Page 65

“ I can’t believe we got it!” I beam at Grayson as he paddles us through the final stretch of the cave. A faint glow peeks around him, making it look like he’s radiating light. “Seraphina and her sisters certainly seemed happy when we left,” I add.

“They were spellbound to protect the tablet for thousands of years. I’m sure we were a welcomed surprise.” I watch as his chest expands when he brings the paddle shafts toward himself.

A thrill skates down my spine as the realization of what we’ve just accomplished sets in. “Do you think it was the Witch Queen who bound them?”

Grayson tilts his head to the side, thinking.

“She would be the only one capable of crafting a curse powerful enough to entrance a water nymph, let alone three. They possess their own great abilities powered through their connection to water. There’s no other creature I’m aware of who would be mighty enough to subdue them. ”

“So, we make our way to The Barren Wastelands then.” I rub my thumb over the surface of the tablet. The lettering is etched into place, creating grooves that are rough against my skin as I stare at my golden reflection.

“It is a dangerous place.” Grayson’s voice lowers an octave.

I look up at him through my lashes. “It is a good thing I have you by my side then.”

He smirks, but the smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

He’s worried. And he has every right to be.

The Barren Wastelands didn’t come by its name arbitrarily.

To protect himself from the wrath of the Witch Queen’s daughter, Ujun destroyed her lands.

Leeching all life from the earth that granted the Queen and her coven their powers.

He worried that the very curse the Queen placed upon his brother would be bestowed upon him as well by the coven’s heir when the cost of the curse was her mother’s life.

As legend tells it, Ujun bringing the blight upon the once lush land of the Dark Moon coven drained his powers, so he climbed atop his father’s empty throne in the heavens and fell into a deep slumber in an attempt to regain his strength.

There hasn’t been a sign of him since.

“The crew will be pleased.” I glance at the tablet. “I have a feeling this is our last clue, that we will find Thaeto’s treasure once we arrive on the mainland.”

“Given what the inscription says, I’d bet to say you’re right. But there’s still a thr?—”

A loud boom echoes through the tunnel.

I slip the tablet into my coat pocket and peek around Grayson, who shifts to look behind himself at the tunnel’s exit. “What the hells was that?” I ask.

Grayson and I scan the exit, but the sunlight shines too bright, making it difficult to see out. Another boom sounds and we look at one another.

“That’s cannon fire.” His luminous eyes grow wide.

“ Blythe ,” I breathe, my voice trembling. “He’s found us.”

“We need to get to the ship.” Grayson starts rowing faster. His arms moving at a rapid pace, pulling us closer to the beaming light.

Tugging my coat close around me, I pat the sides, making sure the box and tablet are safe.

“We weren’t gone that long. How did he catch up to us so quickly?” My heart lurches into my throat.

“He must have deduced where we went, given the limited options, and trailed us.”

The longboat glides over the dark water as I watch Grayson’s broad chest expand and contract with every movement. The outline of the triangular exit starts taking shape and I hold my breath, hoping we aren’t about to see the Caelestia surrounded by two ships.

We just need a little more time to get back to the ship and find a way to evade their attacks.

“Rowenya.” Grayson says my name and I look at him, feeling that quivering fear start to rattle my bones. “This is not our end.” He says the words with such earnest that I cling to them, hoping they will remain true once we leave this tunnel.

We cross the threshold of the exit and I blink against the sun’s assault, hoping to the heavens that the Caelestia is unharmed. Once my eyes adjust, I look behind Grayson to see she is exactly where we left her—anchored just outside of the mist that still lingers in the midday air.

“Where are they?” I ask, scanning the mist in search of Blythe’s ship.

“I can’t see anything beyond the fog,” Grayson responds, continuing to row vigorously toward the Caelestia . “Zaos hasn’t opened the gun ports yet. They must not be able to see where the cannon blast came from either.”

With bated breath, I keep watching the darkened horizon behind the Caelestia , waiting for Blythe’s ship to approach with his small armada.

A row of men appear along the side of Grayson’s ship, but they don’t call out to us. With no idea how close Blythe might be, I see them make hand gestures, likely alerting the rest of the crew of our arrival silently.

By the time we reach the base of the Caelestia and Collin throws down the rope ladder, I’ve forgotten all about the barrier.

“The magick barrier. I didn’t feel it this time.” Grayson loops the ropes through the pullies attached to each end of the longboat, readying it for his crew to hoist up after we climb the ladder.

“The magick must be designed to only keep things out,” he says.

“I guess that makes sense.”

I bite the inside of my cheeks as I reach for the rope ladder and start the ascent. Grayson is right behind me, and as we’re about midway through the climb, another blast rings through the air.

I look down at him. “That sounded a lot closer.”

“Indeed.” His face is drawn as he looks back and forth down the sides of his ship, assessing for any signs of the looming threat. “Keep moving, Rowenya.”

Chattering questions of where the cannon blast comes from make their way to me as I near the ship’s edge. My pulse pounds in my ears as I swing my leg over and finally feel my boots land on the main deck. Grayson pulls himself over the side with ease and stands next to me.

Zaos’s brows are drawn together as he takes us both in. “What did you find?”

Reaching into my coat pocket, I pull out the tablet and raise it into the air.

The crew gather’s round, all their eyes trained on the gold piece in my hand.

Their attentions shift from scanning the mist for enemies, to Grayson and me, but no song is sung.

No chant rings out. Not when our enemy is so close.

“This is the next clue,” I tell them all. I find Tommy toward the back of the crowd. A lopsided smile marks his mouth when our gazes collide.

Zaos steps forward, his dark eyes locked on the tablet. “Where to next?” His gaze slides over to meet mine.

Grayson’s deep voice breaks through the silence. “The Barren Wastelands.”

A hushed chaos of questions moves through the crew for a few moments, but as Grayson steps forward, they all quiet down.

“This is exciting news, I know. We are so very close to finding the greatest treasure this realm has ever known. But you hear that cannon fire?” He points toward the mist and heads swivel to look. “That is our enemy and they are hungry to take the prize that you have fought so valiantly for.”

With my shoulders rolled back, I watch Grayson start to pace back and forth in front of his men, readying them for the fight that awaits us.

“That tablet holds the key to the final leg of our journey. Unimaginable wealth awaits us, just beyond Dead Man’s Passage.

But the fight is not over yet. Not by a long shot.

” He tosses a glance my way. “Blythe and his men want to take what is ours.” The air is still as he walks up to one of his men and stares him down. “Will you let them?”

Grayson’s crew member smiles viciously and unsheathes his sword. “Never,” the man growls.

Grayson walks up to Collin this time and asks him, “Will you?” Collin shakes his head and releases his sword from its sheath.

Grayson makes his rounds, asking several more of his men the same question. Once they’ve all given him their convicted responses, Grayson takes a step back and shouts, “Will you let them take what is ours?!”

All his men raise their swords and shout, “No!”

“To your stations!” Grayson commands them and the crowd scatters. He turns around and stalks toward me. Another cannon fire sounds, this time even closer, but I don’t flinch. “Keep the pieces on you. If the Caelestia goes down, we don’t want them sinking to the bottom of the ocean with her.”

“She won’t go down. We can win this fight,” I tell him.

A glimmer of hope shines in his irises. “Let us hope you’re right, Little Pearl,” he says before he follows Zaos up the stairs to the quarterdeck.

Before I head up, I see Tommy talking to Collin and head his way.

“Miss Rowenya,” he says when he sees me. Collin starts climbing the rigging for the mainmast. “I’m so glad you and the Captain made it back okay.”

“Me too,” I tell him. “It turns out I’m not very fond of long, dark tunnels.”

He shivers. “I don’t think I would be either.” His attention shifts to Collin moving further up the rigging and I reach for his wrist.

“Tommy, I know you want to partake in this fight, but I think you’d be safer below deck with the cook.”

Hurt flashes across his face and I feel my stomach drop. “You don’t think I can fight well?”

I shake my head. “No, it’s not that. I just . . .”

Memory strikes me of having a similar conversation with Grayson in his efforts to protect me despite my own desires to fight. Right now, I’m doing the exact same thing to Tommy. Making him feel caged and that he has no place amongst us. But the thought of something bad happening to him . . .

A wave of nausea claws up my throat.

“Never mind.” I smile at him. “You have as much of a right to fight for this crew as anyone else.”

The hurt I caused is quickly replaced with a confident smile. “I do.” He gives me a curt nod and starts drifting toward the rigging to help Collin.

“Just watch your back, okay?”

“I will, Miss Rowenya.”

Before I turn toward the stairway, I send a silent prayer to the heavens to keep him safe.

When I meet Grayson on the quarterdeck, he pulls me into him. Closing my arms around his waist, I relish in his warmth.

“You tried to get him to stay below deck, didn’t you?” he asks quietly.

Leaning back, I look into his face and he smiles gently. I nod. “How did you know?”

Breathing in a deep inhale, his chest meets mine. “Because I was debating asking you to do the same exact thing. Then I thought it would be most unfortunate when you threw another dagger at my head once I did. So, I refrained.”

“That was big of you.” I wink at him.

Grayson leans his head down, his lips brushing against the cuff of my ear and says, “Little Pearl, there’s nothing small about me.”

A blush creeps up my face as heat gathers at the apex of my thighs in remembrance of just how large he felt inside of me.

“You two do realize that we’re about to be at war with a host of very large ships and our only route for escape is through Dead Man’s Passage, right?

” Grayson and I shift our attention to Zaos, who’s staring a hole through both of our heads.

His arms are crossed over his chest and one of his brows is raised.

“Zaos, you’re right,” I say, shooting Grayson a withering look before jabbing him in the ribs with my elbow.

He doesn’t even budge, but his open palm slides down my spine and over the swell of my rear before he squeezes hard.

I swat his hand away. “We should be focused on the task at hand like your quartermaster said . . .” I pause, looking at him. “ Captain .”

Grayson’s blue eyes flare and he lets out a guttural growl.

He brings his face so close to mine, our noses touch, and I smirk at him. Another cannon fire blasts through the air, but Grayson’s attentions are fixed wholly on me. His fingers thread through my hair and his thumb caresses the side of my cheek.

“You choose now of all moments to bring me to my knees when you know there is no time for me to worship you?” His breath is warm against the cuff of my ear as I smile even wider.

When he pulls back, I take in his beautiful face. All the hard planes soften just a fraction, a bit of that stone mask slipping, just to show me the truest version of himself beneath.

“I’m giving you something to live for,” I whisper. “A prize to be won, should we survive this battle.”

His lips brush against mine in a tender kiss that has my legs wobbling.

“Simply having you by my side is a prize I’d happily risk everything for.

” Then his other hand snakes around my waist, pulling me into him.

His hard length presses into my belly and there’s no shame reflecting in his irises.

He doesn’t give a damn that we’re surrounded by his men.

He is mine.

And I am his.

Grayson runs his thumb along the bottom edge of my lip. “But once we are through this, I will spend days making my favorite sounds come from your pretty little mouth in appreciation for what you just gave me.”

“Mmmm . . .” I hum. “If I would have known what calling you Captain would give me , I would have done it a lot sooner.”

Grayson snickers. “My wicked little thing.”

As Grayson lays his mouth against mine, another cannon fire sounds. Then a moment later, screams erupt all around us.