Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
They’re jumping right over a very vital portion of this plan. “I’m strong, but I’m not strong enough to break a hole in the bottom of a ship. It’s far more likely that I’ll charge it, knock myself out, and drown.”
“I’ll soften it up for you.” That expression on Siobhan’s face makes me shiver. She’s contemplating death, and the longer I spend in her presence, the stranger I find it that I never questioned her coming and going in the past. How did I overlook the fact that she’s obviously a warrior—and a dangerous one at that?
I feel very naive right now. I clear my throat. “How are you going to ‘soften up’ a ship’s hull?”
She wiggles her fingers at me. Bones crack as they shift, forming into long, vicious claws before morphing back into mundane fingers. “I heal even faster than the vampire, and I can do a lot of damage in a very short time. I’ll tear the hole open, and then you charge it to make it bigger. Between the two of us, we can get it done.”
There’s a small possibility this may work. But I’ve listened to Bowen and Nox discuss the Crimson Hag. I know all about the various crew members and many of their powers. There’s plenty to worry about there, but the biggest threat is Lucky, a crew member who’s half mermaid. “If they send Lucky in the water, we’re both in trouble.”
“I’ll take care of Lucky.” Lizzie appears to relish the idea. It’s everything I can do not to remind her that she almost drowned less than a week ago. That the fight with the water horse scared her so badly, she ended up hurting me by accident. Saying as much now, let alone in front of Siobhan, would be unforgivable.
I keep my silence, but worry gnaws at my insides. The longer Siobhan and Lizzie talk, hammering out the details of the plan, the more I suspect the steps are deceptively simple and will fall apart the moment we put them into action. I don’t have a better idea. The only thing I can do is vow to myself to keep these two alive.
Even if it means I have to sacrifice Bastian in the process.
chapter 30
Lizzie
We don’t form a more concrete plan before Maeve and I take our leave and head back to the room we rented for the night. The farther away from Siobhan’s captivating presence I get, the more I start to question what the fuck we’re doing.
Sure, Nox and I took out an entire ship’s worth of Cŵn Annwn, but Nox is a force of nature beyond understanding. Between my powers and their elemental magic, we were able to subdue a large number of people in a very short period of time. Siobhan is a shifter; she’ll be fierce as fuck in a battle, but it will be an out-and-out brawl instead of a mass disabling event.
Maeve could be hurt.
I’m so close to the jewels I’ve spent months hunting, and all I can think of is Maeve lying in that bed for two days as pale as death, her chest barely moving. I’ve spent my entire life being trained to think of my life as something both disposable and infinite. A dichotomy I’ve never questioned but one that made me fearless in fights.
It’s different now. I have something to lose. Someone to lose. If Maeve is hurt in this fight . . .
I barely wait until the door is closed between us and the rest of the building before I turn on her. Maeve’s eyes are bright, and her mind is obviously moving a mile a minute as she thinks about tomorrow. I will do anything to ensure those eyes aren’t closed forever while chasing the ambition of some mysterious woman and the damned rebellion. “This is a mistake. Let’s get our shit and get out of here.”
Maeve stares at me as if I’ve grown a second head. “What are you talking about?”
“We’ll figure out another way. One that doesn’t involve you slamming your body repeatedly against a ridiculously hard surface and injuring yourself. Or battling a half fucking mermaid. I’ve heard the same stories you have. Lucky isn’t the same thing as a water horse, Maeve. If it was a matter of stealing back my jewels alone, then I could go in by myself and retrieve them before anyone knew I was there.” Probably. It would be simple enough to send the sentries into unconsciousness and slip past them. If there was a fight, it wouldn’t be with the entire fucking crew.
It’s an entirely different prospect to take Bastian back by stealth. They will have their strongest people watching the prisoner, especially if he’s as dangerous as Siobhan says. He must be. When she originally said he had glamour power, I thought of the humans I’ve met who can say the same. They are able to change their appearance, but not their physical form, and sometimes they can even charm their words a bit to soften someone to seeing things their way. But that’s it.