Page 19 of Traitor Witch

Casimir rarely makes it longer than half an hour without his beast taking over. I’m pretty sure that if Nos didn’t need him so much, the shifter would have lost himself to his other side a long time ago.

“She’s a shipwreck waiting to happen.” Val moves away from the mast and stomps up the steps to the quarterdeck.

His steps soften as he passes Noster, eyes raking over him for any sign he might slip into a fit before moving past.

“Kier, go and find out how much of a danger she really is,” Val orders.

Kier disappears into the shadows, and I envy his fae glamour for the hundredth time.

I automatically take over watching Nos, keeping him in my peripheral vision as I listen to Val check his instruments.

The captain sighs, stroking the balustrade thoughtfully. “As soon as we reach Vertling, we’re dropping her off and leaving her behind.”

I shake my head in instant denial. “If you really believed that you would have added a destination to her offer. You’re just as intrigued as the rest of us to see how this goes.” I pause, looking over at the shrinking lights of Coveton in the distance. “If she accepts you as hers, you’ll be able to go ashore again.”

Val’s eyes flash dangerously as he shoves a stray lock of white hair out of his face. “I don’t want her acceptance. I don’t want to go ashore. I don’t want some strange witch fucking up my bond magic. My ship is all I fucking need.” The ropes nearby thrash on the deck in answer to his anger. “Enjoy the free meals while they last and, for fuck’s sake, keep her out of the hold.”

He sinks into the deck just as the main sail opens out fully, pulling us full speed into the open ocean. Val’s bond magic makes every aspect of the ship his to command, influenced by his thoughts and emotions, even in sleep. Usually he’s level-headed, but he’s set in his ways and change messes with his head.

So it’s not really that surprising that the ropes in one corner haven’t stopped coiling and uncoiling themselves since Nilsa arrived.

Nos’s eyes twitch, then blink. It takes him a while to come out of a vision, but I know the second he does because he cocks his head, listening for Nilsa.

“All of us, huh?” I chuckle, “How long before Val breaks?”

Noster snorts. “I don’t need visions to know it’ll be a long time.”

“He’s taking us southwest,” I note. “Ilya Bay?”

It doesn't surprise me when Nos nods. Val may be required to ferry the Eagle's cargo, but he doesn't do itwillingly. Most of the time he's purposefully late, just to annoy her.

“We’ll need to stop at Port Evert before we get there. Nilsa hasn’t got anything with her.”

Now that he says it, I don’t recall seeing her carry a bag or anything. It’s literally just her and her cat.

“What the hell is she going to wear?”

A tiny mew steals our attention. Nilsa’s little tabby has escaped her mistress and is winding around our legs. I lean down, pick up the mercurial feline and stroke her silky grey fur on autopilot.

I’m rewarded with an instant purr.

“I’ve been waiting for her for so long,” Nos whispers.

I smirk. “Only a few hundred years less than the rest of us, youngling.”

It’s only banter. Cas and Nos may only be just into their eighties—mere babies in immortal terms—but they’ve seen things a lot of others haven't, and that ages a person differently.

I wonder absently how old the witch is. Over twenty-five, obviously, or the mating bonds wouldn’t have started forming, but she lacks the jadedness and aloofness that’s common in so many older immortals.

Nos just smiles.

The cat’s purrs turn into grumpy mews, and I regard her for a second. The feline is twisting in my arms strangely. I’ve never had a pet before, so I’m at a bit of a loss.

“Hungry?” I ask her.

I could swear the feline nods at me.

Chapter Six