close my eyes, the picture of the map remains engraved in my mind.
This map is our salvation. Our fighting chance to get back home.
"So how many of your crew can you spare to assist us?" Lincoln crosses his arms over his chest.
I settle for clasping my hands in my lap. If I can rise up and become the queen the Shadow Fae are looking for, then surely I can also raid an enemy’s camp. Right?
Captain Beatrice chuckles, though the sound is more rigid and sour than amused. "You may not have any of my crew. This is a mission for you and you alone."
"Just the two of us?" My jaw drops open. "You think that Lincoln and I can just waltz into this camp and retrieve this stuff for you without any issues?"
She shrugs and looks at Johanna who cocks her mouth into a half smile and also shrugs. "You are Fae. Surely, you can find a way," Beatrice says slowly.
"Yeah, well I'm also half human for what little good that's done me."
My stomach is heavy with the weight of guilt. I've been so caught up in my newfound Fae abilities that I've looked down upon all humanly qualities about me. Even after I first met these women, all I could think about was plucking their heads off their bodies to keep them from interacting with Lincoln. All I was doing was claiming...
I forget about the amazing qualities that humans possess. The qualities that still live inside me. Like caring... humans care. They'd live, love, and die by one another while the Fae remain only connected by the need to follow their own chain of command. Clearly, there isn't any loyalty amongst family.
"You are... half human?" Beatrice responds after a moment of silence.
"Yes. And likely the Fae, Barnabus's gang, are half human too. At least some."
"You lie," Johanna accuses, her hand reaching to her belt where she no longer has an axe. The already hateful scowl on her mouth deepens.
"She does not lie." Lincoln's voice fills the room, filled with authority. He commands their attention. My attention too.
Both the pirates turn their gaze on him. Sizing him up with every blink.
"So what are you then? Hmm? Are you half human too? Am I supposed to find comfort in this? That somehow we are all the same?" The captain's sneers.
"Bullshit," Johanna murmurs behind her.
"He's half god," I say the words with certainty before Lincoln can answer himself, just to watch the shock form on their faces. Instead, they both quirk a single brow in unison.
Beatrice snorts, turning to her first mate. Then she really laughs. They laugh together. Loud, boisterous, 'we don't believe a word you just said' laughs. The table quakes as the captain grips it's edge to hold herself steady.
"It's true!" I look to Lincoln. He rolls his eyes.
Don't worry about their disbelief, we don't need to prove anything to them. We'll just retrieve the stupid piece they need for their ship and be on our way home.
His words do little to reassure me.
"We are supposed to believe that he is half God?" Beatrice points a ring clad finger. "I don't see his name written in the Bible."
"No, not the human God," I mumble. Maybe this is a lost cause. "It's beside the point." I clap my hands together. "How do we get these parts for you?"
"Tell me this before we continue, Fae girl. How do you know they are half human?"
"The wings. They are a mutation. Anything half Fae has them. Humans just happen to be the most common species that the Fae...mingle with."
"And where are his wings?"
"They--ah..." I glance towards Lincoln.
He sighs, unfolding his arms to run his hands up and down the length of his thighs as he talks. "The queen I served was not in favor of this distinct difference between those of us who are half-breeds and full-blooded Fae. She had my wings torn from my body. That's the two major markings on my back." The chair against the floor is the only sound in the room as he pushes it back and stands. He turns offering a view of his back.
Scabs still cut across his flesh from the whipping he had undertaken, but it is still clear where his wings once were. Were they as beautiful as him? I can't help but wonder.
"Very well." Beatrice points to the map. "To get the pieces I reckon' you'll need to send the girl here in as bait."
Bait?
"I'm sorry, what?" I stutter.
Four
King of the Shadow Fae
The