They scurried away from the ledge, and Eric pressed his body over the top of hers to flatten her against the surface. Heavy footsteps came from directly underneath them, and a man called out, “No one back here.”
Glancing at her bird, Rhea gestured for Mirror to unfold her wings. Whispering the words for her to show them the men who searched for them, Rhea smiled. They appeared to be leaving. In the reflection on Mirrors wings, a man who seemed to be in charge spoke harshly to the woman in the bathhouse.
They waited until the men all disappeared back into the marketplace. Eric stood, checking to make sure no one stood on the ground under them. He settled back down, raising a brow at Rhea. “Talk.”
“About what?” She didn’t mean to play dumb, but they constantly told her to speak. Topics began to blur.
Using her lap as a pillow, Adrian leaned back. “How about explaining this.” He gestured to her clothes.
Glancing down, she met his gaze, flushing. “Breeches are practical. It’s not easy running around in the wilderness with a skirt catching on everything.”
He looked up at her, crystalline blue eyes wide with disbelief. “And your answer was to get breeches?”
“Yes. Next question?” She glanced at Eric, subtly letting Adrian know she wouldn’t be answering anymore of those types of questions.
“Your power came back, yet you said nothing.” The way he watched her made her focus somewhere else.
“It came back while bathing, when you burst in. I didn’t intend to keep it from you, but other things interrupted. And I distinctly remember telling you the pool was magical.”
His brow went up, but he continued to stare at her. Even without glancing up at him she knew he watched her. “And the portal you claimed you couldn’t open?”
“What I did would not be considered a portal. More like I made a doorway where there wasn’t one before.”
Scooting closer, James threaded his fingers through hers encouragingly.
“And yet you had the power for it?” Eric seemed to be contemplating her words to make sense of everything going on today.
“I didn’t. I took your power. Well, a small bit of it. but I got the power from all three of you...” She trailed off helplessly.
Rubbing his palms against his eyes, Eric sighed. “I don’t know what to ask next. Could you do a quick run through of the day?”
“Everything about the pool could be called normal, until the three of you got into the water with me. Once you joined me, it seemed to be sucking power from the three of you, reflecting it to me. Water mirror effect” Holding her hand up, she stopped Eric before he could formulate a response. “No, I didn’t intentionally take your power. Once I realized what was happening, I got out, and tried to tell you. Being force fed power that isn’t your own gets extremely uncomfortable.”
“Our power gave you enough to open the doorway?” Eric questioned.
Eric grimaced. “I still want to get on the ship in the morning, though. We’ll need to make sure no one watches us board.”
James stretched his legs out in front of himself. “We sleeping up here? Because we certainly can’t sleep in our rented room.”
From his position in her lap, Adrian piped up, “What if we pay the captain a little extra to let us get on early. No one will expect us to already be there.”
“Are we going to travel by rooftops, then?” Rhea asked.
“Unless anyone has a better idea?” Pushing his dark curls out of his eyes, Eric waited.
With a sigh, James glanced over the edge of the rooftop. “I suppose it is the best option. If we go along these buildings, we should be able to keep to the rooftops until we get close to the docks.” He pointed due east.
Rhea scrubbed her palms over her face, wishing the day were over already. Adrian stood and helped her up.
Thankfully the buildings were nestled close together. They traveled in silence, not wanting to alert anyone who might be searching for them.
Addressing the guys before they lowered themselves to the ground, Rhea spoke. “I’ll go talk to the first mate. He should remember me. Once permission is granted, I’ll take a peek around the dock area for a way to sneak the three of you on. If Mirror shows the docks are clear, follow after me, don’t wait for me to come back.”
As he took the lead from the twins, Eric scowled, but nodded. “A sound plan. Your bird stays here, though. I want to watch everything going on.”
She already planned to leave Mirror with the boys, but she nodded in agreement, happy to let him believe he controlled the situation. The twins got down on their stomachs to lower her down the side of the building hidden from the main street.
“Be safe.” Both twins spoke at the same time, with James shooting a glance at Adrian she couldn’t understand.
Waving at them, Rhea slipped out of the alleyway, moving in the direction of the docks.
Various ships sat tethered to their posts, most of them lacking any sort of activity. A tavern was situated at the end of the pier, open to all who worked nearby. From the sounds coming from inside, they were busy.
She approached the dockmaster. “Sir? May I speak with you for a moment?” Staring straight ahead, she tried to ignore the looks she attracted. A few sailors milled around, with one standing to give her an appreciative whistle.
Eyes traveling from her breeches to her face, the dockmaster raised his dark eyebrow at her. “Your man paid for passage earlier. There a problem with the tickets?”
“No, sir. I actually wondered if you might point me in the direction of the ship?” She trailed off, batting her eyes at him.
“Highly irregular to allow a woman to wander alone…” Gaze traveling over her tunic, back down to her breeches, he made her skin crawl. “I s’pose there ain’t no harm in that.” Turning, he gestured toward a large ship tied to the furthest end of the docks. “Course, I’ll be needin’ a little somethin’ extra to let you by.”
Quickly fishing through the pouch hanging from her belt, she handed him a single gold coin. “This is all I have.”
A scowl fell over his features, but he took the coin from her. Using his teeth, he checked it for authenticity. “Go.” His head jerked in the direction of her ship.
Moving quickly, she ignored the catcalls of a couple of sailors standing in front of the tavern.
A tall, thin man stood to the side of the ramp, checking a couple of boxes being loaded onto the ship.
Walking up to him, she asked, “You the first mate of this boat?”
Holding up a finger, he made her wait a moment while he finished his inspection. Nodding at the men to continue on their way, he glanced up at her, eyes lighting with shock as he took in her snug breeches. Clearing his throat, his head bobbed as he worked to keep his attention on her face. “Yes, miss. What can I do for you?”
“Earlier I purchased tickets to board your vessel. I wondered if I might be allowed to board tonight, instead.”
A man wearing all white and carrying a small crate stopped next to them. The first mate turned to inspect the contents and, once satisfied, waved the man forward. Turning back to her, he ran his fingers over his prickly chin. “Tonight, you say? An extra night aboard sweet Anne’ll cost ya.”
“H-how much?” She injected a note of worry into her voice.
Eyes gliding over her body, scrutinizing her closely, he was quiet for a moment. His attention moved to the next crate being carried up the ramp. After inspecting the contents, he nodded at the man to continue up the ramp with it and turned back to her. “Two gold. You may stay, no questions asked.”
“Sir, I only—”
Holding a hand up, he stopped her. “No. No bartering. My price is two gold. Either pay or leave.”
Hoping she wouldn’t regret it, she dug into her pouch, finding the two coins by touch. “Here.”
After inspecting the coins thoroughly, he nodded once. “This’ll do. Welcome aboard. Take the left door at the top of the ramp to find your quarters. Now, if ya don�
��t mind, I must get back to work.” Without another word to her, he turned to speak with another man in a white uniform.
Rhea took one last look around before making her way down to the room she would be sharing with the boys.
Chapter Nine
On A Boat
Their room on the ship, while not large, held two beds attached to the hull of the ship. Dark wood walls helped the room seem gloomy, and Rhea searched for some sort of lantern she could use to provide light. Running her fingers over every available surface while her eyes adjusted to the dark, she finally found what she needed, nearly knocking it off the small table in the process. Heart thundering in her ears, she barely kept the item from crashing to the floor, where it would have shattered.
Steadying the glass lantern, she slowly backed away, bumping into one of the beds. Dropping to sit on it, she felt relieved they may be able to get some rest while at sea. She blinked sleepily, waiting for the guys to join her.
It didn’t take long before someone knocked, then let themselves in without waiting for a response.
Ducking to avoid hitting his head on the low door frame, Eric stepped into the room first. “This is nice. We should stay in here for the night to avoid being seen.” He glanced at Adrian, giving a nonverbal warning to the more daring twin.
“I know, I know.” After Adrian moved into the room, he sat down on the other bed. “At least it’s big enough in here we won’t be tripping over each other.”
James silently agreed as he sat on the bed next to Rhea. “We should probably get some rest, though. It’ll make the time pass faster.”
Eric glanced at the two beds, and then gestured at the twins. “I’ll sleep on the floor. Rhea, you get one bed, and you two get the other one.”
She raised a brow. The twins wouldn’t fit together. Even though James was slightly leaner than his twin, they were both well-muscled, and the beds fairly narrow. “James can share with me.”
Adrian choked, glaring at his twin, who grinned back.
“We’ll just be sleeping, right? Did the two of you plan on sleeping on top of each other? Because that might be the only way you’ll both fit on one of these beds.” She yawned, trying to hide it with her arm.
“She’s got a point. I’d rather Rhea slept on top of me than you.” James grumbled. The room fell into an uncomfortable silence until James seemed to realize what he said. “Gods, can I take it back. I didn’t mean it that way!”
Adrian rolled onto his back, rocking with laughter. Her cheeks grew warm at the implication, but she knew he didn’t mean it the way it sounded.
A wave hit the boat, rocking it hard against the dock. Her stomach rolled with it.
Reaching out, James steadied her, and then frowned as he took her hand. “Are you not feeling well?”
“Being on the boat is unsettling my stomach. I’m sure once I get used to the rocking, I’ll be fine.” She rubbed her stomach, grimacing. At least she hadn’t eaten anything recently.
A little bit of power seemed to flow through his hand and into her own, settling her stomach. “Is this any better?”
“Yes, but you can’t continue to constantly hold my hand while we’re on the boat. It’s impractical. Hopefully, I’ll be better once I get used to the motion,” she replied.
“I don’t like you being ill. I’ll try to keep you from feeling the worst of it.” His thumb caressed the back of her hand.
“Let’s get some sleep, all of you. Hopefully, we’ll be on our way when we wake up tomorrow, and someone will be able to go in search of food.” Bracing his back against the door, Eric took possession of the floor space.
Adrian grumpily rolled onto his side, facing the wall. Glancing at James, Rhea wondered why his twin seemed upset. He shrugged a shoulder, pulling her onto the bed next to him. She squeaked in surprise when he wrapped his arm under her, pulling her against his chest as he slipped his fingers up the back of her tunic, resting his hand on her bare skin.
Her skin heated as he whispered, “I don’t know if I can keep up the healing in my sleep, but wake me up if you get queasy again.”
She nodded, knowing she wouldn’t wake him if she could help it. They all needed their sleep, and, as long as they could get away without anyone figuring out their location, they might get a few days to rest up.
As she tried to find a comfortable position to allow James to keep his hand on her bare skin, eventually the last few days of being on the run caught up with her, she fell asleep.
~
Her stomach cramped, waking her. A quick glance at the others showed they still slept. She rubbed her stomach, hoping to ease the pain. When that didn’t help, she rolled to her side, facing James as she curled into a ball. Breathing deeply through a wave of nausea, she closed her eyes.
“Rhea?” She could sense James’s eyes on her as he sat up. “You alright?”
When she took another deep breath the wave receded. “Maybe.”
“Stomach bothering you again?” he questioned, threading his fingers through her own.
She didn’t bother to open her eyes as she nodded.
“Does this help at all?” A small thread of power worked itself down her arm, calming the nausea.
“Yeah. Sorry I woke you.”
“I’m a light sleeper,” he replied, moving to rest his back against the wall.
“I know,” she admitted, adding, “I didn’t realize the change in my breathing would wake you.”
She could barely make out his facial features in the dark, but the smile in his voice rumbled through her. “I don’t mind.” Pulling a knee to his chest, he rested his cheek on it.
“I’m still sorry I woke you.” His foot tucked beneath her, she shifted slightly out of the fetal position to curl around his leg, making it easier to hold his hand.
His shoulder moved, and she couldn’t tell if he shrugged or if he readjusted himself. “Don’t. I’m glad I can help you feel better.” His thumb rubbed against her knuckles.
She tried to stifle a yawn.
“You can go back to sleep. I’ll make sure the sea sickness doesn’t come back.”
Squeezing his hand, she answered back, “But then I’d be twice as guilty. Or possibly even three times.”
“Why do you say three times?” His voice held amusement as he traced patterns on the back of her hand.
“For waking you, making you stay awake all night, and making use your power continuously on me. We’ll get to our destination, and you’ll be exhausted.” She didn’t know how to fix this situation. They might be able to find a room for the night when they dock, so James could get some sleep. Then they’d run the risk of being found.
“I’ll be fine, but I kind of like you worrying about me.” He chuckled, making her blush.
“I would worry about any of you in this situation,” she retorted.
His fingers stilled on her hand for a moment before he moved them again, drawing a square and then a circle on her palm. He stayed silent, and she worried her words upset him.
“James?” Rhea took in his dark form, sitting almost perfectly still against her hip.
“Hmm?”
“Are you angry with me?” He pulled back in surprise.
“No, of course not. I’m glad someone like you cares for me and my brothers.” He squeezed her hand, relaxing against the wall.
They sat in silence for a while before she spoke again. “Still awake?”
“Of course,” he whispered.
“Talk to me?” she asked. She didn’t want to fall asleep right away. If she stayed awake until they both needed sleep, hopefully she wouldn’t wake up when the nausea hit again.
“About what?” He pulled her hand up against his face, scratching at his jaw with his thumb. The whiskers on his cheek tickled her fingers, and she smiled.
“Anything? Did you like making glass objects with your brothers?” She grasped at the first question she could come up with.
He shrugged a shoulder, lowering their joined hands
to his knee. “I didn’t hate it. We made a decent living since you couldn’t find craftsmanship as good as ours anywhere around. If I chose a profession, glass maker wouldn’t be it.”
“What would you choose to do?” Smiling to herself in the dark, she realized she wouldn’t be a part of this conversation if she could have witnessed this with Mirror.
“If there was no ban on magic, I’d choose to be a healer. Otherwise, I don’t really know appeals to me.” He paused for a moment as Eric moved around on the floor. When his brother stopped moving again, James asked, “What about you? What would you choose to do with your life?”
Now she shrugged. “I’d never really considered it before. In the middle of another attempt to run away, your father found me.” Smiling at the memory of her youth, she continued, “I escaped from Mistress Pem one too many times. She ran the orphanage where I lived and now that I think about it, she was strict, but not horrible. At the time, I hated living there.”
“You, a trouble maker?” He chuckled softly, rubbing his chin against her fingers. “I can’t really picture you getting in trouble.”
Shivering, she squirmed to get more comfortable, and his bare foot slid under her tunic in the back. She shivered again. “Your feet are freezing. The cold is seeping through my clothes.”
He wiggled his toes under her, making her squirm again. “And my hands will be warmer than normal. My body is working to keep you from getting sick. I’ve never actually used my power for this long on someone. Eventually, I’ll need to stop to get my blood circulating properly again.” He sounded regretful.
“I know you can’t keep my stomach from hurting for the entire trip. I hope if I stay awake long enough, I’ll be too exhausted to wake up if the nausea comes back again.”
“Hopefully it will work,” he replied.
They fell silent again.
A while later, Rhea frowned, pulling her hand from his. “Your hands are getting too hot,” she remarked. His palm started sweating, while his feet under her back seemed to be getting even colder.
Falling For Them Volume 2: Reverse Harem Collection Page 91
