Page 68 of Blood on the Tide

I’d all but forgotten them. Again, I wonder what the fuck I’ve been doing. Chasing down some godsdamned inanimate objects, putting Maeve at risk to do so, and for what? To go back to a life where I was just going through the motions. I’ve lived so fucking long, and this last couple of weeks is the most alive I’ve ever felt.

I don’t want to go home. I don’t give a fuck about the jewels. I just want Maeve to be okay.

As Siobhan slips out of the cave, I settle down next to Maeve and take her hand. I can carry her to Siobhan’s ship if I need to, but I’m going to give her as much time as possible to sleep and let my blood continue to heal her.

There’s nothing to do but wait.

chapter 35

Maeve

Everything hurts. It’s a strange sort of pain, weighing me down and making it hard to open my eyes. But it’s not sharp like I expected to experience when I woke up... if I woke up at all. If not for Lizzie—

Lizzie.

My eyes fly open and I try to sit up. Or at least my brain gives the command. All I’m capable of is a jerky movement that barely raises my body off the hard surface I’m lying on. Hands press to my chest, easing me back down. Then Lizzie’s face appears over me, concern etching lines that bracket her mouth and spider from the corners of her eyes. “Steady, Maeve.” She sounds exhausted, too, more tired than I’ve ever heard her. She takes my hand and guides it to a damp fur folded neatly next to me. My pelt.

“What happened?” I croak.

“You’re alive.” She gives a faint smile and brushes my hair back, her touch gentle and filled with so much emotion that my throat tries to close. “Take things slowly. My blood healed you, but accelerated healing is hard on the body in its own way when you’re not used to it.”

She’s calm. Too calm. Last time I woke up in what amounts to a sickbed, she was beside herself with worry. “Are you okay?”

Her smile warms. “I am now.” She studies me. “I’ll tell you what happened if you agree not to try to sit up again until I’m done.”

Considering I was about to do exactly that, I flush. I force myself to relax and survey our surroundings as much as I can without moving. Judging from the dark arch of rock overhead, we’re back in the sea cave. I have no idea how we got here. The last thing I remember is being underwater, pain lashing my entire body as Lucky stabbed me, and then... nothing at all.

I swallow hard. “Your jewels?”

Lizzie curses softly under her breath. “You have a one-track mind even when on death’s doorstep.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“No, it’s not. I’ll tell you everything if you promise to lie there quietly for the duration.”

I huff out a breath. I wish I could say she’s overreacting, but even that deep breath causes something deep in my chest to ache. There’s no way I’ll admit as much, though. She’s worried enough about me. “Yes. Fine. I promise.”

“Good.” She quickly details what happened. Bastian missing, the swim back to the cave, the plan to meet up with Siobhan at the sailboat waiting for us on the other side of the island. Through it all, she keeps up those little touches as if reassuring herself that I’m alive and well enough to talk. She finally sits back on her heels. “Say the word and we’ll find another way off the island. We can go back to Viedna and live there.”

I search her expression, finding only sincerity. She really means it. I lift my hand and she immediately takes it. “Why did you agree to sail with Siobhan? You don’t even like her. You don’t believe in the rebellion.”

“Maeve.” She squeezes my hand. “You just asked a question you already know the answer to.”

My flush deepens. She did it for me. “I guess I do. Are you sure?”

“As sure as I am about anything.” Lizzie gives a wan smile. “Besides, there will be plenty of murder in my future. Keeping you safe as you charge off into danger is a full-time job.”

The way she’s talking... I grab her hand. “Lizzie, what about your family heirlooms? Did the Crimson Hag sink?”

“No.” She glares at the cave opening. “It’s still listing like a drunk asshole, but they managed to get the hole patched after we fled. I suspect they’ll make asses of themselves searching the town, but we’ll be long gone by then.”

I desperately want to believe she’s saying what I think she’s saying. That she’s coming with me. That she’s staying. I know what we spoke of before, but that was in the heat of the moment. I might be naive about some things, but even I know that words exchanged when sex is involved don’t necessarily hold the same way in the cold light of dawn. Even as I want to ask her if that’s what she means, I recognize it for the selfish desire it is. I love her and I want her with me. But it goes against every single thing she’s done since coming to Threshold. “But the jewels.”

“Maeve, I am going to say something, and I need you to actually listen to me.” She shifts closer until her knees bump my arm and her face hovers over mine, almost kissably close. “Are you listening?”

“Yes,” I whisper.

“Fuck. Those. Jewels.” She bites out each word. “I’ve existed two hundred years, but I didn’t actually start living until I met you. I’m not going to retrieve those heirlooms and fuck off to my realm when you’re here—and not just because you’re liable to get yourself killed if I’m not here to watch over you. I love you, Maeve. I’m not leaving you. I’m staying in Threshold. If I have to kill every single fucking Cwn Annwn to make sure the rebellion succeeds, then I will. Because it means you’ll be safe.” She takes a ragged breath. “Because it means you’ll be happy. And happy is all I want for you.”

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