eyes traversing the celestial realm above.
“So that Olsson kid,” Kleio comments, breaking our peaceful quiet and I take a rather long drink. “I cannot believe the stunt he pulled. That poor kelpie’s cry nearly broke my heart.”
“Mine too” I agree, the sound of its devastation is still fresh in my memory. “But it honestly doesn’t surprise me. He’s a fucking psychopath.” I have trouble holding back my sneer .
Kleio watches me grapple with contempt. “He really gets under your skin, doesn't he?”
“And he doesn’t get under yours? You were ready to fucking stab him on our first day sharing class together,” I point out.
She smiles with a shrug. “He called you a squid. I’ll stab anyone who makes that mistake.”
The memory of that day makes my teeth grind together in annoyance.
I sincerely hope his injuries are too fucked for him to return.
The noise from inside drifts downwards, becoming impossible to ignore with its rising volume. I shift my gaze back to Kleio, the slight movement making my head dizzy. “You can head back, you know. Go enjoy celebrating with Vash and everyone else. I’m much better now.” I flash her a grin for proof.
She snorts in return. “I’d rather be here with you. I mean, after seeing you out there today, I’m not wasting any of our very likely short time left together.” She gives me a teasing grin, and I give her a playful shove in response.
“Vash was out there too,” I remind her. “Don’t you want to spend your time with him?”
Kleio laughs, and I swear it carries all the way up to the scattered stars above. “Vash is just a boy,” she states airily.
I eye her incredulously, and my second sticks out her tongue, making me chuckle.
"Okay, he is a boy that I’ve been more than a little obsessed with for a few years, but he’s still just a boy. You’re my best friend. You’re my sister.” Her eyes shine with so much warmth it makes my throat feel too tight.
Her choice of words also reminds me of something. “You know,” I say casually, gauging her reaction. “If by some miracle I happen not to die in the rest of these trials, we could be sailing under a TideLord. We might even get some assignments near the Pearl Sea.”
“Asha,” Kleio breathes, the name full of meaning .
I nod before adding, “We could start looking for her, get intel from any islands or drifters nearby. If I won, I bet I could even put in a request with the TideLord to help us gather news of her.”
Kleio swallows thickly, her eyes brimming with unspoken hope. “I would never ask that of you—”
“You would never have to,” I cut her off firmly. “Like you said, we’re sisters. Which would make Asha kind of like a little sister too, of sorts.”
Kleio looks to the stars, letting a few rare tears fall. “You would love her. I mean, she would also definitely annoy you to death with her babbling. You have no idea, she can just go on and on .”
I give Kleio a pointed look.
“Hm, I have no idea what that must be like.”
My fervent wish from the night upon the nets appears to have been granted.
We resume courses as normal just a few days after the first pillar task. Entering Preceptor Beldham’s class finds Captain Agni’s pack of males holding our usual table hostage. However, the head seat is noticeably empty .
A delightfully sinister smile curves my lips, and I beeline for the empty chair. I don’t have to check to know the others have followed my line of thought.
I’ve spent a lot of time marinating over Kleio’s words and decided she made some solid points.
I’ve been restraining myself to the point of chafing at nearly every point of conflict in order to shield my crew.
I’m not about to revert all the way back to the little bastard-born menace of years prior, but perhaps somewhere in between.
Balance.
Captain Agni’s second, Vagar Ophios, glances up in obvious dislike at my sudden presence.
“Hi boys,” I purr, my eyes scanning each of the southern males occupying our seats. “You’ll be giving us our table back today, seeing as how your king appears to be missing and therefore unable to claim his throne.”
Something unreadable passes in the navy irises of Captain Agni’s second.
“Fuck off, northern bitch,” barks out one of his other crew.
My attention slides over to the boy sitting directly across from Vagar. His upturned features are haughty, and his dark hair is shorn tight on the sides. Jade-colored eyes watch me with clear disgust.
Adiram Uthra, Captain Agni’s third in command.
I ‘tut’, my hands curling on the back of my chair. “I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised they haven’t taught you all manners down south, but since you’re here residing in the civilized north, it’s customary to return things to whom they belong. Like my seat.”
In one swift movement, I pull out the wooden chair and plop myself down before anyone has a chance to object. My smirk meets each of their murderous faces. All seven pairs of eyes around the table now reflect Adiram’s disgust.
I promised to earn Agni’s abhorrence, and I intend to do just that.
Placing both my legs up on the table like a personal footstool, I lean back with a bemused expression. “Now, why don’t you all pretend to be gentlemen for a minute and give my girls their seats back. Bonus points if you pull the chair out for them.”
Vagar’s eyes burn with anger, and his mouth turns downwards in a sneer, perfect .
He moves to grab me, but quicker than a ligetung eel, Herse’s hand slams down, and a butterfly blade nails the sleeve of his crimson uniform into the wooden table. Vagar’s gaze flashes to my third with a look of real surprise. She gives him a cool smirk in return.
“Careful,” I croon. “Herse has plenty more of those, and I would hate to see you lose something infinitely more valuable than a shirt next time.” My eyes flicker below his belt with meaning.
“Get out of our captain’s seat, you squid, ” growls another of Agni’s crew members, his hands slamming down flat on the table before him.
My brows raise when finding the culprit, this one appears a bit more fiery than the others.
There’s a thick white scar across his tanned face, stretching from just under his left eye over the bridge of his nose and ending at the top of his right cheekbone.
The male's inky hair is pulled back in a similar style to Raider Ophios, his lip curls under my study.
Giving him a sickly sweet smile, I purr in return, “Make me.”
A cold snap abruptly whips down on his exposed hands as hard as any switch. He yelps out loudly in pain before spitting what I’d guess is a string of profanities in their southern tongue.
Vagar is fuming, and he stands up from his spot so violently that his chair clatters back to the ground. He plucks the butterfly blade from his pinned shirt and keeps his gaze locked on Herse while sliding it into the front pocket of his jacket. Her violet eyes narrow dangerously in turn.
“ Abeamus, ” he grunts towards the rest of Captain Agni’s crew, still watching the exchange. The males leave their spots begrudgingly and follow Vagar with looks of deep hatred thrown my way.
Kleio slides into her usual seat on my left with an approving grin that matches the rest of my crew’s expressions. I smirk and enjoy allowing myself a bit of leeway on my own personal leash.
“Better watch out you southern shits!” Prisca calls across the room.
“Prisca darling, I believe the official title they prefer is South Cardinal Order shitheads,” Nephthys chides her sister while imitating their haughty southern accents .
“Oh yes, quite right, Nephthys dear. My deepest apologies, how very uncouth of me. Wouldn’t want to offend their more delicate sensibilities,” Prisca agrees, giving the one with a scar a wink.
If looks could kill, I'd be out two crew members.
Sliding deeper into my seat, I relish the feeling of reclaiming my spot.
I spend the rest of Preceptor Beldham’s lecture imagining the look on Agni’s face whenever he deigns to rejoin us again.