The Fae King's Dream (Between Dawn and Dusk #2) - Jamie Schlosser Page 0,74

their limp bodies float face down.

Proud, I puff out my chest. “They dropped like fries.”

Kirian tries to hold in a smile as he claps me on the back. “Flies.”

“What?”

“It’s ‘dropped like flies.’”

My brows furrow. “That doesn’t make any sense. Flies fly. They don’t drop.”

“And fries do?”

“I suppose they could,” I reason seriously, “if you knocked your plate off the table.”

Snickering, Kirian just shakes his head. “I guess.”

“Whatever. I saved the day.”

“By the way, cousin.” His hand lands on my shoulder as he looks directly into my eyes. “It’s great to finally see you.”

That’s what he said to me after his curse was broken and he gained his sight, and I can’t stop the goofy grin spreading over my face. Kirian and I are connected in a way that’s deeper than blood. He and I have gotten through something no one else has. Despite our suffering, we came out on the other side of this wretched curse, and the other side is a good place to be.

While Linus and Torius steer the ship in the direction of our sleeping captives, Tibbs and Dermott gather a large net. It takes all four of them to heave up the dead weight, but they manage.

Once the wannabe pirates have been retrieved from the water, they’re bound in iron shackles and I turn off my powers. They’ll wake up in a few minutes, but by then, we’ll already have them locked up in the dungeon.

As they get hauled down the stairs, I watch the other ship. I see no other signs of life, but we can’t be too careful.

I look to one of the warriors we borrowed from the citadel. He has the typical Night Realm characteristics, with his long dark hair and light eyes. We chose him because his specialty is water combat. At one point, he was the captain of his own sailing crew. In fact, he’s one of the few lucky survivors of an Endless Sea scouting mission.

“Atlas, go search the ship. If you don’t find anyone else, take it back to Sterling.” I scratch my jaw as I peer at the horizon. We’re still at least a day away from our destination. I hate to split our crew, but he shouldn’t sail alone. “Bring someone with you.”

“I’ll go,” Torius volunteers, immediately joining Atlas’s side as he waits for permission from his king.

Kirian nods, and the two men fly away.

“Has Torius been acting weird?” my cousin asks, watching his warrior land on the other ship.

I shrug. “I can’t tell a difference, but I don’t know him that well.”

“He’s been distant. Quinn said when he got to Delaveria, he wouldn’t even say hi to Dani. He just took one look at her and walked out. Everyone loves my daughter.” He sounds utterly offended, and I write it off as a father-pride thing.

“Maybe he doesn’t like kids. Or maybe his mind is occupied with what’s happening in the Day Realm. Kai told me how bad it is. That place is a cesspool of disease and crime. If I had to live there, I’d probably be traumatized, too.”

“Don’t say that in front of Zander.” Kirian cuts me a glance, compassion and sympathy oozing through his eyes. “He’s trying to fix a mess that took thousands of years to create. He’s not going to succeed right away.”

I resist the urge to scoff. “You speak so highly of him.”

“And rightly so.”

We’ve had this talk a few times. Kirian will spew out a bunch of reasons why his other cousin is great, and I’ll continue to stand firm in my lack of trust. After all, Zander is Zarid’s son. His old man might be gone, but genetics didn’t die with him.

“Can I let the ladies out now?” Isla steps forward, her chin held high.

She did well, and she knows it.

“As much as I’d like to claim to be the hero today, that title goes to you. Thank you, Isla.” My praise puts a huge grin on her face, and she turns to scurry away. But I stop her with one more thing I know she wants to hear. “Not that you need it, but you and Tibbs have my blessing.”

Whitley

“We should arrive before dusk tomorrow.” Handing me a plate full of food, Damon sits across from me on our bed.

I’m glad we decided to eat dinner in our cabin. Privacy is impossible otherwise, and all I want is time alone with him. The attack earlier was an annoying interruption.

Cannon balls. Of all the things that could stop me