Page 19 of Traitor Witch (The Deadwood #1)

Chapter Nineteen

NILSA

I t feels like I’m flying. That’s how fast Rysen moves. It’s so exhilarating and shocking that I forget to be afraid until I’m up on the deck, staring Val down over the top of the ship’s wheel.

The Captain’s eyes narrow the moment he spots me and, behind him, I see Kier cock his head to one side.

“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 were true—”

“—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 it is !” 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.

I let out a long sigh, cast another, wary glance at the water, and then up at the clear sky.

“Look, believe me or not. I’m going back below.” I toss my hair over my shoulder as if I couldn’t give a shit and start my hasty retreat.

“Good riddance,” Val mutters. “Ouch!”

A glance behind me shows Rysen’s just punched him.

I can’t keep the secret smile from my face.

I don’t need protecting, or defending. Especially not from Val. But, for some reason, it still gives me butterflies when Rysen does it, even if it’s only because he believes I’m a fragile Solar.

I head straight for the galley and my studio and settle for tying down everything in sight. The cupboards all have little latches on them for just such an occasion, but protecting my precious plants isn’t so easy. In the end, I resort to wedging them against one another in a corner to keep them upright.

The increasing sway of the ship lends urgency to my work, but I’m only halfway through when the gloom hits.

The previously bright room turns a murky grey. Above me, the dark clouds have turned threatening and ominous, and it’s not long before rain starts pelting the skylight in great sheets of water. My weathersense has gone haywire until all I can smell is the metallic scent of a storm. It's so strong, so overpowering, that all of my other senses seem dulled by comparison.

Opal skids through the door and leaps for my shoulders like a cat possessed.

“I’m gonna be sick,” she groans. “Ugh, boats shouldn’t move this much!”

I’m in full agreement as I head towards the sink, beyond ready to puke my guts up. Goddess, whoever invented boats needed to die. Give me a broom any day.

Burning fills my mouth as I empty my breakfast into the drain, followed by Opal.

Halfway through my retching, a gentle hand starts to soothe me with tiny circles on my back.

“Are you alright?” I know it’s Nos before I look up and into his white eyes.

“Ugh, I really hate boats.”

His chuckle makes me want to stab him. “You’ll be fine.”

The ship pitches to one side, making me retch again. But there’s nothing left to come up.

“Ugh, I hate boats,” I mutter again.

“Want me to distract you?”

My mind chooses that moment to come up with some very detailed images of exactly how he could distract me.

“He doesn’t mean it like that, you pervert.” Opal scolds. “ Goddess, are you in heat? You’ve just thrown your guts up and you want to screw him?”

My familiar’s words make me blush, and I’m so grateful he can’t see it.

“Yeah, sure.”

He’s silent for a beat, as though he didn’t expect me to say yes and is scrambling to think of something to take my mind off the storm.

The ship chooses that moment to lurch again, sending me flying into him.

Nos’s arms came around me, his hard chest absorbing the impact of my fall like it’s nothing. The warmth of him is soothing, and I can’t help but burrow closer.

“Lady Solar?” His voice hitches and I smile against him.

“Distract me.” I’m not letting go of him. He’s warm and large enough that when I close my eyes, I can pretend it’s just the two of us, no storm.

His hold tightens, losing any hesitance that was there before as his thumb strokes gentle lines across my upper arm.

“When I used to shift, I was forever getting into trouble,” his breath hitches. “Even before I was touched by Fate, I would get distracted and swim into fishing nets or get caught in riptides. It drove our alpha mad.”

“Really?” I can barely imagine Nos as a dreamer. He seems so bitter and guarded now.

“It only got worse when Fate touched me.” His arms squeeze a little tighter, but I don’t mind. “I wanted to prove nothing had changed. That I was still every bit the future alpha Cas was.”

“But things had changed,” I whisper.

“Try telling that to a sixteen-year-old boy.” His hold softens. “It took a long time to realise that I was more of a liability than ever… by the time I did… ”

An ear-splitting crack of thunder rents the air, followed by an agonised yell.

My whole body tenses again, all of the relaxation Nos had magicked into me leaving in a rush.

“Shit," he curses.

“What was that?” I ask at the same time.

“Nilsa!” I hear the roar a second before Cas bursts into the room, a wildness in his eyes which calms slightly when he sees me. “Thank the Goddess. Val’s been hurt.”

He grabs my arm in an almost punishing grip, pulling me from the room with a burst of speed that sends Opal flying.

“Cas, wait!” Nos calls after him.

“No time!” He snaps back. “Do you need anything to heal? Herbs and shit?”

I just gape at him. “I’m not great at healing,” I hedge. “Val’s a mage, can’t he—”

“No. He’s unconscious. If we don’t get him awake and steering the ship in the next few minutes, we’re going to get smashed against the cliffs.”

Fear takes hold of my stomach in an iron fist as he drags me down the corridor, heading straight for the hatch that was slamming in the wind.

“No, Cas, wait!”

But my voice is drowned out by the roar of another clap of thunder. Rain pelts through the gap, soaking me as soon as we reach the base of the steps.

“Cas, just give me one sec—”

But I’m yanked through the gap and into the storm before I can finish.