Page 12 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
A cockless—what?
Harligold. Where had I heard that name?
“Well, well. What is a sexy thing like you doing hiding over here?” I flinched at the sound of the blonde female’s voice above me, realizing I had allowed myself to be distracted. Pirates, I fucking hated them.
Wait.
Pirates. Harligold. The demons that attacked us last winter! Asher said they were practically pirates, looting and trading mortal lives. Was…was their captain related to this captain? How would us having killed him help?
The female whistled above me, reaching down a hand to push a loose strand of black hair out of my face. Her fingers grazed my temple, and it took everything in me not to break it. She smileddown at me, her teeth slightly crooked and her eyes as black as the darkness that lurked in the depths of the sea below.
Sighing, I stood, holding the magic and power within me at bay. That was when I realized that the knife that was Asher’s magic had stopped stabbing me in the brain. A part of me missed it, that small piece of her. Another part of me raged at the fact that she had stolen my choice from me. Shaking off that bitter thought, I pasted on my smirk, willing the once rakish prince to resurface.
“Hey now, beautiful. I was not hiding, I was waiting to be found. Two very different things.” She scoffed, but I saw the way she leaned closer to me, how she seemed to draw in a deeper breath. Just as she reached out her finger and dragged it down my chest, another sharp whistle rang from behind her. My eyes flicked to the source, watching as who I assumed was Captain Harligold approached. She looked less than amused, her lip lifted in a sneer and her glare flicking between the female and me.
Good, that meant two of us were really fucking mad.
Before she made it to us I lifted my hand, summoning my shadows and calling to the two bags of coin I had laced with my essence earlier. The sky-blue velvet sacks were heavy, weighing down my hand and making it bob. But my face remained cocky—unbothered.
“Hello, Captain Harligold. It is so very lovely to meet you,” I said, smirking at her narrowed gaze. The female before me lifted a brow and turned to her captain. Intrigue consumed me momentarily as I watched the blonde’s hands fly through signs, moving so quickly that I wondered how the Captain could possibly understand. But understand she did.
Her head whipped back my way, suspicion flooding her face and briefly washing away the animosity. I had forgotten how much I loved surprising people.
“I am here with a proposition for you,” I offered, my eyes flicking to the blonde as she once more translated for me. Captain Harligold watched as well, responding with even quicker movements.
“She says you look like an idiot and she does not particularly like what few things stupid people have to offer.” Harligold snapped at her crew member, signing something again before pointing at me. “She also says she likes cunt and that even a face as pretty as yours would not fool her into wanting to be within ten feet of the worm that hangs between your legs.”
A laugh escaped me, sending air up my nose and causing me to snort. Asher would like this female.
The conclusion came involuntarily, but it did what all thoughts of her did, burned me from the inside out. Of course, I did what I did best, I reveled in the pain.
“Well, seeing as my rather large cock is already spoken for, I think we will be fine. What I offer is gold.” I held up the two sacks, letting them both stare in bafflement before willing them to disappear in a puff of black.
The captain looked from my hand, to my face, and then honed in on my ears. Ah, this would be interesting. Her next few signs were a bit slower, almost smug in their execution. The blonde cackled loudly as her head flew back, gaining the attention of everyone aboard the ship. My Trusted remained calmly tied up, the six of them waiting for orders for once. Within my veins, foreign Moon magic thrummed to a war beat that did not exist, as if eager for blood to be shed.
“She wants to know what she can do for The Elemental.”
Chapter Seven
Asher
Day four.
Excruciating. That was the only word that could describe this pain. In truth, I did not realize Mia had such a talent for torture—or that she had the guts to inflict this level of damage with her own two hands. The whipping I understood. Perhaps I even expected it. But the first snapping of bone as she screamed at me to submit was the moment I finally understood the lengths she would go for power.
Not that the knowledge of such a thing did much for me as I leaned against the bars of my cell, my leg bent at an odd angle and my left hip bone peeking through my shredded leathers.
“I spy something black,” Sterling said passively. I took in a heaving breath, the rattling sound reminding both of us that my lungs were not healing as quickly as they should. The blocker and the poison they were likely feeding me were doing a fine job of keeping me weak.
“Is it…the…rock…two feet to the left of…the wall sconce?” I asked, staring at the expanse of dark rock that made up the dungeon walls.
“Nope.” Darn, I should have picked the one two and a half feet to the left. With a sigh, I curled in on myself slightly, silently begging for death to just fucking take me already. “Ash, we talked about this. You have to stay awake until Tish comes to heal you.”
A groan left my lips, the sound muffled by the sloshing of air hitting my flooded lungs. It burned, horribly so. But of course, I had to be strong. Just as I always had to be. My entire life I was told to be more than I was. Many thought that my magic made me special, but my body knew better—I was just the same as everyone else. The blood that leaked dutifully from my leg was a scarlet reminder that I was nothing more than an average fae.
I was no god.
That thought brought me back to the memory of Padon laughing after I stabbed him in the heart. “Do you…know anything of…the gods?”
