Page 33 of Trapped By Vengeance

Valda is sitting inside the cave already, next to the pile of firewood and kindling I gathered earlier today. She’s wearing only her torn chemise, with her coral gown folded neatly by our blanket. In Valda’s still gloved hands is a pitcher of water and a few dishes we most certainly didn’t possess this morning.

I narrow my eyes. “How did you come by those?”

“This?” Valda gestures to the pitcher, her expression’s serene innocence I trust as much as I do the pirates. “Oh, I filled it fromthe waterfall. Not to worry, I did not bathe in yet— you still have that to look forward to.”

Doing my very best not to imagine Valda bathing in a waterfall, I set the bird down and cross my arms. “You didn’t contact the pirates, did you? Because their fear of me might be overcome by their desire for your ransom—”

“Yes, yes, I know. Money is all I’m worth to you lot.” Valda rolls her eyes. “Not to worry— I only let handsome criminals abduct me.”

Eloise looks up from carefully arranging the reclaimed plates she’s piled with different types of plant life— at least we’ve moved on from the bark. “Then why did you letAbiabduct you?”

“Probably the same reason she kisses me,” I mutter darkly as I arrange what firewood I collected— leftovers from the storm— at the mouth of the cave. I don’t like the thought of alerting the pirates to our position, but we can’t eat raw meat, and Ineedto eat. Eloise and Valda, too.

Still, I almost regret not slaughtering them all already and getting it over with. It seems inevitable now, and we are all living tensely until all comes to pass as destiny decrees. Especially since I cannot afford to check out of existence like I did last time I took a life—lives. Eloise needs me now more than ever— and Valda does too, unfortunately.

“You two enjoy your meal,” Valda says, settling ontomyblanket. “I already ate, so I think I’m going to retire.”

Eloise turns to her in confusion just as the sun abandons us to darkness. “So soon?”

“Don’t want to force your father totolerateme for too long.”

I frown. “I think you’re taking my words out of context—”

But Valda is already gone, her eyes closed and her chest rising in the same small breaths of sleep from last night.

I light the firewood, giving us both warmth and light. “That stubborn woman better not be lying about eating.”

Eloise shrugs. “More for us.”

Shaking my head, I hold my saber in the flames to burn away the filth it’s collected. Without a knife, skinning this bird is going to be a bit . . . risky.

Still, I get it properly plucked and roasted.Sir Pigeon watches me with judgement in his beady little eyes the whole time.

Despite how difficult she made it to hunt, Eloise seems quite content eating the gull leg, sitting against the cave wall across from me. “So, are you going to sleep with her again?”

I sigh and close my eyes to keep from glancing in Valda’s direction. “I did notsleepwith her—”

“You laid beside her at night while you both slumbered. Isn’t that what sleeping with someone means?”

Deciding not to elaborate, I take a large bite of roasted flesh. I know it’s not the finest of fares, but just now, it seems like a delicacy.

“Are you going to share your blanket, Eloise?”

She’s already wrapping it around her. “Nope.”

It would seem getting to unbraid her hair, flaunt her ears, and run about the island like the uncivilized elves of old have gone straight to Eloise’s head. We have to get off this island before she drives me to madness.

I narrow my eyes, but I’m not sure what to say. I never paid attention to how Matthias and Martha disciplined her, so I have no idea what to do.

So, I just finish my share of the seagull, feeling almost full again. Then I curl up on the edge of the blanket Valda is partially wrapped up in— just enough to not be lying directly on the cold stone, but also far enough to not risk touching Valda. It is also just right to be quite uncomfortable, but that is neither here nor there and quite inevitable.

Except, when I think of last night, I don’t remember feeling all that uncomfortable. There were a lot ofothersensations filling my mind instead that I had better not linger upon. Like how soft she was pressed against me and how sweet her scent was . . .

Shaking those thoughts out of my head, I focus instead on what I can hear. Even in mortal form, my sense of hearing is far more powerful than my vision and allows me to sense beyond our camp. If the pirates decide to attack us tonight, I’ll hear them before they reach the mouth of the cave. I will sleep with one ear alert tonight.

“Ma!” I called as I approached the homestead. “Pa?”

It was against Guild policy to leave a job before it was finished. But the moment I heard of the Night of Broken Walls, I knew nothing else mattered except returning home.

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