“Aidan,” she said, and he raised his eyes to hers. She removed her hand and fingered a thin chain around her neck. He furrowed his brow, not having noticed it before—it must have been tucked into her clothes the entire time. When she pulled it from underneath her sweater, his eyes widened.
It was the ring.
“I thought you got rid of it?” he asked, a smile breaking across his face.
“I could never get rid of this. I just wanted to see you sweat a little,” she said as she tugged on her reins and sped ahead of him.
Oh, how he loved that woman.
Chapter Fifteen
Kai
Theyhadfinallyreachedthe Strait of Pyr. The song of the sea hummed excitedly in Kai’s veins, rising and swirling as she gazed out over the deck railing of theHarbinger. The three of them had boarded the cargo ship only an hour ago, after employing someless-than-honorable tactics—Jade’s words, of course—to gain passage.
The sun continued to set on the bustling town of Harlow, and from her position on the deck, Kai could see the merchants packing up from their busy day of trading on the port. She spotted buckets still half-full of colorful fruits and vegetables bruised from being in the sun all day. The salty sea breeze mixed with the cloying scent of overripe fruit, and children ran between tables, throwing lumpy tomatoes at each other, releasing peals of laughter when one of them splattered on the ground. Kai’s eyes lingered on the sight of squealing children, proud fathers, exasperated but smiling mothers.
These moments were always bittersweet, for she knew the lives of these humans was something she could never have—no matter how desperately she wanted it.
Aidan whistled lowly behind her. “Attempting to cross the Strait in the middle of the night? This crew is bold.”
While it was the quickest way to Evonlea from Karstos, the Strait of Pyr was riddled with obstacles and shallow waters. Large rock formations jutting out of the ocean floor made it hard to navigate in a ship. Over the centuries, countless boats had sunk along the thirty-mile strip.
Kai turned to face him and scoffed. “Then it’s a good thing I’m here, isn’t it?”
“What confidence. You’ve been spending too much time with Aidan,” Jade said from the side. “And I still don’t approve of how you got us here.”
“You mean how I took away the captain’s free will with my irresistible feminine charm?” Kai winked at Aidan.
“I hate it when you joke about that,” Jade muttered.
Kai laughed. “Relax, Jade. I’ve told you this a thousand times. I’m not forcing them to do somethingterrible. I simply put a little thought into their mind and make them more…inclined to act on it.”
“That sounds like a nice way of saying ‘manipulation.’”
Aidan chuckled, as if he were thankful not to be on the receiving end of Jade’s scolding this time. Kai rolled her eyes at him, but her heart skipped a beat when a hint of dimples on his dark cheeks peeked out.
Thosedimples.
“It wasn’tallKai. Don’t forget, I stole those horses we traded away for extra coin,” Aidan added, pointing a finger at Jade.
Jade threw her hands into the air. “Do you hear yourself right now?”
“You can complain when you actually have something to contribute to this trip.” Aidan patted Jade on the shoulder, ignoring the daggers she glared at him.
Kai tried and failed to stifle her laugh. She had to admit that she’d enjoyed watching the two of them snipe at each other the past couple of days. It was entertaining, and it took Aidan’s attention off her long enough to let her think through the maelstrom of emotions that whirled inside her mind.
Like she’d told him on the road to Harlow, shehadmissed him. And not because of the hundreds of years they’d been asleep—technically, that had passed by in the blink of an eye for them. What she missed was this carefree, funny, assertive yet compassionate man before her now. It was as if the thousand-year slumber had wiped away the aggression and chaos that had consumed him during the war. He was once again the man she had fallen in love with so many millennia ago.
But Kai knew she shouldn’t get too comfortable; she’d seen firsthand how easily the fiery darkness that lurked within him could come to the surface. That side of him frightened her, and she didn’t know if she could trust him. It wasn’t that he’d ever been unfaithful or harmed her, but he’d kept things hidden and abandoned her during the war when it had all become too much for him to bear. Whenever she had tried to get close to him, she’d been forced to tiptoe around his volatile emotions, afraid he would detonate at any moment.
And yet, when he looked at her with his smoldering eyes and wrapped his warm hand around hers…she became a puddle.One could not separate the blazing will and wild spirit of their elements. She would always love him, flaws and all.
But she couldn’t show her hand that easily; they still had much to work through. Besides, what fun was love without a little challenge?
The ship rocked on the waves as they pushed off the port thirty minutes later. She walked to the nearest edge and leaned against the railing, basking in the last few moments of sunset. Golden hues bounced off the soft waves, the water itself shining with yellows, oranges, and pinks. The gentle swells created shadows as the light dimmed, and a cool breeze swept across her face, her long hair swaying behind her.
Her eyes snapped to the horizon as she smelled something in the air. A sweet scent like damp earth that had the hair on the back of her neck prickling and goosebumps trailing down her arm.
