Page 25 of Dragons' Bride
“Did you make it hurt so much on purpose?” Kit demanded.
“I did.”
Her upper lip twitched in anger. “And why did you do that?”
“Because I wanted to.”
“Coward.”
Oh, this was going well.
“Enough,” said Cyril and pointed toward the back wall of the cabin. Quinton stalked over there and settled in with his usual pose of crossed arms and hard eyes. Cyril glanced over at Tavias, who was still rubbing his knuckles and looking disgruntled over having his brawl cut short. Temper was never Tavias’s strong suit. Tavias’s nostril flared. Cyril swung his attention back to Quinton. “You and Kitterny are done training together as of now,” he said with a cold finality not even Tavias questioned.
Quinton said nothing, but everyone in the cabin knew the order was heard and would be heeded.
Returning his attention to Kit, Cyril ran his thumbs over her healed palms. “Alright?” he asked a great deal more gently than he’d addressed Quinton.
She nodded.
Hauck kissed the top of her head. Then, unable to help himself, he leaned down to her mouth and took a careful kiss. The softness of her lips, the willingness with which she parted them for him, sent tendrils of heat through his core. His cock twitched. Closing his eyes, Hauck scraped his teeth along Kit’s bottom lip eliciting a moan that was altogether indecent. He –
A knock sounded at the door.
“Go away,” Hauck growled, not lifting his head from Kit’s lips.
“What is it?” Cyril called.
“It’s Nora, my princes,” Kit’s maid sounded apologetic, but insistent. “Captain Dane would appreciate it if you could join him on deck. We are about to enter the Faewave Rift and the ship will beat to quarters momentarily.”
14. KIT
Nora gets me dressed and ushers me into a small cabin on a lower deck where she and I are supposed to stay if the ship is in danger. It’s halfway below the waterline and, thanks to a pair of different height viewports, we can see what's happening both on the water surface and beneath. Just as Nora shuts the door behind us, the ship explodes with sounds of beating drums and running feet. The Phoenix is indeed beating to quarters. Thanks to the daily drills Captain Dane runs, I'm used to the deafening noise and commotion, but knowing that this time the preparations are for real makes me forget both my exhaustion and the two thousand sensations that had rushed through me in the past hour.
Since the Phoenix is used to carrying dignitaries, care has been taken to make this small cabin comfortable. In addition to the pair of viewports, there are a pair of lanterns and a bench to sit on. There is even a small tin with hard ship’s biscuits. None of which is making me feel any better at the moment. I know little about the Faewave Rift, except that it marks a border between Lunos and the mortal realm and does not like anyone crossing it. I don’t know of any human ships that have ever made it through and returned.
“It will be alright,” Nora assures me, though I can hear the tension behind her voice. She sits beside me on the bench, which is swaying in rhythm to the ship's motions. I've been fortunate thus far with not getting sick, but I have a feeling that might change in the coming hours. Nora squeezes my knee. “Captain Dane has crossed the rift dozens of times. There is no safer ship to be on.”
“What was it like on the way here?” I ask.
"Mostly like sailing through a really bad storm. The seas and the winds got violent, and I saw a few nightmares through the port window there, but none of the creatures came close. The Phoenix has all sorts of runes in her hull to protect her from the Mors creatures who live in the rift. And if something was to come after us, the Phoenix has guns to shoot it down before it can hurt the ship." She winks at me. "Plus, this time we have dragon princes aboard to help, too.”
"They didn't come with you on the journey outward?"
"No,” Nora shakes her head. “They flew most of the way actually, and crossed the rift in the skies. I think they wanted to wear out their dragons as much as possible before entering the mortal realm to... umm…"
"To keep from snacking on the mortals?" I suggest.
She shrugs apologetically. "Dragons are predators and that's a long time to go without hunting. And with all the smells and fear spicing the air, controlling their primal instincts would be hard. But it looks like those instincts are well controlled now or, at least, tuned toward eating you in other ways.”
“That is so inappropriate.” My cheeks flame despite the truth of Nora’s words.
She laughs. “Oh, very much so.”
“I wonder what the skies were like when they crossed there.”
"Well, the princes didn't exactly give me a debrief, but when we picked them up on one of the smaller islands they looked like they’d been in battle. But it was fine. Fae heal a great deal faster than mortals do though, and the blight is nothing new to the princes.”
She cuts off as the Phoenix rolls violently, sending the tin of biscuits to the floor. I pick it up and secure it with a bit of rope, like Cyril had taught me.
