Page 54 of A Storm in Every Heart
A shiver of discomfort creeps up my spine, though I can’t pinpoint why. I dismiss it as leftover anxiety from the last time I sat on this train.I’m fine.Everything is fine.
Until, that is, I hear the screaming.
The shrill sound of a woman’s shout rattles through the train, quickly followed by more voices. I jump to my feet, panic rising in my chest.
“Wait, Lady Odessa!” Elio exclaims, jumping up too. “Stay here.”
“Not a fucking chance,” I blurt out, forgetting to be polite. “I’ve heard that sound before. I’m not staying here another second.”
I throw the compartment door open and dart out into the long hallway.
The only saving grace is that we’re not yet moving, and all I need to do is reach an open door back onto the train platform. I look left and right, momentarily frozen with indecision about the best direction to run.
The pause costs me everything.
The emissary’s small hand closes around my wrist and yanks me back into the compartment, slamming the door behind me. He grits his sharp yellow teeth at me. “Sit down.”
“Don’t touch me!”
He drops me, but moves to stand in front of the door, blocking my exit.
New dread sinks into my stomach. This isn’t right. The emissary seems far too comfortable with whatever is going on—like he expected it. Like he’s a part of it.
My eyes narrow, and anger surges in my chest, overtaking the fear.
I size up Elio—he’s shorter than I am, but still Fae. I don’t think I can physically overpower him, so my only chance is to use my persuasion again. I take a deep breath trying to calm myself—I’ve never had to do this while under threat, and I’m not entirely sure it will work. Or perhaps it might work too well.
Before I can gather myself, however, the compartment door opens again.
I don’t recognize the man standing in the doorway. He’s tall, with short dark hair and a slight beard. His skin is white, but sun-tanned, and he’s wearing the sort of clothing that I associate with sailors…orpirates.He’s wearing a weathered black jacket, fabric faded from the sun and salt, tall boots, and patched trousers. Completing the picture, he has a pearl earring dangling from one rounded ear.
I wouldn’t have had to notice the ears to know he wasn’t Fae—one look at the man’s handsome face has my brain screaming “human!”
Humans tend to be afraid of me on first instinct because sirens look far more alien to them than the Fae do. This man must have been in Ellender for quite a while, because he doesn’t even flinch as he leans around Elio and grins at me. “Hello, darling.”
The pirate steps inside the train car, and Elio moves aside to let him enter, then puffs up his chest as if trying to make himself larger. “Mr. Connel, I presume?”
The pirate raises a brow at him, looking disgusted as if the emissary is no more than a bug creeping along the ground. “Who are you? I thought it was just the siren we were looking for.”
“I’m Lord Elio, emissary to?—”
The pirate cuts him off. “Yeah…sorry, mate, but I don’t care.”
“What—” Elio begins indignantly.
With a swift motion, the pirate draws a long, gleaming knife from his belt. In one brutal thrust, he plunges it into the emissary’s stomach.
I let out a loud gasp as Elio’s eyes widen in shock, his breath catching in a strangled cry. He clutches his abdomen, blood seeping through his fingers as he crumples forward, collapsing onto the hard bench seat.
My eyes widen with horror, and I scramble backwards along the bench seat until my back is firmly against the wall. I didn’tlike Elio—I found him pompous and untrustworthy—but I didn’t want him dead.
The pirate steps back from Elio’s limp body and wipes his bloody hands on his pants. He turns to me, and winks. “That’s bloody better, don’t you think?”
My ears are ringing.I’m going to die.
“Who—who are you?” I demand.
The pirate raises his eyebrows at me. “Sorry, darling. Can’t hear you, and I’m shit at reading lips.”
