Page 100 of Kept to Kill
He watched her face to see if she would give anything away about what had happened, but she had learned much since she’d left that tower. She was a closed book now when she wanted to be.
‘Please give me until we reach the Westport. I give you my word that I’ll tell you what you want to know by then.’
* * *
They’d beenon the ship for only three days when they passed Kitore and sailed around the rocky cliffs. After that, the sea had turned rough and Lily had not enjoyed the journey, her belly rolling with every pitch of the boat. She’d found the book in her pack that Drake had given her. Quin had told her to read it first to keep her mind occupied during the voyage, for which she was thankful.
The Brothers were standoffish and she knew it was because they wanted to know what had happened in the Library. She would need to tell them, but every time she thought on it, she felt so ill, she was afraid she would retch.
Quin had also told her that, if she wished it, he would unbind her from the unit and give her the means to be free from them regardless of the deal they’d made in Kitore. They wanted to know if she’d yet made a decision, if she would stay with the unit or if she would make Quin unbind her. In truth, she still didn’t have an answer. She fingered the collar around her neck. She could go anywhere she wanted. She could do anything. As long as she kept this on her, she could live a normal life without towers and closed doors. Without being alone.
She thought back to the book, which had turned out to be an account of some long-dead Commander of the Army. She found it very interesting, though the Brother who’d written it had clearly been a madman. It had started out normal enough, with descriptions and thoughts of days’ events, but gradually, the pen’s scratchings seemed to get more scrawling. There were sketches of Dark Realm creatures that plagued him in his dreams, pages and pages about nightmares and rantings about portals that made no sense. She had no idea why Drake had wanted Quin to have it.
She approached said Brother on the deck and stood next to him. He looked down at her with an almost fond expression.
‘What is it?’ he asked.
‘It’s the book. I’ve read it from cover to cover and I don’t understand why it’s important.’
Quin looked out towards the horizon. ‘If Drake wanted me to have it, he had a motive even if it’s not readily apparent. That man’s no fool. He knows more than he let on, and he’s trying to tell me something without saying the words. Is that all you came to say?’
‘I’m bored,’ she blurted. That wasn’t what she’d meant to say to him, but she didn’t know what to say, in truth.
‘Come,’ he said, not looking at her. He took her hand and led her below decks.
Lily followed him back down to their small room, finding Bastian and Mal already there, both just in their breeches. They’d been waiting for her, she realized, looking back at Quin, who was regarding her strangely. He seemed to know what she wanted, but he was going to make her say it aloud, she realized.
She stared at them, feeling shy and wondering how best to approach them. Besides cuddles from Bastian, none of them had touched her since Mal had in the forest, and she wasn’t sure why, but it was making her feel tense and anxious.
She removed her tunic and her boots and found when she looked up that they were watching her with curious interest.
‘I—’ she began. ‘I want—’ She looked away, her cheeks heating, and Bastian gave her a slow smile.
‘Come,’ he commanded, and she walked to him. ‘I know what you want, and I would give it to you, but it comes at a price.’
Lily bit her lip and nodded, at this moment feeling as if she’d do anything to feel his hands on her.
‘What is the price?’ she breathed.
‘You tell us what happened in the Library.’
Lily grimaced and turned away.
‘That’s the price,’ he said. ‘If you don’t want to pay it, it’s up to you.’
She rolled her eyes and gave a small growl. ‘You told me I could have until the Westport.’
‘Changed our minds,’ Mal said.
‘No,’ she said, feeling angry and annoyed. She turned to leave the room, but Quin blocked her way. She watched him turn the key in the lock and take it out, stowing it at his belt.
‘You cannot keep me here,’ she said, but his expression told her that they could and would.
She sat petulantly in the chair, her eyes widening as she noticed Bastian approach Mal, his gaze not straying from her.
Mal grinned, quirking a brow as Bastian took his hand and pressed it to the bulge in his breeches.
‘Certain you don’t want to be here?’ Mal asked her, his gaze rolling over her as he palmed Bastian through his clothes.
