face. She twisted the ring around her finger three times before hiding her hands in the sand.
“What’s wrong?”
She jolted, startled eyes finding mine. “Nothing.”
She’d changed into fresh clothes after taming Lola and Jax, and the thin strap of her cotton camisole slipped off her shoulder. My fingers itched to fix it. “You’re lying. Does it have to do with the beast you had in mind?”
“I didn’t have a beast in mind.”
I let out an exasperated huff. “Leena, cut the shit.”
“What about your shit?”
“What do you mean?” I rolled grains of sand between my fingers, and her gaze followed the motion. Dark shadows passed through her eyes.
“Why do you want a Gyss?”
I hesitated. “It’s not important.”
She leveled me with a discerning stare worthy of a queen, and my chest caved as I fought to keep control of my emotions. She rotated and scooched closer to me. “Wasn’t my story enough? Wasn’t it proof that there’s no guarantee the request is worth the risk?”
“The Gyss is my beast, Leena.”
Both of her hands covered mine. A cool sea breeze worked its way from the ocean to us, whipping her hair across her face and obscuring her clouded gaze. Gently, I removed one of my hands and brushed the locks from her eyes.
Cautiously, she leaned into my touch. “And this wish has nothing to do with me, right? No possible way for it to backfire and make my life a living hell like it did before?”
“I won’t use it against you.” I wouldn’t dream of it. After seeing her curled in my arms, I knew I could never do anything to hurt this woman. I had known for a while, but the irrationality of it hit me as she slept tucked against me and nuzzled my chest. It’d been the most contact I’d shared with another person since Bowen.
And she likely didn’t remember it at all.
Dropping my hand into my lap, I leaned away. With her proximity, all I could smell was vanilla and lilac. A dangerous combination. “What do we need to do to get one?”
Trailing her fingers along the space where mine had been, she stared at the ground. “They don’t live here. We can find one back on the mainland.”
“Then we’ll leave first thing tomorrow when the ferry returns.”
“About that…” Her words trailed off beneath the crashing waves. She rubbed her forehead, closed her eyes. After a long breath, she opened them and met my gaze head-on. “There is a beast here I had in mind. For me.”
Chuckling, I tilted my head to the side. “So that’s why you’ve been guarded. You didn’t want me stealing your beast.”
A deep blush crawled across her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I should have told you, but you’re right.”
“Why not wait till after we’re done?” The thought wrenched my gut, and I pressed my lips into a fine line. Done. Done was the only option. Unless the Gyss was right—but I’d held out hope before only to be proven wrong. I’d tried countless remedies, met with priests and mages and healers, all who claimed they could lift the curse. None could. Hope wasn’t something I allowed to fester, because if I was wrong, the price was too high.
“Because I kind of need something from you.”
My brows arched as curiosity took over. “And what’s that?”
She chewed on her bottom lip and winced, touching her fingers to the corner of her mouth for a moment. My eyes narrowed, but when she dropped her hand everything seemed normal. I was about to pry when her words stole all my attention. “Your blood.”
I went stock-still. “What? Why?”
“The blood of a murderer to entice the beast. It’s a necessary part of the taming process.”
All I could do was stare. “Why not make this part of the bargain from the beginning? What if I were to say no?”
Cupping her chin in her hands, she hummed. “The blood has to be given freely. Without coercion. I can’t steal it. I can’t hurt you to get it. I can’t buy it off you. Obviously I can’t charm you and make you give it to me. As you can imagine, it’s a rather difficult object to obtain when most murderers aren’t looking for charity cases.” The last log on the fire cracked, and embers simmered a burnt red. With her face angled toward the waves, the dying light washed over her. “I was hoping we’d get to know each other well enough that it wouldn’t be an issue.”