Page 76 of Death’s Kiss (The Order of the Tide Raiders #1)

“ C razy ass southern bitchhhh—” I’m half screaming and half hissing through bared teeth while attempting to pull out the remainder of the blade from its current lodgings.

There’s blood, both Corvina’s and mine, sliding down over my hands and chest. I’m making so much noise that the hollow passage actually reverberates my painful screams back to me. But I don’t care. My breathing has suddenly become terribly heavy and thick.

Someone ‘tsks’ nearby and I freeze.

"My, what a foul mouth you have, Boreas. I’ll have to remember that for later.”

My face screws itself into one of angry disbelief. Glancing upward, one bloody hand on the dagger, I lock eyes with the worst person I could possibly be forced to deal with right now.

I try and fail to stifle my groan.

Olsson godsdamned Agni stares back at me without a scratch on him. His obsidian hair looks perfectly un-perfect, as though he’s just rolled out of someone else’s bed. He regards my state through kesar-shaded irises, his gaze flickering to the blade in my chest then back to my face.

Some of that perpetual tan of his appears to pale slightly but his usual condescending smirk still hovers in the corner of his mouth. His suggestive words ring back to me, spiking my temper.

Why? Why is it always him?

I’m surprised I don’t shout the thoughts aloud.

“That’s just perfect,” I mutter with a snort of disbelief.

My grip on the hilt tightens once more and I finally yank free the end of the blade from my skin. I swear low in pain before hurling the dislodged blade directly for Agni’s stupidly cocksure face.

His bemused expression flashes to one of blatant surprise before he just barely manages to dodge Corvina’s incoming dagger. To my supreme satisfaction, he’s not left completely unscathed.

“Fucking— brat! ” he barks out.

A beringed hand cups the new line of crimson-colored torn skin along his throat. I watch as he turns from the room with rage plain in his horribly beautiful features. Agni's angry footsteps sound away, and further down the passage. I let slip a breathless laugh.

Good riddance, asshole.

I know I'll likely pay for that later, and then some.

Now onto the fun part.

Picking up a scrap of medic cloth from the line of supplies before me, I try not to worry about what my crew might be facing on their side of things. A muffled scream slides through clenched teeth as I shove the ethanol-and-salve-coated rag through the cut in my uniform and into the wound.

Davina’s healing-soaked cloth begins working almost immediately as I start cleaning out the gash through muffled cries. The agony finally eases down to a much more bearable ache after only a few moments and the lightness in my head mercifully fades. My leech’s affinity truly is a blessing .

I should be just fine until meeting with them again, then Vi can heal the wound completely.

"OooOoh, Captain Boreas, whose fault is it for choosing a leech as a crew member?” I mimic Skelm’s earlier words under my breath in a whiny impression of his scathing tone. “Whose worthless now you pretentious one-eyed dumbass.”

The pain relief from Davina’s wound-stoppering salve is so wonderful I find myself laughing while observing the last of the blood now running through the lines on my palms. I watch as droplets of cherry fall down to the dark sand-covered floor for ten hollow beats in recovery.

Coming back to the medicinal supplies, I grab for some adhesive bandaging. Then I make quick work of sliding the black dressing beneath my shirt and unrolling it against my skin. I secure the bandage from under my left arm, across the wound, and up against the other side of my neck.

Once satisfied, I give myself exactly sixty seconds of rest on the cool floor as a reward before hoisting myself up and making better sense of this new location. Much as my crew was, it seems I’ve been drilled down into the next level within The Vault.

If the reports are to be believed, then this opening will lead to the kórallian tunnels, where I’ll find the next gate to lift before meeting my crew at Port Capillary. The similarities between this and our second trial make me wonder if TideLord Dolion had more than a hand in designing it.

Coming to stand before the large hallway opening, I slide a lip between my teeth and quietly contemplate which direction to take. Since the walls spun and the floor moved sideways, there’s no real way to know which direction I came from.

In the end, I decided to go in the direction based on my weapon's arm.

It takes no more than two minutes into the dim kórallian passage before regretting that choice.

Captain Agni’s distinct silhouette leans casually inside an archway framing the entrance to yet another alcove along the path before me.

Burning embers track me as my footsteps slow and I come to a full-blown halt.

Years of masking pain come in handy when crossing my arms and glaring at the southern captain without so much as a wince.

"Well, would you look at that, little bastard . I waited up for you after all. Even after you thought it pertinent to chuck a dagger at my face.” Agni's dark voice echoes into the tunnel, while a look of pure irritation alights his sweeping gaze.

Scowling with a huff of equal displeasure, I shift backwards. I’m deliberating on whether or not I should test my luck and try out the opposite direction when the prick sighs in deep annoyance.

“Dead end. Already tried it,” he states before pushing himself off from the wall and resuming his stalking down the murky passage in my original direction. Begrudgingly, I follow after while silently removing the short-sword resting against my hip.

Agni eyes me coolly as I come to walk in step beside him.

“Why did you wait for me?” My eyes narrow skeptically in his direction while gripping the leather-wrapped handle tighter.

“Why else?” Agni asks loftily, his eyes darting down to the weapon in my grasp with a pointed smirk before holding up a hand in the air to display his own silver-scarred palm in emphasis

The look on his face is so fucking conceited I’m sorely tempted to backhand him.

“Then get on with it.” I'm anxious to be done with this. Hopefully we’ll find a fork in the path here soon and be forced to part ways permanently. Assuming one of us doesn’t kill the other before then. Which seems rather unlikely.

His mouth twitches in amusement but his gaze remains on the narrow hall ahead. The muscles in my neck tense while holding back my ripening temper, all the control I’ve worked so very hard to master is impossibly lost when he’s around.

“Hmmm, but what to ask?” Agni feigns thoughtfulness, tapping that finger idly against his lip again. “I mean, this being your last question and all—well—I need to make it good . ”

Breathing out through my nose, I refuse to meet his goading stare, which only amuses him more.

Agni chuckles, the timbre of it is so deep and dark I swear I can feel it running along my bones.

“I could ask something about your crew. Perhaps what exactly you’ve planned for their exit strategy after The Vault?

That would be all the intel I need for a proper ambush. ”

Panic grips me in its heathen claws.

"Mmmm, no , on second thought, I’d better not. You'll just change it after reaching Port Capillary. Assuming, of course, that you make it there at all,” he muses to himself, running an absent hand through his midnight hair.

“Maybe I should make you tell me which one of your crew members is your all’s greatest vulnerability? Then, even if you did somehow manage to make it into The Vault, we can just play ransom for your prize afterwards.”

An image flashes in my mind of kaleidoscope eyes and gentle healing hands.

My insides twist until he finally puts me out of my misery by making it worse. “Although, I suppose that if you were idiotic enough to take the kratosbane for your crew... well then that would now make you their greatest vulnerability. Wouldn’t it?” he questions darkly.

Fixing my stare at a point in the distance, I do everything in my power to not react.

Unfortunately, that seems to be precisely the reaction Agni is looking for.

The smirk he so prefers turns itself into a cruel grin as my face begins to heat. "Oh, sweet depths, Boreas . Tell me you didn’t—not actually ?” His resounding laughter is caustic. “Just how exactly are you supposing to make it anywhere near The Vault’s doors without your affinity?”

I stop walking in order to sneer up at him.

“I made it this far, didn't I? As I recall, my speeder was the first one inside the maze. You had—hmm, what was it again?” I tap my finger on my lower lip in mimicry of him. “Oh yeah, that’s right. You had a four hundred meter head start and I still beat you— without my affinity. ”

Agni has paused as well, his absurdly muscular arms fold themselves over one another while angling his head down to meet my eyes. The mask of disinterest he wears is good, but not good enough to hide the anger shimmering just beneath the surface.

“I suppose they’re probably used to you being the source of their deficiency by now anyway," he mutters snidely.

“It’s killing you, isn’t it?” I ask, pretending not to have heard his latest jibe.

A small smirk hangs in the corner of my mouth and his brows raise in silent question.

“The fact that out there—out in front of the TideLords and the Raider King and the rest of the entire godsdamned Order—you lost to me .” I laugh, hoping it’ll irritate him further.

“The fact that even without the aid of the ‘oh so special’ elemental abilities—when it comes down to pure talent and skill—you, along with everyone else, now know with absolute certainty that I’m better than your fucking best.” My expression is smug enough to reel that anger to the surface and I relish the sight of it thrashing so plainly in his eyes.

“Vagar Ophios is not our best helmsman,” he growls softly.