CHAPTER 33
Evelyn
THERE’S A TICKING CLOCK PLAYING IN EVERYONE’S MIND, but like any plan worth having, it takes longer than anyone expects to get the pieces into place. By the time Bowen acquires a small boat similar to the one Nox used to drop us off, the moon is high in the sky. He glares up at it as he rows. “It’s practically a spotlight announcing our presence.”
“If the light doesn’t announce us, your incessant bitching certainly will.”
The other thing I didn’t anticipate about this plan: my ex and my current paramour, both more than capable of murder, trapped in a close space. They keep making little snarling comments at each other, and while they haven’t exploded into violence yet, I can’t discount it as a possibility. It’s incredibly irritating. And stressful. Which makes me bitchy, which only aggravates the issue, because they both respond to my bitchiness.
We all fall silent, though, as we leave the relative safety of the enclosed strait between First Sister and Second Sister. Even with the light of the full moon, I can barely see the Audacity bobbing gently in the distance. Surely they must have just as much difficulty seeing us.
The truth is that we might climb aboard to find a murderous crew waiting to slit our throats and toss us right back into the sea. We won’t know until it’s far too late to do anything about it. Not that I’m nervous or anything. I’m definitely not. I’m sitting here, cool and composed and perfectly at ease with the thought of what we’re about to do.
We have no choice. This is our only option. We’re putting a lot of faith in the fact that Nox apparently doesn’t actively want us dead. And a lot of hope in the crew members who are loyal to them. It’s a leap of faith to assume they’ll understand what we’re trying to do. We’re taking a gamble and not even a good one.
We sit in tense silence as Bowen continues to row us closer to the ship. Cato did one hell of a job on him. He’s not quite moving as if he was never injured in the first place, but the exhaustion and pain that seemed to be weighing him down is no longer in evidence. I’m feeling pretty fresh, too. All of my cuts have healed; aside from my used spells and slightly shallower magic reserves, I’d barely believe I was in a fight earlier today. And yesterday. Lizzie, of course, looks pristine.
“You should probably be the one rowing,” I say under my breath. “You were less beat up than him, and you’re not human. You have vampire stamina.”
“And deprive the big, strong man of showing us how big and strong he is?” She doesn’t look at me as she says it, matching my tone in a way that is designed not to carry. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Petty until the bitter end. But Bowen wouldn’t even consider the possibility of someone else taking the job. He snapped and snarled until we sat in the places he indicated. It serves him right to do all the work. Not that I’m interested in rowing.
If I’m going to stay in Threshold, I’m going to have to take up some kind of strength training and cardio just to keep up. Gross. But as little as I like the idea, I like getting bested in combat even less. If my time here so far is any indication, I’m going to see a lot of combat. As formidable as my magic is, Bunny was right when she said we shouldn’t rely on it at the expense of the other tools in our toolbox. It was one subject we always argued about, mostly because I was a lazy teenager.
Now I see the wisdom in her words … but that doesn’t mean I like it any more now than I did at sixteen.
Soon enough, we’re too close to the ship to risk snide comments. Bowen gives one last strong pull, sending us coasting over the surface until we nearly bump into the ship itself. Only Lizzie throwing out a hand to stop our momentum prevents it.
“I’ll take care of Hedd, as we discussed. Keep the crew off me. Whoever keeps fighting after he’s dead needs to be removed.”
My stomach twists in upon itself. There’s no going back now; truth be told, there was no going back the moment we reached that safe house and understood its implications. I’m not supportive of wholesale slaughter, but all it took was a couple days on the Audacity to realize that plenty of the crew members mimic their captain in his values … or lack thereof. They’re not good people. They’re gleeful murderers, and they don’t much care if the creature on the other side of their sword is truly a monster or not. The night before the fight with the mermaids, I overheard two of them laughing about killing a selkie. A fucking selkie.
Without their seal skins, they’re practically human. But that didn’t stop those two crew members from ending this one’s life.
No, I won’t show mercy. Not to people who would gladly cut me down just for questioning an order. Not to monsters in men’s skins.
Bowen slips past us, light on his feet as he scales the side of the ship faster than anyone has a right to. Lizzie watches him go with an unreadable look. “You next, Evelyn.”
“If you wanted to stare at my ass, all you have to do is ask.” It’s a testament of how freaked out I am that I’m flirting with her. There’s certainly no intent behind it.
She snorts. “I’m concerned about those weak little arms of yours. If you take a tumble, I’ll have to catch you before your splash alerts everyone that we’re here.”
“Bitch.”
“I’m not wrong, and you know it.” She motions for me to precede her up the side of the ship.
I’m embarrassed to admit how right she is as I climb. Even with the solid rest I got last night, I’m exhausted. I want a cozy blanket, a racy romance novel, and maybe some hot sex in between naps and reading. I don’t want to be damn near ripping my fingernails off as I search for a handhold on the side of a ship in the middle of the night.
Bowen is a bastard for making the climb look so easy.
Knowing Lizzie is behind me, judging, keeps me moving. By the time I reach the top, my arms are shaking and I’m not sure I’m strong enough to pull myself over. I don’t get a chance. Bowen leans over the railing and then his magic wraps around me like a gentle hug. He lifts me up and deposits me next to him. I almost snap that he could’ve done that to begin with and saved us a lot of trouble. But he presses a single finger to my lips.
I realize why a moment later. There are three people hovering in the air, Their limbs plastered to their sides, and their mouths closed. It takes a moment to realize how they’re gagged. “Bowen,” I whisper. “Are you holding their jaws shut?”
“Yes.” He barely waits for Lizzie to land on the deck before he’s moving again. “As we discussed.”
It’s not a very good plan. Or maybe it’s brilliant in its simplicity. He’s going after Hedd, and Lizzie is to take care of anyone who attacks us. And I am supposed to find Nox and somehow convince them to see things our way. Like I said, easy peasy.
Before I can move away, Bowen grabs the back of my neck and pulls me in for a rough kiss. “Be safe, Evie. You can’t afford to hesitate. Not tonight. Promise me.”
I might hate this, but I’ll do anything to get back to his side. I want all three of us to survive to see the dawn, and I refuse to be the reason one of the people I care about falls. “I promise.”