by Cait Marie
Desire darkened Phillip’s eyes. “I think it’s worth the risk.”
Lacing their fingers together, Shane glanced around the deck at the rest of the lingering crew. A few still danced, but most had drifted to sit elsewhere, chatting and relaxing before tomorrow’s onslaught. Adalina and Lee slowly moved to the music, holding each other tight. Lee smiled at something she said before looking up.
Shane hated how much his sister had endured these past few months, almost as much as he hated the hurt he’d seen in her eyes after Lee left. But the love between them was almost palpable. He could see it in the way they looked at each other, shifted around each other as if anticipating each movement. While Shane wished she hadn’t grown up so fast, he couldn’t deny how she seemed to come to life around the immortal heir.
Lee inclined his head, silently telling Shane they had an understanding. Shane knew the man would never intentionally leave or hurt his sister again.
With a deep breath, Shane led Phillip toward the stairs. Someone whistled behind them. He planned to ignore it, but Phillip pulled him to a stop, kissing him fully before everyone. Gone was the man who feared people seeing them together. With a wink, Phillip all but dragged him the rest of the way to their private cabin below deck.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Phillip pressed him up against the cool wood, their lips crashing together in near desperation. Phillip kissed his way down the side of his neck. Shane tilted his head, giving him better access while pulling at the hem of Phillip’s shirt. He noticed a lantern had already been lit, waiting for them, and chuckled. “Who—”
“Brienne.” Phillip threw his shirt to the ground before yanking at Shane’s. “She also promised to keep people away from this end of the ship for the night, but you’re still going to have to stay quiet.”
“Are you ordering your king around?” Shane challenged with a raised brow.
“No.” Phillip looked up from the buttons he’d been undoing on Shane’s pants with a smirk. “I’m ordering my husband around.”
Heat thrummed through Shane, and his grin dropped. He could definitely get used to Phillip taking control—the confidence and command. Pulling Phillip to him, he pressed a slow, deep kiss to his lips. Together, they made their way to the bunk that had felt too lonely the past two nights as Phillip slept elsewhere.
Shane fell back onto the thin mattress and stared up at his husband hovering over him. In the dim light, he could just make out Phillip’s features. He ran his hands along the hard abdominal muscles, honed to perfection after years of training.
“I love you so much,” he whispered.
Phillip leaned down, his chest resting atop Shane’s as he lifted a hand to the king’s cheek. “I love you more.”
Smiling, Shane shook his head. “I love you most.”
With that, he wrapped his arms around the back of Phillip’s neck, his legs around his hips, pulling him as close as possible. He kissed him as if tonight might be their last night together—loved him as if their time was up. For all they knew, it might very well be. But for once, Shane wasn’t focused on the impending future. Tonight was for him and his husband, and he didn’t think he’d ever felt happier in his life.
Chapter 20
Adalina
Ada twisted her hands up behind Lee’s neck as the music slowed. His sea-green eyes met hers, and her smile widened. They’d needed tonight—all of them. Tomorrow, they’d reach Rayerna. No one outside of the Nihryst really knew what to expect. Though they’d shared their experiences, it was still difficult to truly imagine.
And with the crew no longer being immortal, there was a stillness to the atmosphere. The calm before the storm as they faced what might be their last days.
Brushing a thumb along her ribs, Lee leaned down to kiss her once. She pushed up on her toes, but he pulled away with a mischievous smirk.
“What?” she asked.
He bent down to whisper against her ear, “Your brother is down below, and I am fairly certain he’s going to be too preoccupied to return tonight.”
“I really don’t want to think about what’s going on down there.” But she looked around anyway, noting they were indeed gone. Most of the crew had simmered down. She and Lee were the last two dancing.
Lee chuckled and grabbed both of her hands. He lifted them, pressing a gentle kiss to each wrist. “What I’m trying to say is I don’t think we have to worry about being interrupted tonight.”
Her scowl turned into an understanding smile. Biting her lower lip, she quickly led him to the cabin. With the door closed, he tugged her against him—her back hitting his chest. He shifted her long wavy hair to one side and kissed the curve of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. One of his hands made its way to her stomach. With his fingers splayed across her abdomen, she leaned back into him, closing her eyes. His other hand pulled the collar of her dress aside, and his lips traveled down to her shoulder.
Slowly, Ada turned around in his arms. She wanted his mouth on hers.
As he kissed her, he walked them toward the bed in the corner. They’d shared it every night, but she hadn’t felt comfortable enough to have more. She had worried too much about her brother being on board.
“Stop,” he whispered, lifting a finger to smooth the crease between her brows. “No worrying tonight.”
“Then, distract me.”
With the crooked grin she’d grown to love so much, spinning her around, he began pulling at the laces of the dress at a painfully slow speed. When her bodice was finally loose enough, she pushed the fabric down, letting it pool at her feet. She turned around and yanked at the hem of his shirt.
“Enough teasing,” she said, throwing it to the floor.
“So impatient.” He let out a laugh but lifted her into his arms. Their mouths crashed together as he moved to the thin mattress. Tomorrow, she’d worry about the prophecy and battle to come. For now, she wanted the brief happiness the stars allowed her to have with the man she loved.
Lee’s fingers brushed through her hair as Ada laid against him. She rested a hand over his heart, feeling the rise and fall of his chest with each breath he took. Though their time together had brought her mind peace, when they finished and the silence descended upon them, all her worried thoughts returned. She’d barely slept curled up in Lee’s arms. They needed a plan. They needed the dagger of undoing. They needed to survive and come out of this mortal—all of them.
“Adalina, love,” Lee whispered, his breath stirring her hair.
“I’m awake.” She had been for a while.
“I…” He cleared his throat.
She shifted to sit and meet his eyes. He’d never sounded nervous, and it frightened her. Through everything, he’d always seemed so confident. It was annoying at times yet comforting. When he moved to sit too, he cupped her cheek with a palm.
“I love you.” Before she could respond, he continued, “I know I’ve said it before, but I also know you’ve questioned it a lot because of the prophecy.”
So, this was not about the upcoming battle but their fate. The one topic she’d avoided since her return from death. Looking down, she held the blanket tighter around her chest, fidgeting with the worn fabric.
He tilted her chin up. “The prophecy may have brought us together, but it did not make me love you.”
“I want to believe that, but…” Her words trailed off. She hated doubting him. When she went on the search for Loxley, the legendary immortal, she’d fallen for the arrogant pirate captain instead. It was fate—foretold by the stars and sealed by prophecies and curses long before their time. An invisible thread tied their lives together, and try as she might, Ada couldn’t unweave it. “How do you know?”
At that, his mouth quirked up in the corner, bright in the early morning light streaming in through the large window. “Because, if you recall, when we first met, I considered tossing you overboard. I wanted nothing to do with you.”
Ada couldn’t fight the smile creeping up on her face.
“I love you, Adalina. I didn’t want this life for you because I wanted to grow old with you. But whether we have a week, a year, or an eternity together, I am yours. Forever.”
Tears burned her throat. The sincerity in his tone and eyes nearly took her breath away. She scooted in closer, molding her body to his. “Is this just because of the wedding? They tend to make people feel more—”
His arm tightened around her back, and he cut her off with a kiss.
She smiled and whispered against his lips, “I love you too.”
Wanting as much time as she could have before the chaos started, she deepened the kiss. As she shifted to straddle his lap, he placed both hands on her sides. Skin to skin, she knew this was where she was meant to be. She was done fighting it. If the stars deemed them the perfect match, who was she to argue?
They spent the morning showing each other just how much they loved one another. But too soon, it was time to dress and prepare for the final part of their voyage.
They stepped out into the brisk spring day together. With a quick kiss to Lee’s cheek, Ada went to join Brienne at the helm while he headed below to check on the rest of the crew, as well as their store of weapons and the cannons should it come to that.
“Long night?” Brienne asked with a smirk as Ada walked up to the wheel.
“I couldn’t sleep…” She crossed her arms over her chest, looking out over the water. In the distance, she could just make out the landmass that was Rayerna. Her stomach twisted with nausea.
Her friend must have seen the horror on her face because she dropped the smug look. “Are you all right?”
Ada shook her head. How was she supposed to tell anyone that the thought of going to war made her sick? Yes, she was immortal now, but they weren’t. Her brother and Phillip weren’t. Michel wasn’t. Death was coming. She could feel it in her soul. The gray sky above rumbled, mirroring her inner turmoil.
“Ada?”
The princess turned and emptied her stomach over the side of the ship. Brienne yelled something down to the crew, but Ada couldn’t focus on the words. She hadn’t eaten that morning, so there was little from the night before to make its way back up, but that didn’t stop her body from heaving.
Someone pulled her hair back behind her shoulder and then put a hand on her back. Images of her father’s men surrounding her in Tugora, of the blood on her hands after she stabbed that first vile man who’d kidnapped her, flooded her mind. She saw Michel slicing Lady Saundra’s throat open and admitting to killing his own parents. A shudder ran down her spine and tears spilled from her eyes.
“Shh. It’s fine. You’re fine.” Brienne’s arms went around her, and Ada turned into her friend, laying her head on the woman’s shoulder. Brienne rubbed her back in soothing circles. “You’re all right.”
Ada sniffed. She mumbled a quiet apology.
“No, don’t do that. You’re allowed to be scared,” Brienne said.
But fear had never made her sick like that before. Words her brother mentioned the day before came back to her, but she pushed aside the thought. When she finally opened her eyes, Merta stood at the wheel beside them. That must have been who Brienne hollered down to.
“Come on, let’s get you some water.” Brienne led her down the stairs and to the galley where a barrel of fresh water sat. Handing Ada a small wooden cup of it, along with a piece of bread, they both sat at one of the tables. Ada slowly ate the bread, willing it to calm her still-churning stomach. After a long beat of silence, Brienne said, “I remember finding out we were going to war the first time.”
Ada glanced up. Brienne so rarely discussed her past. “What happened?”
Taking a deep breath, Brienne rolled her shoulders as if preparing for a story that would take a physical toll on her. “My father was a wealthy merchant who lost all of his money when I was five years old. My mother had died when I was an infant, so without a way to keep paying my nanny and the rest of the household staff, he brought me aboard his ship.”
Ada took another sip of water and a bite of her stale bread, not wanting to interrupt.
“I grew up on the sea, and while I was reluctant at first…” She sighed and dragged a hand through her dark curls. “I loved it, but he was determined to gain back enough money for me to return home. When I was seventeen, he found a way to do that.”
Around them, the boat creaked and groaned. Someone entered behind her, but Ada didn’t turn to see who was listening. She had a pretty good idea though.
“At that point, he’d grown too weak to walk more than a few steps. We didn’t know why his legs were failing him, and we couldn’t find a cure. So, I volunteered to do the job for him. Wes…” Brienne choked over the name then cleared her throat. “He’d joined the crew the year before. We… fell in love, and he went with me into Ferda to deliver the jewels my father meant to sell.”
“Ferda?” Ada straightened at the name of her home, keeping one hand on her still queasy stomach.
Brienne nodded. “Both he and my father thought I was eager to get the job done so that I could finally go home, but the truth was… I’d found my home on that ship with those men—with Wes. I wanted to collect the money to prove that it didn’t make a difference; I wanted to stay with them.”
Done with her food, Ada wrapped her arms across her middle. She knew this story wasn’t going to end well.
“We ran into trouble with some ruffian who thought he ruled the village. A fight broke out. Wes and I managed to escape but not before the man stabbed me.” The corner of her mouth tugged up. “That’s when I first met Lee and Ren. They found and hid us, and Ren patched me up as I’d been bleeding out…”
Ada’s throat tightened, and behind her, she heard a slight shuffling.
“That was the first time Ren saved my life,” Brienne continued. “After that, I told Wes I had no intention of going home. We headed back to the ship… and he asked me to marry him, right there in the middle of the street, because he was tired of hiding and didn’t want my father to kick him off his crew.”
When she paused, her eyes brimming with tears, Ada braced herself.
“I never got to answer him. The screams cut off my ‘yes,’ and we ran to find our ship in flames. Most of the crew escaped, but I knew my father was too weak to make it out on his own. So did Wes. He told me to stay on the dock as he ran through the fire and smoke, but it was too late.”
Ada moved then, switching to sit beside her friend on the other side of the table. She noted Lee’s dark figure just outside the doorway but didn’t say anything. Instead, she took Brienne’s hand and squeezed.
“The same man who’d stabbed me was standing on the docks laughing with his men. I knew he set the ship on fire, and I tried to go after him, but Lee caught me before I could get myself killed too,” Brienne whispered. She cleared her throat. “I joined his crew, not having anywhere else to go with my father and Wes dead. It gave me a purpose, but I never expected it to lead me to war. I didn’t want that kind of life… I was terrified.
“It was Ren who got me through it. Lee, as stubborn as he is,” she tilted her head toward the door, acknowledging his presence, “is my best friend. But Ren had lost his own family because of a fire—an attack on his people. He understood my pain and didn’t let me wallow for too long. He was my rock… I loved him.”
Ada barely heard the last words, but they were powerful all the same. Tears filled Ada’s eyes once more. She knew the two had been close, but she never realized they were more. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
This was all her fault. If she’d just been honest when she figured out how to break the curse, Ren would still be alive. Lee wouldn’t have blamed Brienne for leaving Ada alone. He wouldn’t have fought her, and Ren wouldn’t have needed to step between them.
Footsteps entered, and Lee knelt before them both. The grief in his eyes made her feel worse. His guilt for killing their friend was her fault. She was the cause of so much heartache. Even this war was
because of her—because of her refusal to stand by Michel’s side. Lady Saundra’s death, the deaths of the king and queen of Rayerna, stars, even her mother’s death was because of her.
An invisible band tightened around her chest, cutting off her air. She shot to her feet and ran from the room, ignoring the shouts of concern following her.
Chapter 21
Shane
“No, don’t go yet,” Shane whispered, his eyes still shut. With his arm draped over Phillip’s bare side, he pulled his husband closer. He kissed the back of Phillip’s shoulder, not ready for their small bubble of happiness to burst just yet. His lips trailed up to Phillip’s neck as his hand roamed his chest and abdomen.
Phillip let out a breathy laugh. “The sun is up. If we don’t get out there soon, someone will come to find us. I’d put money on it being Lee since you’ve made a point of barging in on them every chance you could.”
Shane winced. “I know…”
Turning over, Phillip pressed his smiling lips to Shane’s mouth. “You’re going to have to let her grow up.”
He lifted a hand to the king’s cheek. Shane knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier. He turned to kiss Phillip’s palm before rising from the bed. They dressed in silence, neither seeming to want to face the day yet.
When Phillip finished, he sighed and began turning toward the door. Shane yanked him back around and kissed him hard. Phillip’s hands went to his chest. His mouth parted, and Shane pulled him closer.
“Shane,” Phillip said between breaths as he gently pushed him away. “If we don’t leave now, we’re not going to for a while.”
“Fine.” Shane let out a soft laugh.
He moved to the door before he lost the willpower. Quick footsteps sounded near the galley as they approached, followed by a sigh and a shuffling. Shane glanced at Phillip, but he simply shrugged. Shane moved toward the small, dingy room and stilled as he saw the back of his sister racing up the stairs to the top deck. Lee appeared in the doorway, apparently ready to follow her.
