I propped my elbows onto the edge of the boat and pointed my face toward the sunlight. “By the way, that was the first time you’ve called me by my name. I look forward to hearing it again and again, perhaps more breathless next time.”
Skadi’s toes struck the side of my shin. I jolted in a bit of stun, then laughed, rubbing a hand over the spot.
There was my fire.
Chapter 12
The Mist Thief
From the black helm,Celine’s nobleman brother shouted commands for his crew to aid the alver passengers on their land.
Sea fae could dive the ships through a watery barrier to earth fae realms. It was the reason Arion attacked the sea realms first, the hope being that by conquering the Ever Kingdom, it would open the way to the other fae and alver lands.
I looked back at the dark strip of a current that marked the barrier. Once it had been violent and crushing, filled with a spell to divide the fae folk. As a show of good faith, my affinity had stolen the maelstrom away, leaving gentle seas, smooth enough even mortals could journey between earth and sea fae realms.
Gentle as it was, it still felt as though worlds now stood between me and Natthaven.
Gavyn Seeker nodded a curt greeting my way once he returned his grip to the helm.
Tall, with rich brown skin, dark hair and eyes, the man was a lord over one of the noble houses in the Ever Kingdom and spent more time in his own territory. I did not know him as well as others.
Unfamiliar shores came into view through soupy mists. My insides fluttered against my heart. What would I find in my new lands? I nolonger knew what to anticipate. Already, these vows were not going according to plan. Where I imagined indifference, I could not stop thinking of the actions of my damn husband.
Even as drunken as Jonas was in the hall, there was a deliciously sincere threat in his voice when he asked for a name to slaughter.
Then with his sharp words toward Cian . . .
I curled my fingers back into fists. No one had stood for me in such a way.
Jonas, without a pause, pulled me behind him and showed his own darkness. Like mine was welcome, even . . . admired. My head was spinning in the oddities of the damn man. The only reason we were vowed was fear of my affinity.
Why would he defend it, encourage it, welcome it?
The ship shuddered when Gavyn dropped his anchor, knocking me against the rail.
“Gods, Gavyn. Were you trying to toss us overboard?” Jonas’s shout reached the upper deck, as though he knew his features consumed my thoughts.
“Take your complaints elsewhere, Prince,” the sea fae returned. “I am not a passenger ship. In fact, I am too noble blooded for this. It’s insulting.”
“You’re a snob.”
Gavyn laughed. “I am that too.”
Air was heavy and wet with a coming storm. Each breeze carried salt and smoke and damp wood from the dark edges of a shoreline.
The Eastern shores of the earth realms were not mountainous but for a few foggy peaks in the distance. In the haze of the sea spray, outlines of townships revealed most of the trade had to be placed directly on the sea front.
Alver lands were made of longhouses and tenements on the edges of narrow, serpentine roads that disappeared into the mists.
Stomach in knots, I made my way to the stairs leading to the main deck.
“Best of luck, Princess.” Gavyn leaned onto his forearms between the handles of his helm. “Don’t kill each other. We’re tired of fighting.”
Before I could respond, one of his crewmen lifted me onto the gangplank leading to a wide dock below.
Crooked shops with slanted rooftops were made of three to four levels. Tenements lined the roads with green and orange moss spotted laths. Some roads were cobbled, others were made of mud and clay, but even this early in the morning, all were stuffed with hawkers and traders.
“Rather different than Natthaven, Lady Skadinia.” Dorsan, one hand on the dark pommel of his elven sword, took in the port of the land with a wrinkle to his nose.
