Page 81 of A Dawn of Gods & Fury

Tyree

I grit my teeth as a jagged rock digs into my heel. Those blasted sailors could have had the decency to redress me after they robbed me. Not that they expected me to survive the plunge into the siren-infested waters, let alone need boots to traverse a stony peninsula on some island for hours. But if I ever see Captain Aron again, I’ll enjoy returning the favor, beginning with my blade slicing through his bare toes.

“Thirty-two,” Annika whispers.

“What are you counting? The times you’ve thought to stab me in my back with that dagger?” I joke.

“The ships,” she snipes. “The urge to stab you is at least thrice that.”

“And yet you didn’t kill me when you had the most perfect opportunity.”

“There will be more. I have faith.”

I bite my tongue against the impulse to goad her. Annika’s temper erupts faster than a young man with a whore’s practiced hand on his cock. But I’m not a fool to think it’s because she favors me. Until there are signs of other life, I am her only companion.

“I do not doubt that.” I spare a glance over my shoulder to offer her my best smug grin. By the way her eyes flare with annoyance, I’d say it’s effective.

Fates, how does a female who’s been dragged through Azo’dem look so good? Annika’s hair has dried into plump ringlets that cascade down her back. I’ve felt the itch to fondle them more than once—to test if they’re as soft as they appear. Her dress is in soiled tatters and yet still flatters her feminine curves.

“What?” she snaps.

And the momentary fog of stupidity I caught myself in dissipates.

I turn back. “Nothing.” Her mood is especially foul today. I can’t decide if it’s our dire predicament or the likelihood that her twin brother is dead, or that she’s craving her blood fix. If the two of us are truly the only living creatures in this fates-forsaken land, it will only worsen as the days pass. Eventually, she might decide to feed off me just to end her suffering.

A few moments of silence pass before I hazard conversation again. “Unless I’m mistaken, that is a mountain range.” I draw a line against the horizon with my finger. “Or it’s the clouds.”

“That could be days away.”

“At least you have shoes to weather the distance.”

“You would, too, if you hadn’t stolen all my jewels and stuffed them in your boots like the idiot you are,” she scolds, but I catch the hint of raggedness in her breath, the beads of sweat on her brow. We’ve been walking for hours over difficult terrain and, while I am accustomed to lengthy treks, Princess Annika certainly is not.

“Would you like to stop?”

“For what?”

She’ll collapse before she admits to needing a rest, and then I’ll have to carry her stubborn arse. Shoving my ego aside, I ask cordially, “Would you mind if we pause here for a moment so I can give my feet a rest?” Each must wear at least a dozen cuts.

“Since you need it … fine.” But a soft sigh of relief follows her bitter tone.

Shaking my head, I steer us toward a smooth outcrop of rocks shaded from the sun by a ship’s hull. A half-rotted wooden crate sits nearby. I perch myself on it, groaning with the momentary respite.

A tiny green bird flutters past. A good sign that there is more than rock and water nearby.

“It is like a graveyard here.” Annika ropes her arms around her middle as she studies the moss-covered ship. “Do you think these are all from Ybaris and Islor?”

“I don’t know where else they would come from. Skatranan and Seacadorian sailors are too smart to sail with our kind.” I add quietly, “So are captains like Aron, it would seem.”

She hesitates. “I saw something large heading straight for the ship moments before they threw us overboard. It had at least ten fins sticking out of the water. Maybe the tale of the sea monster wasn’t so far-fetched.”

“If a sea monster had struck these, they would have sunk, not washed up here.” I consider the alternatives. “I’ll bet the sailors dove to their deaths with the sirens’ song and then the ocean’s current carried the empty ships here, where they broke apart on the rocks.” If that’s the case, this merchant ship might still have something useful inside. Who knows how long it has sat here, though, steeping in seawater.

Still, my curiosity gets the better of me. With a wince, I stand and pick a path through the cool shallow water. It’s a blessing to my wounded feet.

“Where in fates are you going now?” Annika exclaims.

“Inside.”

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