Page 78 of Ruthless Scoundrel
“Thank you, miss…”
She waves away my unspoken question. “Just call me Meianha.”
Jasper beams and I can’t help but feel like her approval of me matters to him. The thought sends a queasy feeling through my chest.
“Now, you’ll need travel packs,” Meianha says, moving to her counter. “Elvandro down Sweet Tree Road owes me. Just take this note.”
She scribbles something down on a ripped bit of parchment and hands it to Jasper.
“Your clothes stink. Go change, young man,” she scolds him.
“Yes, Meianha.” He says the word with a hum in his chest, and I sense the selkieness of it. In the water, sounds like f’s and p’s and the other breathy noises we make on land wouldn’t exist. Couldn’t exist. But the way he draws out the “n,” and the strength of the starting “m”…
Why am I thinking about this?
Jasper disappears upstairs and I stand awkwardly, clutching my hands together in front of me.
“Don’t hurt him,” Meianha says.
I stare at her in slack-mouthed shock. “What?”
“You heard me,” she says. “He’s got eyes bigger than coconuts for you.”
The phrase is strange, and I wonder if it makes more sense in Illyan. “I don’t want to hurt him.”
That queasy feeling tightens around my stomach again and we fall quiet once more. There’s a heavythumpand an “ouch!” from above and I snicker to myself as I imagine Jasper falling over while putting on his new trousers.
“He’s a good boy,” Meianha says.
Boyis not what I’d call him, but…“Yes. I know he is.”
Chapter twenty-three
Jasper
Elvandro’s was empty when we arrived, and it was obvious he appreciated the business, even if it was just a debt repaid. Meianha is a good woman.
He put together two packs for us, one loaded with the heavier essentials and the other with some of the lighter, bulky things like blankets and smaller tools. Both came with a skein of water and a knife. Reina’s eyes glinted with malevolent fire as she slid her finger along her blade. She’s definitely not getting too close to my genitals tonight.
The road out of town is bustling with summer merchants exporting spices from southern Illya and importing ores, magic items, and more from the other countries. The guarded caravans make it easy to travel without worry of being robbed, or abducted, so Reina and I slip into the procession of merchant travelers.
“When?” Reina says after a few minutes on the road.
“Oh, we’ll be to the next town in a few days and then—”
“No,” she grumbles as she adjusts her pack. “When are you going to tell me?”
A band tightens around my gut at the thought of telling her the whole truth. I’ve never told anyone, and I would especially not tell a Man about selkies being held captive by a small king on a small island. I would lose them forever if someone else managed to steal them from him.
“We’re not alone, as you see,” I say, gesturing to the many people ahead and behind us.
She shakes her head with a deep sigh. “Liar.”
“Tonight, when we’re all bedded down,” I say, and nerves flitter through my stomach.
“Swear to me,” she says, her gaze burning with magic.
I swallow hard. “I swear, Ohksana’amai.”
