Page 15 of Of the Stars and Sea (A Divine Trinity #1)
If I can get a message to Amara and Wells about the Serpent’s Key clue, they may be able to intercept Grayson and take the treasure for themselves. A small reward for the grief this venture has already caused us.
Raising the box to the lantern light, I take note of the faint lines that run in various directions along all the sides.
Digging my nail into one of the grooves, I try to see if there’s some way of opening it.
With a flick of my nail against the metal, nothing comes loose. I try again and still nothing changes.
The door opens behind me again and I whirl around to see who it is, my right hand reaching for the dagger on my hip.
Grayson fills the doorway. The beat of my heart kicks up a notch as he moves into the space with feline grace that shouldn’t be achievable for someone his size.
The long locks of his black hair frame his chiseled face and when amusement dances in his ocean blue eyes, I find myself wanting to laugh with him.
But I stomp out that feeling immediately and stoke the flames of my hatred for him by letting the weight of the golden box feel heavy in my hand.
It is because of him that my entire crew has lost their ticket to a life of freedom and I will not allow myself to be bewitched by Grayson Tyde and whatever games he intends on playing.
“Shouldn’t you be captaining your crew?” I ask, before setting the Serpent’s Key back on the table.
His full lips tilt upward. The scar on his cheek crinkles. “I have full faith in my crew and their ability to navigate our way home.”
Home . A chance for me to enact the first step of my plan.
“How do you like your accommodations?” The leather of his coat creaks as he settles his hands against the dresser and leans backward. Relaxed. Like he isn’t in a confined space with someone who would slit his throat if given the chance.
I shrug. “I’ve stayed in much finer places.”
His eyes narrow on me for a moment. “Careful. I don’t take kindly to the ungrateful.”
“And I don’t take kindly to being shoved in the corner of someone’s ship where I can’t see the light of day.”
Pushing off the dresser, the full force of Grayson Tyde strides toward me and I find myself taking a step back.
His chest nearly touches mine and heat rises along my cheeks when I realize my tunic is still strewn across the bed.
Nothing but the thin fabric of my undergarment hides the swell of my breasts.
But he doesn’t pay them any mind. Instead, his gaze is heated as he stares directly into my eyes.
“Have my men not treated you fairly? Has Tommy not shown you to a quiet and safe space? Has Doc not tended to your wounds?”
Grayson reaches out for the pearl in my hair and runs his fingers over it. I stare at his large hand, knowing how easily he could wrap it around my throat and end me. And maybe that’s why I can no longer keep the words in my mind at bay.
“I clearly possess something you need or my corpse would be lying on the cobblestones of Silvermoon Landing. Your niceties are nothing more than a facade. A pretty dream cloaked in wretched darkness. There will be a time when that darkness seeps in, revealing the truth of what game you’re playing.
” I lean closer, rising slightly onto my toes so that I might close the distance between us just a little more.
“I’ve lived and triumphed through nightmares you can’t even imagine. This one will be no different.”
I swear a bolt of lightning crashes through his stormy irises, the blues and whites swirl in defiance, and I try not to get lost in the alluring beauty of them. The danger that always seems to beckon me closer.
His head dips low. Goosebumps rise along my flesh and my hand grips the hilt of my dagger just as a loose strand of his hair tickles the side of my face. His breath is warm against the cuff of my ear when he speaks, “Such strong words from such a pretty little thing.”
Ripping my dagger from its sheath, I place the edge of the blade against the side of his throat.
Snarling, I dig the point into his skin.
A spot of blood beads before it trickles down the side of his neck.
Grayson laughs. His voice gravelly and rich.
It only grates my nerves more, so I whip my blade back and rush it forward, right at his stomach.
But before my dagger cuts through the milky white of his tunic, the room spins around me and my back is pressed flush against his front.
Jolting forward with all my strength, I try to break free of his arms but find they only grow tighter around me. My shoulder screams at me from the pressure of his torturous embrace and I can’t help the harrowed groan that rips from my throat.
Grayson’s voice deepens as he says, “You should have drank the potion,” before he eases his hold and I find myself leaning into the firm pillar of his body. The pain is too great. My vision blurs from the sheer sharpness of it.
“And—trust—that he wasn’t trying—to poison me or put me into some kind of slumber?” My words are strangled, but Grayson stands steady at my back and some part of me enjoys the stability, feels comforted from someone else holding me up, even if it’s just for a moment.
Then I remember exactly who stands at my back and my body stiffens.
“You will learn that I stay true to my word, Little Pearl. No man is to cause you harm on this ship unless provoked. So, I suggest you try harder at not provoking them.” His embrace slackens and I’m left to stand on my own once again. His lingering scent wraps around me, muddying my senses.
I shake it off.
Turning around, I drop my dagger at my side, and face him.
Taking his finger beneath my chin, he tilts my head back. I feel the brush of my long hair sweep over the curve of my rear beneath my trousers. I try to shake off his hold, but he grips me firmly, pinching my chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“You have marked me as the villain in your story, so it is the role I shall play.” His voice is gruff as he chuckles quietly. “There may even be a part of me that enjoys it. Some part of me that enjoys the fight you so willingly give me.”
A storm rages across his face and I know there is truth to his words. A truth that buries itself deep inside of me—its claws latching onto some weary part of my soul.
“ Sails to the west!” a voice bellows from somewhere on deck.
He drops his hold on my chin and turns his back to leave. I watch with a roaring need to both throw something at his face and chase after him.
I do neither. Standing exactly where he left me, I close my eyes for a moment and suck in a refreshing breath.
When I open them again, Grayson is looking at me over his shoulder.
He nods toward the bedside table. “Let me know if you discover anything new.” His intentions are clear.
He wants me to uncover the secrets behind the Serpent’s Key—if there are any.
Then he leaves.
The door swings back and forth with the swell of the waves and that’s when I realize I was never locked in.
A villain he might be.
But so am I.
He should have locked the door.