Page 73 of Traitor Witch

“Why the fuck is she up here?” Val shoves a hand through his hair, shoving the stray white strands out of his face.

“I have no idea!” I retort, pushing at the unbreakable barrier that is Rysen’s arms. It’s so embarrassing to be held like this while having an argument with my nemesis, but the vampire isn’t letting me down.

“Tell him what you told me,” Rysen insists.

“What? Has she finally decided to stop lying to us?” Val snorted. “I don’t care what she has to say.”

“There’s a storm coming,” I snap. “I can smell it. It’ll hit from the southeast and it will hit us hard.”

“Even if that weretrue—”

“—it is.” Kier is beside the captain in a heartbeat. His eyes, cold and hard, glance back at me for the smallest second before focusing on Val again.

“Even if itis!” Val continues. “Someone transformed our storm sails into bed sheets less than a week ago because she was too good for a hammock.”

I feel the blood run from my face.

Shit. I dimly remember him mentioning that.

“I'm sorry," I admit. "But it's not like I'm the only one at fault here. You gave me no other choice!”

Hindsight is a cruel bitch. If he'd just given me a proper cabin, or even just a bed, I wouldn't have touched those crates of fabric.

“Can you change them back?” Rysen interjects.

I hesitate. “Not unless I know everything about them. Bedsheets are simple, but if I get the sails the wrong size, or worse…”

I don’t have to finish that sentence.

Val just scoffs. “Great. Just great. And I don’t suppose you’ll be reimbursing me for them either? Do you have any idea how much of my gold I had to spend to get them in the first place? They were woven on Picosnia! Now I’ll have to sail halfway around the world to replace them!”

“Can you stop whining about your precious boat for one second and focus on the storm that’s about to break it—and us—into pieces!” I demand.

Finally, I manage to push my way out of Rysen’s arms, only to instantly mourn the loss of him.

Without the huge vampire surrounding me, the ocean returns to my senses in full force. The warm, male scent of Rysen blocked out the salty smell of the air and the sound of the sea.

Now, I’m drowning in it.

Dammit, I am not this woman.

I trained for years to be strong enough to take down anyone the Goddess chose. I’ve faced things that ordinary witches fear on a daily basis. Come close to death more times than I can count.

But the sea wipes all of that away and leaves me the same scared little girl I was two decades ago.

Val steps forward and I back up instinctively.

“Look, I’ll pay for your precious sails if we live through—”

Cas comes running out of the hatch with a growl, flying over the side of the ship in a shower of golden sparks.

“What was it this time?” I say, trying to see, but the huge splash covers everything from view.

I catch sight of an enormous shadow beneath the water before Rysen tugs me back.

“He smelled your fear in the corridor,” the vampire whispers, quietly enough that the others won’t hear. “His beast is sensitive to such emotions. Especially when—”

“I get it.” I know I’m snapping, but it’s going to take a lot longer than a few days to get used to the way Rysen and the twins can just smell how I’m feeling.