Page 76 of Silver Tongue Devil

“You think I haven’t already broken everything in our house? Been so fucking angry at the world I had to be locked up for a bit so I didn’t kill everyone?” He shook his head, his light-brown eyes flashing with red, a sign the Dweller wasn’t far underneath. “I’ve cursed the world and tried to fight everyone I encountered. But it didn’t make her better.” He rolled his head back, blinking at the ceiling for a few beats. “She needs me strong, at her side, not throwing a tantrum.” He curved his head toward me. “She needs you too.”

Grief balled up in my throat, the reality of it hitting home.

“It’s why, even more, we have to find this nectar. It was easy to convince Lars to send me; he understands, out of all people, if it exists, Iwillfind it.” His jaw set with determination, hiding the fear and pain flicking in his eyes. “Because if it’s not… if there is nothing we can do…” His hands rolled up into fists. “That’s not even something I can contemplate.” He stood up, his shoulders tight. “I wanted to tell you since I thought you deserved to know. I knew, like me, you would do anything for her.”

Not even a question.

“Please act like you don’t know. Let her tell you in her own time, okay?”

I tried to nod.

“I think she’s hoping that if this nectar is real and cures her, no one will even have to know. She doesn’t want people upset for no reason.”

“Typical AB.” I could barely talk, struggling to get sounds out of my throat. “Always thinking of others and never about herself.”

Cooper dipped his chin in agreement, strolling closer to where I was.

“Just know, I love her more than life. More thananythingelse. I will doeverythingto save her. Either you have me as your best ally and fighter.” He looked me dead in the eyes. “Or you have your greatest enemy if you get in my way.”

“For her.” I stared back. “There is nothing I won’t do.”

Cooper took me in one more moment, then nodded his head at the truth in my expression. “Good.”

I had already lost Lexie, failed to save her.

I wouldnotlose Annabeth too.

Chapter 18

Katrina

Lights from the city glowed on the horizon, wispy clouds slithering over the stars, the smell of rain in the air again. The breeze flapped the flags high on the masts, the wind gliding over my skin, ebbing the humidity in the air. The taste of salt and brine layered on my tongue, making me exhale with the peace the water always gave me.

Most thought it was strange for a cat to love the water so much, but anything could be normal if you grew up around it. And since I was a toddler, I lived and breathed the pirate life.

I left the galley, most everyone else in bed at this late hour. I had spent a while talking to Annabeth and already adored her. She was taller than me by a few inches, yet her delicate frame made her feel small and younger than her twenty-five years. I might look the same age, but I was many centuries older than her human age.

She could easily be mistaken for fae, having an almost ethereal quality. The girl was the nicest and gentlest person I’d ever met. That had to be why she had nothing but good things to say about Croygen.

“We’re talking about the same guy, right?” I had tipped my head at her, my nose twitching at an odd, sour smell I couldn’t place. “Croygen? The pain in the ass pirate who probably seduces himself in the mirror?”

“All a front.” She batted her hand in the air, sipping her tea. The monkey, Sprig, was passed out on the table next to her, spooning what looked like a stuffed goat, with a honey packet in his other arm. “Croygen is one of the most faithful, good-hearted people I know.”

“Seriously, we can’t be talking about the same man.”

“For those he loves, he will do anything. He purposely put himself in hell, going down into Dr. Rapava’s labstwice. If you had any idea what hell, what depravity, went on down there, you would understand his love and dedication.”

Envy flinched through me because he would never do the same for me.

“He let himself be experimented on and tortured for both Zoey and Lexie so they wouldn’t be alone down there.” Her expression darkened as if she was experiencing a memory. “He purposely put himself there. Believe me, I know what kind of sacrifice it must have been.”

“Lexie?” I stilled at the name, having heard about her the night before. “You knew her well?”

“She was my sister. I mean, not by blood, but that wasn’t important” Sadness flooded her eyes. “I lost my biological family in the devastating electrical storm that hit Seattle years ago. Zoey found me in a bad situation, took me in, and raised Lexie and me when she didn’t have to. But she made us all family. And Croygen was part of that…” She stared down at her tea. “That was, until Lexie was killed. He didn’t handle it well. None of us did…he left right after.”

Was it sick to be slightly jealous of this Lexie? He’d so easily sent me off, never looking back, and never having any remorse for what he did, while this girl still tortured him. So much he had yet to return to his family after many years.

“He really loved her?” Was I fishing? No. Certainly not. I was just curious.

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