again.
I make it to the railing, heaving my satchel over the side and pulling myself up over it. We’d need to make a quick job with departing, as Davina said, so her sisters don’t get the opportunity at killing us all.
Pulling myself up to stand, I freeze in horror at the scene that awaits me. The air from my lungs is sucked away, leaving me breathless at the gore and blood. You’d think I’d be used to seeing it, after all the many battles I’ve participated in, this is a normal day for me. But after being in a paradise-like state for well over two weeks, I feel like that piece of me is hidden behind my psyche.
Puddles of blood cover the wood floorboards of the deck with my men scattered around, laying face down with their arms spread on either side. The ship sways back and forth in place, emitting the squeaks and eerie whines of the ship.
A soft moan pulls at my attention as the color of bright blue catches my periphery.
Brylee.
And when she’s there, Atarah isn’t far away. Scanning the area, I don’t see either of them, but I do see her.
Davina stands still to my right, marked with burn marks and blood over her stomach and arms. Her face is marred too like she just walked through fire to get here.
Because she’d have to, the sea burns her flesh, she told me.
Narrowed eyes pin me to my spot, angry and almost violent, but they’re not the stunning green that they always are—they’re red.
Blazing red, the color of her hair, appearing demonic and misguided with lies.
My lies.
How she finally found out the truth, I don’t know, but I do know that there would be no talking her into letting me go now.
“Blood,” I digress, trying to keep my voice calm and collected. “What are you doing here?” Her hands clench to her sides at my question. That I had the audacity to even ask or ponder on shit I already know about.
“I’m here to take what you stole from me,” she fumes softly.
My eyes fall all around her, surrounded by my men all battered up and bloody. And like a princess of death, she stands proudly in the middle of them.
Unafraid.
Unfazed.
But harmed. That’s the only thing that still rings out to me, that Davina is still human after this. It didn’t take me long to get to the ship, so the fact that she beat me here and paid a price for it, hits my gut.
Her crimson eyes fall on the gold cuff still gripped in my hand. “I trusted you.”
“I didn’t tell you to,” I deadpan. Her scrutiny jerks to my face, and then I see it—the hurt.
“No,” she replies slowly. “You didn’t.”
“I have to take this, Blood,” I reason. “My clan needs it.”
“For what?”
I shake my head. “I can’t tell you.”
Davina takes a step over a man’s dead body but keeps her gaze locked on me. Even with the burn marks, she’s still beautiful.
With the blood, she’s seductive.
And with her power, she’s dangerous.
“The cuff is mine,” she quips. “And it’ll stay with me.”
I counter her step with one of my own. “My people are at risk.”
“And so are mine.”
I quirk a brow. “How? This is an old piece of junk.”
Her nostrils flare when a loud cry breaks through the silent air. Looking to the left is Brylee, standing behind one of my crew members on his knees with his head in her hands.
“Give her the cuff,” she orders. “Now.”
“Blood,” I drone. “I wouldn’t have taken this if I didn’t need it.” I peer back at her. “But my people will die if I don’t take this home with me.”
“You must’ve not heard what I said the first time,” she seethes. “It’s mine.”
I open my mouth but nothing comes out. I silently promised myself to keep her safe, but I need to keep my own clan unharmed as well.
“Do I need to fight you for it?” she challenges. “Is that what it’s going to take?” She doesn’t wait for me to respond, not even think. Her hand is on my throat as she squeezes, cutting off my oxygen supply as she bores her eyes into me.
The woman that captivated me, she isn’t standing in front of me. It’s the Siren that men in my village spoke about—cunning, vile, and fatal.
The last one holds true because she stares at me like I’m her worst enemy and not the man she’s saved a handful of times.
And maybe I