Page 28 of Rise of the Gods: Vardor’s Destiny (Time for Monsters)

N o battle victory, no triumphal march, no conquest of land or power could ever compare to this—to having her back in my arms, trembling and radiant, her breath mingling with mine. In this moment, she was not just mine, but I was hers, bound together in a way no victory or glory could ever rival.

Never would I ever let her go again. I yearned for nothing more than to spend the rest of the journey with Roweena and me locked inside this cabin, but her growling stomach reminded me of her mortality and her need for sustenance.

I hadn't realized how thin the walls of the ship were until we went to the galley for food and men stared at me enviously. Women gave Roweena a wide berth, wagging their tongues when they thought we couldn't hear them. A murderous rage overcame me, but Roweena only smiled sweetly at me and shook her head.

"They don't matter," she explained, and the gleam in her eyes proved the truth of her words. With every passing day, Vaelora shone through her more. Her demeanor turned haughtier as she regarded the women with disdain, shoulders squared.

Days turned into weeks, and then one morning at breakfast, when Roweena excused herself for a few moments, Cassandra pounced on me, taking Roweena's vacated chair without asking.

"There you are." Cassandra smiled widely, her eyelashes fluttering enticingly. Her gaze kept drifting to the entrance as if she expected Roweena to reappear at any moment. She seemed nervous but eager and rushed through her words.

I leaned back in my chair, watching Cassandra with the same detachment I afforded a predator who had misjudged its prey. She was all gleaming smiles and fluttering lashes, but there was something brittle beneath it—a desperate kind of energy, as though she knew she was running out of time.

"I was wondering when you'd stop playing hard to get," she purred, resting her arm on the table so her fingers could brush mine. "But I suppose it makes sense. Roweena is... spirited. But a man like you"—her gaze flicked over my broad chest before snapping back to my face—"surely needs more than just fire. There's pleasure to be had in softness too."

She shifted closer, angling her body so her thigh grazed mine beneath the table. A calculated move. I didn't flinch, didn't acknowledge it at all.

"Is that what you think I need?" I said mildly, taking a slow sip from my cup of tea.

Cassandra's smile widened at the perceived encouragement. "Oh, I know it," she whispered. "A warrior like you deserves a woman who will yield to him. Not one who fights him at every turn."

She tilted her head, her long, curling hair spilled over her shoulder as her fingers traced a deliberate path up my forearm. "I could make you forget all about her," she murmured. "I could make you?—"

A shadow fell over the table, and Cassandra froze.

Roweena stood a few paces behind her, her expression impassive but her eyes dark with warning. She looked pale, a little unsteady, but it did nothing to lessen the commanding presence she exuded. The moment she stepped forward, the weight of her gaze settled on Cassandra, and the tension in the room shifted.

Cassandra pulled her hand back from my arm as if she'd touched fire.

Roweena didn't speak right away. She didn't need to. She merely approached, slow and measured, the air around her charged with something primal, something divine. Even looking slightly green, Vaelora's power flickered through her, sharp and regal. Her gaze flicked down to the seat Cassandra occupied.

"You're in my chair," she said coolly.

Cassandra let out a short, breathy laugh, as if trying to act unbothered. "Oh, come now. No need to be territorial, Roweena. We were just talking."

Roweena arched a brow. "Were you?"

She turned her gaze to me. I inclined my head slightly—silent confirmation that I had not encouraged Cassandra in any way. The corner of Roweena's mouth twitched, pleased. With deliberate slowness, Roweena reached forward, around Cassandra, to pick up my untouched knife from the table. She held it between her fingers, tilting it in the dim light, watching the blade catch and reflect the glow of the lanterns.

"You look nervous, Cassandra," she mused.

Cassandra stiffened. "I'm not."

Despite her defiant words, she rose to her feet in a sharp, irritated motion. "You know," she said, her voice taking on a haughty edge, "for someone who calls herself a lady , you certainly don't act like one."

"Oh," Roweena returned lightly, her gaze full of contempt for the other woman. "I'm sorry you misunderstood." Deliberately, she took the chair Cassandra had abandoned and placed the knife back on the table. Haughtily and dismissively, she finished, "I'm not a lady."

Cassandra paled and swallowed hard, forcing a tight-lipped smile before she turned on her heel and fled.

Roweena watched her go before shifting her gaze to me.

"You let her get too close," she murmured, her voice quiet but edged.

I studied her pale face. The tension still lingered at the corners of her mouth.

"You left me unsupervised," I replied, tilting my head. "What did you expect?"

She exhaled, shaking her head before reaching for my cup and taking a sip herself.

"Next time," she said, "try not to look so tempting when I'm not around."

"You know there never was and there never will be another." I took her hand and kissed the tips of her fingers. I noticed a slight tremble. Knowing it wasn't from her encounter with Cassandra, worry spread through me. "Are you unwell?"

She lifted her hand and cupped the right side of my face. "All will be well," she said a little too cryptically for my taste, but her smile was as sweet and reassuring as always.

After breakfast, we took a stroll around the deck like we did every morning.

"Oh," Roweena exclaimed enthusiastically and dragged me to the railing. A school of dolphins followed the ship, jumping in and out of the water in high arcs. Roweena clapped her hands in happiness. The gleam on her face was breathtaking, and I found myself more enchanted with her than the dolphins, who dared to come closer.

"They're so adorable," she looked up at me, her eyes shining with happiness, and I wished I could have captured this moment for all eternity.

A shot rang out, and Roweena turned on her heel. "No!"

"Roweena!"

Before I could stop her, she raced toward three male passengers aiming their guns at the water while a sailor threw fish into the sea to lure the dolphins closer.

"Five pounds I'll get that one," one boasted.

Roweena grabbed the long rifle by the end as the man was about to aim. A shot went wild, and the sailor chumming the fish yelped as the bullet grazed his arm. Surprised at having shot the sailor and by Roweena's sudden attack, the man let go of the rifle. Roweena didn't even stumble. She whipped the gun across the man's face before she tossed it overboard.

"You bit—" that's as far as he got. I stopped his raised arm midair and brought it down over my knee, breaking it.

Then I picked him up by the scruff of his neck and threw him overboard. Men shouted in alarm, and somebody rang a bell. The ship turned in a wide arc as sails were hastily lowered.

"What the hell, mate," one of the man's buddies approached me, anger blazing in his eyes.

"Stop!" A commanding voice rang out. The captain.

"Sir, this man just threw my buddy Hastings overboard," the man screamed at him.

The captain turned to me. I shrugged, "He was going to hit my wife."

"Your wife took his rifle," the other accused.

"He was shooting at the dolphins," Roweena declared in a composed voice.

"There, there, hold on matey," a sailor yelled, throwing a life ring into the water.

"We're not finished here," the captain warned, moving to the railing where his crew was busy trying to fish the man out of the water. With his broken arm, he had a hard time keeping his head above water while trying to hold on to the life ring.

"The moment you pull him aboard, I will kill him," I told the captain matter of factly, still seething that the man had dared raise his hand at Roweena.

"You will kill nobody under my watch," the captain declared indignantly, but his gaze rushed over me in concern. He instinctively sensed I could take him and his crew out without breaking a sweat.

"Let it be." Roweena grabbed my arm. "I think he learned his lesson."

"He was going to hit you," I raged.

"You stopped him and broke his arm. That should be enough," Roweena pleaded. I took a deep breath. Vaelora would have never interfered like this. She would have understood the kind of punishment a mortal deserved for daring to raise his hand against her. But this wasn't Vaelora, this was Roweena.

Vaelora was a goddess of balance, not a goddess of mercy or kindness, two character attributes that were strong in Roweena.

"As you wish," I grudgingly acquiesced.

"Come on matey, you're alright," a sailor pulled the man from the water, heaving him up over the ship's wall while the man panted in pain, having spent the last of his energy to stay alive.

His buddies crowded around him, offering him a jacket and their support, fussing like hens over a rooster. The ship's doctor arrived and ordered the men to bring him below deck to his office.

"Come," Roweena pulled my arm.

"Not so fast," the captain rushed over. "We're not done here."

"Yes, we are." I declared, glaring at him, daring him to contradict me. "Unless you want to be fished out as well."

"I will have..." he began, but faltered under my gaze.

More passengers had gathered, standing in groups, whispering and pointing at us. Roweena and I walked by them as they parted to give us room.

"You were magnificent," I told her, remembering the way she had pulled the rifle from the man's hands and whipped it across his head.

"I don't know what came over me," Roweena said, shaking her head. She was pale. "I've never done anything like that before."

We reached our quarters, and I opened the door to let her in before I filled a cup with a finger full of rum for her. "Here."

She took the cup but didn't drink. "What did I do?"

"Vaelora is waking up inside you," I told her.

"If this is her, I don't know if I want her to wake up." Roweena sank onto the bed, holding the cup in both hands like a lifeline.

I sat down beside her. "Roweena, I love you just the way you are, but the assertiveness growing inside you is good. It's good for you."

She regarded me, mystified. "How can it be good to behave like... like... a harpy?"

"You didn't behave like a harpy, you behaved like a woman outraged. There is nothing wrong with that. And if this is what your world has been teaching you, then they are wrong. You need to stand up for yourself as well as for others, even if the others are just animals."

Her mind worked through my words; I saw it in the emotions reflected in her eyes. "Women have no rights in this time."

"That's why you need to stand up for yourself," I reiterated. "And I will be here. I will have your back, defend you, whatever you need, Roweena. I love you."

Her eyes moistened, "I love you too, Vardor."

Her words hit me like a brick. Vaelora had never said them to me. Never. I hadn't needed to hear her say them, either. I knew she did in the only way she knew how. But now that Roweena had... my heart stuttered. I took her hands, still clamped over the cup, and kissed them. I didn't think she had any idea what those three words meant to me. Not just the words, I saw it on her expression, the way her eyes regarded me, the small curve to her lips. I loved this woman so much it hurt. The pain choked me, it was like a vise pressing down around my ribs, squeezing me. Because I knew I would lose that. I would lose her.