Page 7

LILY

I woke up in a cell, the ship gently rocking back and forth as it sailed across the sea.

I didn’t know how much time had passed. I was still in my armor, so it couldn’t have been that long. My sword was gone, so the only weapons I had were my fists—which would be useless in this instance.

I sat up and pressed my back to the wall, my elbows on my knees as my fingers touched my temple. Now I had a headache after getting my ass kicked.

“You should have listened to me.”

My eyes flicked up to the man who followed me like a ghost, who flickered in and out of my sight at his convenience.

“I don’t usually take a demon at their word.” I dropped my fingers from my temple and crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly overwhelmed with fatigue from this never-ending journey. Then the pain struck me…because the men I’d traveled the world with for the last six months were all dead.

I was the only survivor—for now.

“I’m not a demon. I’m Wrath, God of the Underworld, King of the Dead—and you will address me as such.”

“Or what?” I challenged. “My luck can’t get much worse.”

He stood a few feet away near the bars of the cell, completely out of place imprisoned in the hull of the ship.

A man so large that the tiny cell could barely accommodate him.

Instead of looming over me, he squatted down, forearms on his knees.

“But it can get better.” His calm confidence continued to burn in his gaze, a man who exuded his power without taunts, like the man who’d thrown me in here.

“I won’t sell my soul for freedom. I’d rather die.”

“What he wants to do to you is much worse than death.”

My eyes immediately flicked away to reject the notion, to pretend the idea had never entered my head, even though it was already there. “The answer is still no.”

He stared at me for a long time, his thoughts hidden behind the hardness of his gaze. “There’s a small sailboat attached to the rear of their ship. Can you sail it alone?”

My eyes stayed on the bars for a second before I looked at him again, not understanding the point of the question. “What…?”

“Can you sail it alone?” he repeated.

“I can sail anything,” I said. “But what does that matter?—”

“Just be ready.”

“Ready for what?—”

All he did was raise his hand, and that silenced me.

Footsteps sounded from somewhere past the bars where I couldn’t see.

Wrath rose to his full height then moved to the corner, his back to the bars, the hilt of his heavy blade visible over one large shoulder. His eyes remained on me, the only comfort I had right now.

The man who’d punched me unlocked the door and let himself inside. “Talking to yourself, sweetheart?”

I shifted my gaze to him and watched him sit on the little stool that had been up against the wall. His armor was gone now. He wore a short-sleeved shirt that showed the thickness of his muscles, a man I couldn’t best in hand-to-hand combat. “Just the God of the Underworld.”

He chuckled like I’d told some clever joke. “Just when I thought I couldn’t be further amused.”

“Would my boot against your balls be another amusement?”

He smiled, and that was more terrifying than a scowl. “Tell me your name.”

“Tell me yours first.”

He stared at me a while longer, his amusement continuing to linger.

My eyes glanced at Wrath, who continued to stand there and stare.

“That’s fair,” he said. “Bear.”

“Your name is Bear?” I asked incredulously.

“Fitting, isn’t it?”

“Ridiculous is more like it.” I glanced to Wrath again.

He didn’t smile. Didn’t seem remotely amused by the situation.

Bear turned to follow my gaze. “What do you keep looking at, sweetheart?” He turned back to me once he’d determined there was no escape route I could have possibly constructed in my mind.

“I already told you—the God of the Underworld.”

“I either hit you too hard…or you have some interesting taste.” He rubbed his palms together slowly while he stared at me like a predator. “Now, it’s your turn. Tell me your name.”

Wrath interjected before I had the chance to answer. “Lie.”

I swallowed, unsure what to do. I wanted to tell Bear exactly who I was, that my father was the King of the Southern Isles and he would burn the world to get me back. My status was my only leverage out of here, the only thing that might possibly save me from the unthinkable.

“You didn’t trust me before,” Wrath said.

My eyes flicked to him again.

The intensity of his stare never faded. It had remained the same since we’d met days ago. Always burning, always hot. “Trust me now.”

It would be unwise to trust someone who sought retribution from my father, but he was all I had in the moment. If I’d listened to his warning, my crew would still be alive. I’d made a mistake as grave as Hartshire’s. I deserved to be at the bottom of the ocean like the rest of them. “Stephanie.”

“And your surname, Stephanie?” Bear asked. “I’ve never met a female captain. Or one who can fight like a man.” His eyes drifted over my body. “Who has armor worth more than the contents of this entire ship.”

Looked like Wrath was right. I didn’t know who Bear was or who he served.

He could serve a potential enemy of the Southern Isles.

Would sail there and lay destruction to the kingdom.

My father and the dragons could easily defeat them, but at what cost?

“Laurier.” I used my mother’s maiden name, the only one I could think of on the spot.

“And who are you, Stephanie Laurier?” he asked. “Because I know you aren’t nobody.”

“Lie,” Wrath commanded. “Lie like your life and the lives of all those you love depend on it—because it does.” Then he disappeared within the blink of an eye, vanished into thin air, made me question my own sanity.

“Who are you, Stephanie?” Bear repeated, unaware of the god who haunted the ship because he couldn’t see him.

“My parents died when I was young. I worked at the docks as a child, learned to sail as a teenager, and learned to survive before I was an adult. I sail the seas because I have no home, no roots, and the next shipment is all I have to live for.” It hurt to lie, to say something so deeply untrue.

I had a home, had parents that would give their lives for mine, had a community of people so loyal to my father that they were loyal to me.

Had the protection of a mighty black dragon who would give his life for mine because he viewed me as a hatchling.

Had a best friend who loved me like a sister.

Had a brother who did love me like a sister.

It was only then that I realized how stupid this adventure was, that I had searched the world for excitement and treasure when it’d been in the very place that I’d left.

Bear stared hard into my gaze, eyes flicking back and forth between mine, studying the emotion that must have reached the surface of my stare. “Try again, sweetheart—” He was knocked against the bars when the ship gave a hard lurch to the side, as if it had struck something.

He lost his train of thought in the collision. Forgot about me altogether as he rose to his feet and left the cage. But he didn’t forget to lock the door before he left.

“What’s going on?” I called after him. “You can’t just leave me in here!

” The ship gave another lurch, and I flew against the back wall.

Then I heard distant screams from the deck of the ship, the terrified cries of grown men.

“What the fuck is happening?” I remained against the wall and prepared for another roll in the cabin.

It went on for fifteen minutes, the dramatic rocking of the ship, the cries of the men from above. I held on to the bars so I wouldn’t fly and hit my back against the metal. Thankfully, I was in my armor to protect myself from injury.

Then the ship finally went still.

And it was quiet. So quiet, it made me wonder if I was the only one alive.

Footsteps sounded, slow and uneven, a progression that lacked intention.

I was more afraid of that sound than Bear’s oncoming footsteps. I moved back against the wall and avoided the door.

The steps continued, agonizingly slow and somehow terrifying.

Finally, the visitor came into view, a man I didn’t recognize, beaten and bloody, his stomach ripped open with his entrails hanging down in front of him. His fingers were soaked in blood, and they shook as he tried to insert the key into the lock.

“Oh fuck.” I pushed harder against the wall as I tried to escape, but there was nowhere to go. I wished I could just disappear like Wrath.

He finally got the door unlocked then stumbled back to get out of the way. He leaned against the other wall and stared at me, his eyes glazed over like he wasn’t truly there. So injured he was harmless, he was no threat to me, but his appearance alone chilled me to the bone.

Wrath suddenly appeared before me. “Go.”

My eyes flicked from the god to the massacred man who had just unlocked my cell. “What is happening?—”

“ Go . You don’t have much time.”

I stumbled out of the cage, feeling weaker at the sight of the man who appeared more dead than alive than I had when Bear had slammed his entire weight into the back of my head.

I went past Wrath and headed for the stairs.

Once I grabbed the railing, I felt invigorated by the chance for freedom and ran all the way to the deck.

I saw the carnage—the entire crew dead.

Even Bear.

I caught sight of strange holes in the railing, like something had broken through, when I hadn’t heard the sound of cannons.

“The stern.” Wrath appeared before me again. “That’s where the sailboat is. Lower it down into the water and disembark.”

I glanced around at the ship again before I looked at him once more, bewildered by everything that had happened.

“Hurry,” he said. “Before the other ships return.”

“Why are you doing this?” I blurted. “Why are you helping me?—”

“We don’t have time for this.” A flash of fury moved across his gaze before he came closer to me. Then he exploded, his skin suddenly tinting black and his eyes turning into flames. “ Run! ”

Seeing him suddenly turn to ash in pure rage made me take off down the starboard side to the rear of the ship. The torches continued to burn, but the world around me was dark. Only the water directly next to the boat was visible. The rest was a sea of black.

I tugged on the pulley and released the rope tied in place. The small boat dropped into the water, the mast folded down across the top. I didn’t have time to search for water or fishing equipment for the journey, not when Wrath followed me with a maniacal burn in his eyes.

I wrapped my ankles around the rope the way my father had taught me and slid down, feeling the slight burn of the fibers between my palms from the speed of my drop. My feet hit the sailboat, and I nearly toppled over in the waves.

The galleon continued to sail away, Wrath standing on the deck of the stern, looking down at me as his cape billowed majestically in the ocean breeze.

I suddenly felt alone, watching the shadow of the ship leave, slowly descending into darkness. Before all the light was gone, I retrieved the compass from my pocket and checked for the south.

I pulled up the mast and secured it in place, turned it to catch the wind, and then began my progression across the water, the waves too big for a boat this small out to sea.

But I quieted the fears that screamed in my heart and kept moving forward, ignoring the waves that splashed my armor and cheeks, the undeniable cold from the elements.

I held on to the tiller and navigated the waves like my father had taught me, feeling like that little girl stuck in the storm. I had been scared then, but I was far more scared now—because he wasn’t here to help me through this.

I blinked, and then he was there, seated directly across from me, his eyes on the galleon that was just a shadow now. “They’ve taken the bait.”

The armor suddenly felt heavy on my chest. My lungs ached for air, but the metal wouldn’t allow it. In case I toppled overboard into the sea and became weighed down to the bottom, I removed every piece and placed it in the alcove behind me so I wouldn’t trip on it.

Wrath continued to stare into the dark, arms on his knees, a man too big for a boat this small. His cape filled with air like the sail above him. The darkness continued to descend, but the moonlight struck his handsome face. He turned his attention back to me.

I didn’t thank him, not when I might still die out here.

“It’s a four-day journey from here—assuming all goes well.”

That meant I wouldn’t be able to sleep, not when the boat could blow off course in my slumber and I’d end up farther away. I had no water or food, so I’d have to survive long enough to feel Khazmuda’s or Zehemoth’s mind to call for aid.

“You can do this.”

“I know I can.” Everything seemed to hit me at once. The death of my captain. The loss of my crew. The ache of my muscles from fighting for my life. My encounter with a vengeful god. And now I had to sail in the dark alone and hope I made it back to my family.

He continued to stare at me, his eyes hardening into sharp points, like he could see the feelings I didn’t show. “There is no bravery without fear—and you’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met.”

My eyes wanted to flick away to avoid the power in his stare, but they stayed in place, my hand gripping the tiller, my heart beating like I was in the middle of a sprint rather than seated on a cold plank of wood.

I’d been terrified of him at our first meeting, but now, I was grateful he was there…

even if he wasn’t really there. “Why did you save me?”

His eyes kept their intensity, staring at me with an intimacy built over years, not days.

He’d never placed his hands on me, but his touch was searing-hot on my flesh.

This was the man who had threatened me but now was my savior.

Everything changed in an instant, but I couldn’t identify when that moment had taken place.

When everything had changed between us. “Because you were worth saving.”