Page 3 of Rebel in the Deep

I narrow my eyes. “What are you on about?”

“We have company.” He points, and I follow the motion to the horizon. I don’t see anything, but that doesn’t mean much. Eyal’s got better eyes than most.

This day just got exponentially longer. “Trouble?”

“Hard to say.” He squints. “Smaller vessel. White sails.”

White sails don’t mean much—the only ships that fly crimson sails are Cwn Annwn warships. We’re on the trading route between Drash and Three Sisters, so it might be a trader. Or smugglers. Neither fall within our purview.

Still, there’s no reason to be foolish. I raise my voice. “Everyone, on alert. It’s time to meet some new friends.”

Chapter2

Nox

A thread of unease goes throughme as we get close enough to pick out the details of the ship. It’s easy enough because they’re heading directly for theAudacity. They aren’t attempting to pretend to do anything else.

“Orders?” Poet murmurs. She stands at my right shoulder.

I’m tired and itchy from the salt water drying on my skin, and I want nothing more than to get this over with, but that’s just my impulsiveness talking. I know better than to listen tothatvoice. “Let’s give them a nice warm welcome…at least until we know what they want.”

Almost as soon as the words leave my lips, Gable yells from the bow. “It’s Lizzie!”

“Lizzie?”I can’t stop my shock. I thought for certain we’d seen the last of that murderous vampire. She ran off with Maeve ages ago. I fully expected her to find Maeve’s stolen skin, retrieve her stolen family heirlooms, and then take a portal back to her world, never to return. She shouldn’t behere.

Except she is. She stands at the bow of the small ship, her long dark hair trailing behind her in the wind of their passing. She’s just as beautiful as the last time I saw her, but there’s something looser in her body language. Interesting.

A second person joins her, and I stop thinking about the vampire altogether. Because I know this person, this woman. I know that tall frame and those broad shoulders, that tanned skin and handsome face.

Siobhan.

“Fuck,” I breathe.

I haven’t seen Siobhan in years. There was a time when she sailed more freely about, using her charm and smarts to convince more people to join the rebellion. But as our numbers increased, it became necessary to remove herself a bit, toprotectherself. So she essentially went into hiding.

She shouldstillbe in hiding.

The fact that she’s not is more than a little worrisome. I glance at Eyal. “Bring us close.”

“Yes, Captain.” He must sense my tension because normally he has a quip for every command.

None of the rest of the crew know how important Siobhan is to the movement to undermine the Cwn Annwn’s hold on Threshold—namely that she’s the mastermind behind it. The fewer people aware of that fact, the safer she is. So why is shehere?

Eyal brings theAudacityup next to the smaller ship, and the crew tosses a line over. Within a few moments, Siobhan is pulling herself over the railing and onto the deck. I expect Lizzie to follow her, but it’s Maeve who joins us next, her red hair bright against her pale skin. She’s paler than normal, appearing a littleshaky on her feet. Andthereis the vampire, landing lightly next to her and wrapping an arm around her curvy waist, looking like a shark protecting a minnow.

I would enjoy that development a lot more if not for the way Siobhan stalks toward me, her long legs eating up the distance between us. She looks good, really good. She wears the years since I’ve seen her well, there in the laugh lines on either side of her wide mouth and the crinkles in the corners of her eyes that seem to suggest she’s spent a lot of time laughing. And then she’s before me, easily six inches taller than I am and widely muscled.

I would have preferred to conduct this reunion while not soaked and missing my favorite coat, but life rarely cooperates with my preferences.

Still, no reason not to make the best of it. I spread my arms wide, a monarch greeting someone who might be a rival and might be an ally. “Welcome to theAudacity.” I cut a look over to where Lizzie glowers and Maeve smiles sweetly. “Welcome back, in your case. It looks like there’s a story here, but there’s one important question to be answered first. Your ship?”

“Leave it.” Siobhan brushes that away. “It’s got a beacon. One of my teams will pick it up.”

Which means they came here forus.

I knew that, of course, yet hearing it all but confirmed makes me twitch. “In that case, allow me to offer you the hospitality of my cabin.”

Lizzie snorts. “Pass. Is our old room still open?”

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