Selene had just stood there, chin raised, coldly delivering the end of his vision of their future.“I’m staying in Perean. I need to help Dimitrios.”
With or without him.
Augustus gritted back a yell and hurled the crate against the main mast. Tools spilled out and hit the deck with a variety ofclunks andticks as the hammers, saws, and nails went everywhere. The crate itself was in splinters.
Pavle froze mid-step with a crate of his own in hand, eyes wide. Likely wondering if, as the ship’s carpenter, he should take responsibility for the “spill.”
That guilt Augustus bragged about never feeling? It punched him square in the fucking chest.
He dragged a hand into his wind-knotted hair. “Fuck.”
Lili jogged over with an empty crate and a wobbly smile. “We’ve got it, Pav,” she said. “We’re all good here.” She then glared at the dozen or so members of Omar’s family who stared at the scene. “Nothing to see here. Back to work.”
Augustus took the empty crate from her and knelt over his mess. “Thanks.”
She bent with him, eyes narrowed, voice dropped. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you trying to scare the new guys away? Your reputation isn’t already doing the heavy lifting for you?” At his questioning look, she said, “Apparently, a handful of them owe Omar a life debt or they wouldn’t be here.”
He still didn’t follow.
Lili rolled her eyes. “You’ve got a light knife hand, remember? At least you did before?—”
She stopped cold.
“Before Selene,” he finished, tossing a handful of nails into the crate. “I’ve gone soft, is that it?”
She sat back on her heel and shrugged.
“Great,” he muttered.
She was right, though. He hadn’t drawn blood since they killed the last king. Acting the perfect little citizen these last few months…well, it wasn’t him.
Lili snatched the crate from his hand. “Do you want to tell me what’s crawled up your ass, or will I have to guess?”
Fucking Dimitrios. Lazaros. The whole godsdamned country of Perean, that was what.
Augustus fisted a hammer until his knuckles turned white.
Lili snatched that too and threw it into the crate. “Talk.”
He stared down at the mess. “Selene isn’t coming.”
The act of saying the words cracked him wide open, and it all spilled out. The fight. Her resolve. His threats.
And that wasn’t pity on Lili’s face. It was fury. Disbelief. “Let me get this straight,” she began, her tone cool and sharp. “Selene was unraveling, and you set the whole godsdamned tapestry on fire.”
Wasn’t that his way? Years of battling Cassia had made him a fucking expert.
Selene wasn’t Cassia, however, and she hadn’t deserved that. She wasgood. And she was still without all the facts.
Fuck. He should have just told her. Why didn’t he tell her?
Lili tossed the last of the scattered tools into the crate. “You still want to be with her?”
“Yes.” He rose and thrust all ten fingers through his hair. “There’s not a single doubt in my mind.”
“Then stay here. Who cares? Stay and get a little blood on your hands—we both know you feel most at home in a fight. The ship will still be here when you’re ready.”
A bitter laugh climbed his throat. “And the ship? The crew?”
