Page 46 of The Last Heir of Elsewhere

I swallowed again, but didn’t take the bottle. As the burning subsided, I narrowed my eyes. “That’s not water.”

He glanced down at the translucent white liquid shimmering in the bottle. “I never said it was, but it’s not poison either if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

I scowled. The fact that it might be poison had not even yet occurred to me.

If he wanted to kill me here and now, rather than waiting for some opportune moment in the future, he undoubtedly would have already. Still, I should have been more vigilant, just as I should have paid better attention in the stables. I’d heard a second sound on the other side of the barn before his presence in front of me had erased it from my mind. Now, I realized there must have been an accomplice waiting to strike.

The too-late realization didn’t make the blow to my head or my pride hurt any less, nor did it change the fact that we were in the middle of the ocean.

“What are you planning to do to me?” I asked.

“I wasn’t planning to do anything to you, per se.With you, might be better phrasing.”

“What are you planning to do with me then,” I asked, trying not to roll my eyes. This situation was far too serious for such pointless word games.

He tried to shove the bottle into my hand again. “Drink this and I’ll tell you.”

I cast a suspicious glance at the bottle. I wasn’t about to take any food or drink from a male who’d knocked me unconscious, only to force me onto a ship. “No.”

He looked apologetic. “For all our sake, love, I really must insist.”

“Why do you care? What is it?”

I wasn’t really expecting him to answer, but to my surprise he immediately replied. “It’s diluted Gancanagh’s dust, mixed with sea water and clary sage, and I care because?—”

My eyes widened.Shit.

He didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence, as I was already leaping off the bed and rushing for the door. Nice? I couldn’t believe I’d thought so for even a moment. The rebel leader was the complete opposite of nice, if this was what he was trying to give me. “Stay the fuck away from me.”

I’d learned of the existence of Gancanagh’s dust back in the brothel in Inbetwixt. It was a fairy drug, that caused insatiable lust, lack of inhibition, and with too much use would eventually lead to madness. Scion and I had fallen under its effects, leading to the bite mark now permanent on my throat. At the time, we’d been trying to discover where Ambrose Dullahan and his army were, and learned instead that they were transporting the dust in and out of Elsewhere and the neighboring country of Underneath, by way of Inbetwixt harbor.

We’d never learned what they were doing with the drugs, but now, I supposed, I knew where at least some of the horrible substance had ended up.

My fingertips gripped the metal handle of the door, and I pulled, only to jerk back when I found it locked.

Behind me, I heard Dullahan rise from his seat and move toward me. “Wait, you don’t understand.”

I turned and pressed my back against the door. I shrank away, and threw a hand up to block him. I still didn’t know exactly how to summon magic at will, and feared what would happen when I used it, however right now I would be more than happy to summon afflicted to my side if it meant avoiding the rebel king. “Don’t touch me. I know what that does.”

“You don’t know anything,” Ambrose spat. “You’re proving why this is necessary without even realizing it.”

As he moved closer, I felt the telltale heat of magic rising to my fingertips. “Oh?” I let out a slightly hysterical laugh. “And how is that?”

“You have no idea how to control yourself, and I’m not about to let you figure it out on a wooden ship in the middle of the ocean.”

“There is no world where you can force that down my throat.”

He let out a humorless laugh. “I don’t typically force women to do anything. Yes, this is Gancanagh’s dust, but it’s significantly diluted. In this state it’s used to prevent magic. Put your damn hands down and I’ll explain how it works.”

I scoffed, trying to seem unbothered, but in truth I was nearly trembling. As if sparked by my fear, a flame lit in my shaking hand. I looked at it for half a second, shimmering with blue and orange, before Dullahan’s own hand shot out and he grabbed my arm.

He forced my hand to close before dragging me forward away from the door. He barely seemed to feel it as I kicked out, landing a blow against his abdomen. Winding his fingers into my hair, he pulled my head back, and dragged me around until my back pressed against his chest. The white bottle dangled in his hand, next to my face.

“Drink,” he said harshly, his breath hot against my ear.

“Make me,” I spat. “Is this your idea of not doing anything to me?”

“Fine.” He let out a growl of frustration, then flipped our positions. With one hand on my throat, he held me against the wall. Unstoppering the bottle with his teeth, he spat the cork onto the floor and pressed the mouth of the bottle against my lips. “Don’t be so fucking stubborn. It won’t hurt you, just make it so you can’t burn the damn ship down.”

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