Page 24 of Of Song and Darkness

Just as Penelope predicted, Kai burst through the door without so much as knocking. We both jumped at the sudden intrusion. Kai stopped in the doorway, his eyes swallowing me whole. “Damn it, Penelope. Did you have to put her in that? I’m trying to keep the men away from her.” His voice rumbled with anger and annoyance.

“I didn’t do it on purpose! That’s the ugliest dress I own. I can’t help it that she looks like that,” Penelope spat.

Kai’s gaze brushed over me again, leaving a cold trail wherever it traveled. I swallowed hard and stood, facing him.

“For your troubles.” Kai tossed Penelope a gold coin. She easily caught it and placed it on the table before her.

“I’d rather you stay the night.” She batted her eyelashes in a way that made me long to pluck them from her lids.

“Can’t,” Kai answered sternly. “Let’s go.” He stepped closer and gripped my upper arm.

“You have dragged me around this entire port all day today. I am capable of walking on my own.” I yanked my arm from his death grip and marched toward the door. “Thank you for your kindness, Penelope. It is something that I have not been accustomed to since encountering Kai.” I scowled as I paused at the door.

Penelope’s only response was a widening of her eyes, like she was shocked that I would speak to Kai in such a manner. With a shrug, I started back down the long trail that led to the beach.

On the way down, I was all too aware of Kai’s leering eyes. Every time I turned to look at him, he didn’t even attempt to hide the fact that he was watching me. He just shot me a cocky grin and continued to stare. The act caused a rush of adrenaline to flood through my veins.

Finally, I broke through the dense brush and back onto the beach. All eyes instantly turned to me. I swallowed hard and backtracked a few steps, only to collide with the solid body of the captain.

“Is there a problem, sea demon?” he whispered and leaned closer, brushing his beard along the shell of my ear.

“No.” I shoved away from him and tried to make my captain-induced limp legs cooperate.

I marched toward the small boat and awkwardly climbed inside. It burned me up inside as Kai watched me struggle, still smirking at my flustered antics. I tore my gaze from his and scanned the boat, feeling increasingly uneasy under the scrutinizing stares of the crew.

I fumbled nervously, clenching the dress I wore between my sweaty palms.

Kai cleared his throat loudly, his glare roaming over all the men, and one by one, they reluctantly turned their gazes from me. All except him, of course.

Relief washed over me as we reached the ship, easing the tension that had gripped my body. The men crowded out the boat and up the rope ladder. I glanced back at Kai, watching him as he watched me. Our bodies swayed in the steady rise and fall of the boat in the waves.

“You going to stand there all day?” he chided.

“You first,” I snapped. I no longer wore those pants things and had very little underneath the dress. My cheeks heated with shame, thinking about climbing the ladder with him directly below me.

He straddled the rolling boat as he ventured closer. “You might slip again.” He stopped only a few inches from my face. The motion of the waves brought our lips closer with each rise and fall.

“I’m not that helpless,” I challenged.

His gaze brushed over my face agonizingly slow. “Suit yourself.” He shoved past me and up the ladder with ease and smoothness.

I glanced at the swaying ladder as the boat beneath me bucked in the sea. I swallowed past the lump that had formed in my throat. Now all I had to do was make it up the ladder without disgracing myself.

It took entirely too much effort and time, but I eventually made it up the ladder and onto the deck of the ship. I was half expecting the crew to be watching my every move and waiting for my head to break over the railing, but no one paid me any mind as I clumsily hoisted my body over the edge.

“Get those dinghies secured and the rest of those supplies unloaded. I want to be ready to sail within the next hour,” Kai thundered from behind the wheel.

“What about repairing the boat?” Cael asked as I slowly walked up to the helm to stand out of the way of the men who rushed about.

“We will prepare the ship in open waters. I don’t want to stay in this port any longer than we have to.” Kai lowered his voice, and Cael’s eyes widened with understanding.

“I’m surprised that Dante let us leave without so much as a slap on the wrist,” Cael added.

“My thought exactly. The sooner we get out of here, the better.” Kai’s gaze shifted to mine before he continued to bellow orders.

I glanced at the port, an uneasy feeling oozing up in the pit of my stomach. Call it female intuition or the intelligence of a siren, but something was not right about the whole situation, and I could tell by Kai’s stiffened posture he felt it too.

The sun slowly sank beneath the horizon, and fatigue tugged harshly at me. My eyes felt like someone was trying to pull them closed. I wove my way through the men that still darted around the ship. We had left port and were out of danger, so I returned to my cabin.

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