Page 39 of In Death’s Hands (The Threads of Fate #1)

I am strong. I know my own mind, my own body. I know that men too often see vulnerability when a woman bares herself, when in fact it is the purest form of strength and resilience. Of defiance. And I will use it to my advantage.

I let the negligee drop from my shoulder and loosen the lace at my back, ignoring Nathan’s sharp intake of breath.

To my surprise, they both stay silent.

I unclasp a few hooks holding the corset in place, and soon, the whole thing pools at my feet.

I am wholly bare in front of them.

And I do. Not. Blush.

I refuse to. Not when this is me taking charge of my life.

Finding a way to fight for myself. Atys, I notice distractedly, is looking at my hair.

He doesn’t focus on the strands I feel tickling my breasts or falling to my waist. No, his eyes are completely locked to the top of my head, as if giving me his quiet support without taking anything from me.

Nathan, however, is looking. Correction.

Nathan is devouring me with his dark eyes.

I see a war in them. His tight jaw gives a punch that his quickened breath deflects.

There is no winning side. Only his eyes following the dips and curves of my body.

Lingering on the shadows cast by the moon as if he wants to send his own shadow to play with them.

When he meets my stare, he looks wrecked . And I can’t help but give him a devious little smile as I turn around to walk to the water. His loud exhale gives me life.

When the water touches my skin, I don’t even try to swallow the moan. The fresh caress is heavenly after such an intense day. I keep walking into the water’s soothing embrace and take a second to marvel at where I am, at my own brazenness.

I’m glad I did because that second is all I get.

A loud splash has my heart jumping in my chest. I was right, but the thought doesn’t bring me satisfaction as Nathan’s and Atys’ screams can be heard close by.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a hand rushing to my face and duck. Moving in the water is so much harder, slower, than on dry land. But I’ll have to make do.

I hear a grunt as my foot connects with someone’s shin. It buys me enough time to turn and assess the situation. Two men are in the water with me, three others, one of them fully cloaked in a familiar robe, on the beach.

Nathan won’t be able to get to me right away, which is probably why they attacked now. Which is definitely why I chose to enter.

The two men leer at me, but I feel nothing as I hiss at them. So predictable. They won’t see me coming.

The first one lunges, arms open, but before he can wrap them around me I hammer the palm of my hand up his nose.

I ignore his curse as I whirl back on the other, who I could feel getting closer thanks to the swishing water against my skin.

The man draws a dagger from his side, and I steel my focus, refusing to let panic overwhelm me, make me sloppy.

He jabs once in my direction but I move out of the way.

The second man is over his broken nose and coming back for me, if his curse is any indication.

I try to use it to my advantage. I purposefully take a step back, the man in front of me smiling at my retreat, at the fear I let shine in my eyes.

His glance behind me tells me that his partner is closing in, and when he pushes forward with his blade again, I dip to the left, hoping he’ll make a hole in the other man instead.

But I miscalculated. The man behind me catches me too soon and the knife shining bright under the moonlight digs into my shoulder. I cry out and a roar sounds from the shore.

The pain takes my breath away, but I tighten my jaw. Better the shoulder than the heart he was aiming at. I shout as I force my uninjured arm to send my elbow into the man’s guts. It does nothing to lessen his hold on me.

I truly panic as the other one comes back with fury in his eyes.

He aims again for the heart beating so fast in my chest. One of my arms is useless, the other pinned against my side.

I can do nothing as the blade comes. I refuse to shut my eyes against my inevitable end, which is why I catch the wannabe murderer’s wild shock when the knife barrelling towards me stops mid-air.

A ghostly hand is wrapped around the man’s wrist. Nathan’s unmistakable shadow surges to action.

It grasps the weapon by the glinting blade, and I take a sharp breath as illogical fear tightens my heart.

The blade cannot hurt a shadow. No, it tugs it out of the man’s hold and chucks it far out into the water. And then punches the man once, twice.

I can’t keep track as the man holding me struggles to drag me to the shore. The others are still alive, if the yells I hear are any indication.

One sharp shout has the man stopping in his tracks, and I stomp my feet randomly, hoping to strike anything I can.

I make contact, but not enough to earn my freedom.

There are hands at my throat and I struggle to breathe and think.

My head is pushed into the water and I kick for everything I’m worth.

“Liv!” I hear in the rare, priceless moment when my head jerks above the surface. But air is still not reaching my lungs. I bury my nails into skin, trying to grasp a finger to twist it and break it, but come up with nothing.

And still, there is no air.

My lungs seize. I kick and jerk around. My knee slams into something soft, and the hands around my neck loosen enough to allow a trickle of air down my throat. I keep at it, feeling the fury of a thousand abused women inside my veins.

When the vicious hands are gone, other, cooler ones grab my arms. I scream and kick still. The pain in my shoulder is its own inferno, but the thought of losing to these men is worse. And I don’t let myself stop; I won’t let myself stop until my body inevitably fails me.

“Liv!” Nathan’s voice is so much closer. It makes me falter, but there are still hands on my arms, and though they don’t hurt or move, I refuse to let my guard down. “Stop! Liv, please…” I feel warmer hands then. Hands that make the whirlwind in me stop, observe, take a breath.

“Open your eyes.”

I hadn’t realised I had finally closed them, the salt burning them beneath my lids.

When I do, I see his agonised look raking over my face and body.

Not in the way he did mere minutes ago, but in assessment.

His eyes widen at my bleeding shoulder, but when I start shaking uncontrollably, he quickly wraps his arms around me.

But I still feel the cool hands on my arms, and glancing down, I see shadow fingers tightening ever so slightly. Oh. I look at the shape behind me, and I’d swear I can feel the worry emanating from the darkness where its eyes should be.

It was its hands I felt on me after it had disposed of the man who had tried to drown me.

Drown me. Drown me. Drown me.

“I know,” Nathan murmurs, making me realise that I was saying the words out loud. My voice is ragged above the once again peaceful sound of crashing waves.

I stay in his embrace, his warm body at my front while his shadow is flush against my back. I am surrounded once more but have never felt so safe in my entire life.

I hear Atys call for Nathan from the sand and turn sharply to check if he’s hurt, but I can’t see much from this distance and with the water in my eyes.

Nathan waits for my nod before moving us to the shore.

His shadow brings a flag I recognise all too well to cover my body.

I’m grateful as Atys walks over to me, bare-assed once again, and gently cups my face with his hands.

“You all right, flower?” He curses before I can answer. “Of course not. Stupid question, sorry.” And then he winces . I would laugh at the all too human expression, but I’m not sure I’m capable of such a thing right now. Not when I just barely escaped Death. Again.

I wonder how many times Nathan’s boss is going to let me get away as I glance around, at the bodies littering the blood-soaked sand and the one currently on his knees, begging loudly as a stone-cold Nathan stands like the merciless god he very well might be in front of him.