Page 29 of Traitor Witch

Her name is like silk in my mind. My beast calms at just the thought of her.

Today we’ll make Val give her some damned furniture. She needs a bed and a cabin that’s not full of junk at the very least. When we get to Port Evert, I’ll start spending some of our treasure on spoiling her like a mate should.

That decision calms my mind enough to let me focus on the other issue.

How could Nos have kept her from me?

He must have known for years that we’d share our mate with the rest of the crew. So why not warn any of us?

With a practiced move, I launch my body out of the water, shifting mid-leap to land on the deck as a man.

I grab one of the nearest towels from the cupboard by the hatch and dry off as I walk letting my beast guide me to our twin.

He’s asleep, tossing and turning in his bunk. Every now and again, his skin flashes with scales and fur, the creature he religiously suppresses breaking through in his dreams.

My own beast lets out a mournful screech in my mind, wishing for its twin. But my other half is tired now, our night of frustrated swimming has given me the advantage.

Nos has dark circles under his eyes and I bite my lip as I debate waking him. I want answers but he needs the rest more.

I sigh and settle into the chair in his corner, my own eyes falling shut as the ocean lulls me to sleep. In the end, Nos is the one who wakes me. His muted sigh echoes from our adjoining bathroom, springing me into wakefulness as well as any alarm. I’m silent for a long moment, gathering my thoughts before I speak.

“Nos?”

I hear his second, longer sigh before he appears in the doorway, staring in completely the wrong direction. “Yes, Cas?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

His head swivels until we can both pretend he’s looking at me but he still takes a moment before he answers.

“Because I didn’t know when we’d meet her. Only that we would. I could have given you false hope that might have taken centuries to come true.”

“I can think of some bleak times when it would have been nice to have any hope at all. Even false hope.” I can’t keep the bitterness out of my voice.

“She’s here now,” Nos whispers. “She’s here and you’re already improving."

I stay silent. Nilsa is the only reason I’m not still out there, battling my beast for control. But my beast isn’t the only one who needs her help. Nos might be the more outwardly fine of the two of us, but he’s no more sane than I am.

Goddess, Nilsa deserves better than us.

“Tell me what she looks like.” Nos’s voice is ragged, and he clears his throat before continuing, “My visions are never clear enough to do her justice.”

I smile slightly. “She’s short, fragile-looking, and dainty. She makes Rysen look like a giant by comparison. Her skin is this pale, delicate peaches and cream colour, but her hair is a dark, rich, brown you just want to sink your hands into and pull.”

Fuck, I’m already so far gone that I’m composing poetry about her. I should be more surprised, but I’m not. My beast knows she’s his mate, and he’s closer to the surface than most other shifters. All he wants is to roll in her scent and mark her with ours.

I shake myself and look back at my twin. “Her eyes… her eyes are that stormy blue that only happens when lightning hits the ocean. She wears this stupid, shapeless white robe that covers all of her curves, but when she turns just right, you can make out her figure and it’s all lithe curves and muscle.”

Nos lets out a breath. “Thank you.”

I wave his apology away on instinct before I remember he can’t see it. It’s been decades and I still haven’t adjusted to his blindness; not like I should have. “No problem.”

Nos stiffens, his eyes going hooded, but this vision barely lasts a second. When he pulls himself out of it, he starts grinning.

“To the galley, I don’t want to miss this.”

He moves quickly for a blind man, his steps certain aboard the ship we know so well. I let him lead, always ready behind him just in case he falls even if, logically, I know there’s no need. Nos has the layout of the ship memorised, and with his visions to help him, there’s little to worry about.

When we first came aboard, almost twenty years ago, Valorean went to great pains to keep theDeadwoodsteady while Nos was moving around. There are still handrails along every corridor, with the name of each room and deck engraved on the wall every few meters in case he gets lost in a vision and comes back confused.