Page 6 of Blood on the Tide
A quick shower does wonders for my morose mood. I dress in dry clothes and pull my hair back into my preferred high ponytail. I’m in the process of debating if I’m up to dealing with people when the door opens and the selkie steps inside. She stops short. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t realize someone was already in here. This is the cabin that Nox sent me to.”
I’m going to rip out the captain’s spine and feed it to them. There are other cabins. When Evelyn, Bowen, and I helped Nox to stage a mutiny and dispatch the last captain of the Audacity, half of the crew went with him to the watery depths. We’ve been refilling those ranks slowly since, allowing other sailors to join up, but we’re nowhere near fully crewed. Nox could’ve sent this woman to one of those empty cabins. Instead, they sent her to me. Since they do nothing without purpose, it’s enough to make me wonder...
“Nox won’t help you with the pelt problem?”
The selkie blinks those big dark eyes at me. “With all due respect, I don’t know you. You’re obviously a conscript, which means I can’t trust you. I don’t know why you’re asking something you already know the answer to, but I’m not interested in playing whatever game this is.”
I step aside as she darts past me into the bathroom. It was the tiniest show of backbone, but I can’t help the reluctant approval that flares inside me in response. Weakness is for prey, and I would have categorized this woman as such, but maybe there’s more to her than a damsel in distress.
Or perhaps I’m looking for an excuse to explain away my attraction to her. I like pretty things, but I learned a long time ago that I tend to break them. While some of those pretty things were meant to be broken, there are those that leave me with the taste of regret on my tongue. Over my long life, I learned to indulge only with partners who have their own claws and teeth and thorns.
They tend to survive longer.
Evelyn must have fucked up my head more than I realized if I’m considering taking someone to bed who looks like they’ll fold if I speak a harsh word. I shake my head and leave the cabin, once again searching out our wayward captain. Nox might play the frivolous fool, but there’s a canny mind behind those pretty eyes. I suspect they have a secondary reason for assigning Maeve to my room.
I walk through the door of Nox’s cabin without knocking, only to stop short at the sight of a naked Nox. They truly are well formed. I’ve never found tan lines intriguing before, but I can’t deny that it only adds to the allure of them. They raise their blond brows. “Unless you’ve decided to take me up on more than flirting, normally people knock when they come through my door.”
I kick the door shut behind me and cross my arms over my chest. “If I wanted to take you to bed, you’d know it.”
They laugh, completely unfazed. “The fact that you haven’t tried to rip out my throat means you aren’t totally opposed to it. But since you’re clearly determined to keep breaking my heart... What do you really want?” They grab a shirt from their bed and drag it over their head.
“You’re really not going to help the selkie retrieve her pelt? After you went through so much to save her?”
“The selkie has a name.” Nox pulls on their pants, somehow making it smooth instead of awkward. “But, no, as much as I would like to, I can’t chase down the pirate who stole Maeve’s pelt. It was risky enough saving her, and I can’t afford for the Cwn Annwn to look too closely at our actions. If we keep diverting from our normal sailing routes, someone on the Council is going to start asking questions.” Nox hesitates and there’s something almost like guilt on their face. “And I meant what I said earlier. I’m sorry for Maeve’s loss, but her ability to shift into a seal is the least of her value to the rebellion. The needs of many outweigh the needs of a single person.”
It’s just as I suspected. The same reason that Nox won’t actively help me. For the first time since coming to this godsforsaken realm, I feel something aside from pure frustration. “This selkie. She’s a local? Not someone who wandered through the wrong portal like the rest of us?”
Nox sits on the edge of the bed to pull on their boots. “Again, she has a name.”
I’m aware of that. I’m not entirely certain why I’m so resistant to saying that name, but it’s clear that Nox won’t continue this conversation unless I indulge them. I roll my eyes. “Fine, is Maeve a local?”
“You already know she is. Where are you going with this?”
I give them the look that the question deserves. “Exactly where you led me when you assigned her to my room. I don’t know why you’re bothering to act so surprised.”
They burst out laughing. “I’m beginning to think you don’t trust me.” It’s slightly startling to watch them transition from the defensive, protective captain to the flirty rake. Obviously I knew it was a mask all along, but witnessing them put it on real time feels like watching someone strip out of their lingerie.
“It’s a wonder how you find the time and energy to play games when you’re so concerned about this adorable little rebellion,” I finally say. “When are you actually going to get around to rebelling instead of playing the obedient hunter?”
The flinty look appears back in their gray eyes. “Watch yourself, Lizzie. I like you, so I let you get away with the disrespect, but there are limits.”
I merely raise my brow and allow the question to stand.
Nox pushes to their feet and rolls their shoulders. “You already know that I can’t help you. At least not in a timely manner. Maeve can. If you help her first. But do it quickly. I meant what I said about her value to the rebellion. She’s the only asset we have in Viedna, and we need her back home and doing her work.”
I stare. “You don’t give a shit about helping me. But your heart is practically bleeding for the poor selkie without her skin. What a cliché.”
“You’re a vampire with mommy issues. One could say the same thing about you.”
I almost strike them down right there. Only years of control keep my rage under wraps. Nox really does see too much. It’s inconvenient in the extreme. “If she’s such an asset in Viedna, that means she’s hardly well traveled. I don’t see how that serves me in the least. I might as well steal a map and go it alone. A suspicious woman would accuse you of trying to pass off two responsibilities instead of dealing with it yourself.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re convenient to have on this crew, even if your attitude is sour enough to curdle milk. If I thought for a second that you’d stay, I’d try to convert you to the cause.” They stride to me, and I’m startled into taking a step back, allowing them past me to the door. Nox grins. “Though I’ll admit, even I get tired of watching you glare at Evelyn and Bowen. New lovers make everyone a little sick to their stomach, but it’s not as simple as that for you, is it?”
I narrow my eyes. “Be very careful what you say next.”
“Do you think you can rip all the blood from my body before I have a chance to burn you to ash?” There’s a feral look in Nox’s gray eyes. As if they’re not quite sure they’re bluffing, either.
There’s a significant part of me that wants to pick up the gauntlet they just threw at my feet and beat them to death with it. But even though they’re irritating in the same way that my little brother is, Nox shows every evidence of being a good captain. No doubt whoever took their place would be less effective at their job—and more annoying to deal with.