Drowned.
I squirmed, kicking and clawing, but the man held me against his chest. I knew those rough hands and their foul stench; they still visited me in my nightmares. Teachie and Rackham.
“Get your fucking hands off me!” I cried, my breath coming in sharp, ragged bursts as memories of Teachie’s hands on my legs as he pried them apart flooded my mind.
“Now, now.” He tsked into my neck, continuing to hold me tight against his chest. “As much as I would like to take what was denied me last time, we have a job to do.”
“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” I spat, my eyes narrowing on Rackham, as he moved before me, arms crossed over his tattered tunic.
My smile was feral as I reached for my power. I was going to enjoy turning these two assholes to dust.
“Delivering you to the Lord of the Drowned.” Teachie pulled something from his pocket and stabbed me in the neck—a syringe. I bit back a cry as pain lanced from the wound, radiating through my body.
“What did you inject me with?”
“Blue-ringed octopus venom.” Rackham’s lip curled as Teachie continued to hold me fast. “Acts as a neurotoxin, because we can’t have you using your seal bitch powers, now can we?”
“No,” I gasped as a tingling numbness consumed my body and the periphery of my mind.
“We may not be able to fuck you, but doing this will feel just as good,” Rackham grunted, and with that, his fist collided with my face.
The world went black.
58
Skye
Edward dashed after Morgana, his urgent footsteps echoing through the Okeanós halls. Finn made to follow, but I threw out an arm to block him. “Give her space.”
He retreated into Morgana’s chambers, clutching his stomach, blood still wept between his fingers, but a light radiated from his palm, which was quelling the flow. It looked like the same healing magic he’d used on the dolphin.
“What the hell was that?” I pounded my fist into his chest. His crimson-stained hands flew up, and I saw that the wound had almost knit itself back together. “Answer me.” I shoved him again.
Pain flickered in his eyes as the force of my push sent him drifting backward. He rubbed a hand down his face and began pacing to and fro in front of me. “It’s not what you think,” he finally said, shaking his head.
“Really? Because it sounds like you betrayed her when she’d just started trusting you again.”
“I was protecting her!” Finn’s voice cracked with fury, his black eyes blazing as he swung around to me. For a heartbeat, the shadow of a long-toothed beast flickered across his face, then vanished, replaced by a raw mix of pain and desperation.
“From what?” I crossed my arms as I glowered at him.
“It doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t believe me.” Finn resumed gliding back and forth, muscles taut beneath his inked skin, the torment in his mind visible in his features.
It was time for Morgana to get the answers she needed.
“Why don’t you show me?” I moved forward, reaching around Finn to draw the dagger from the sheath slung across his back.
He went still, his dark gaze narrowing with interest. “What?”
“Make a blood oath with me and give me a true dream that explains all of this.” I angled my chin in challenge. “If you were protecting her, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Finn said nothing, but he stopped moving, and every muscle in his body tensed. I eyed him expectantly, but he stayed silent. It was so awkward that I found myself hoping he would say something after a few seconds. Finally, he raked both hands through his hair, a line deepening between his brows.
I drew a sharp breath, taming my growing fury. “Well?”
He raised his eyes to mine, the shadows falling from his face, his expression becoming almost hopeful. “Yes, I’ll show you a dream of what happened after Morgana stunned my father and left our castle. Then you can know my intentions were true.”
“That depends on what I see. Give me your hand,” I ordered, holding the dagger ready. I was going to enjoy this.
