He’d seen too much, in his years as Harper’s slave.
He moved through the ship, restless and half wishing one of the other guards would confront him. None of them gave him a second glance. Why would they? Anyone using shadow dragon magic on this ship must be part of the conspiracy.
And if not, they were trapped together on the open ocean. If they weren’t part of the conspiracy, they would easily become its victims. Nobody in their right mind would have boarded this ship knowing that.
He didn’t recognize any of the guards he passed, or the other staff working the rooms. Again, it made him feel uneasy, though it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. He’d been the only security Harper needed. And none of the non-security staff from the island would have signed up for another stint working for the man who’d imprisoned them.
*Julian Rouse?*
14
Francine
The dinner was a seamless production. Beautiful food in huge quantities. Alcohol flowed like water; if there was one thing you could guarantee, it was shifters taking advantage of their magical metabolisms to swill expensive liquor without appreciating it.
And Julian was gone. Thank god he’d listened. Eloise couldn’t have been clearer about wanting him out of the way—and as soon as he had left, she grinned at Francine and purred into her mind, *Just us now. Isn’t that so much better?*
‘Better’ wasn’t the word Francine would have used.
“Who’s your chef?” Guy Tourneur barked. “One of ours?”
Eloise narrowed her eyes teasingly. “One ofmine,” she purred.
“Not—oh, what is his name? The octopus shifter? He is from around here, no? He catered the Diaz wedding.”
Francine stilled. Not a flinch, but close. Eloise’s eyes flicked in her direction.
Shit. She’d noticed.
“Nothim, no. She is a shifter, though. So much better than relying on someone withhumansenses,” Eloise declared, as the man who’d shot the question at her scarfed down half a plate of steak without chewing.
“A pity,” he said, and swallowed. “But this is fine.”
Eloise glanced at Francine. This time, it was deliberate, as was her embarrassed wince. *Sorry!*she whispered, not clarifying whether she was apologizing for inviting someone with such bad table manners—or for letting the subject of the Diazes arise.
Francine’s mind whirred. Eloise knew that she and Grant Diaz had been in the same circles growing up, since Grant was Mathis’s friend. Maybe that was it?
If she knew the truth…
*Don’t worry about it.*Francine smiled. If Eloise wasn’t going to give anything away, neither would she.
Mrs. Smith cleared her throat. “Moss’s work isdivine,” she breathed. “It would be a pity if—Eloise, dear, is there any way we can—goodness, I don’t know—put him on a list, or something? To lose that sort of talent…”
What does she mean, lose it?Francine’s throat tightened. Before she could speculate what that meant, a young woman in muted clothing slipped to the table and murmured something to Eloise, showing her the screen of a tablet.
Delight burned in Eloise’s eyes, and Francine’s skin chilled.
Eloise’s chair scraped as she stood. Conversation around the table quieted, and all eyes were on her.
“As you all know, we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to ensure this cruise goesswimminglyfor everyone involved.” She gave a tinkle of laughter. “And I’m justso happyto announce another of the little loose ends we’ve been worried about has been snipped off.”
15
Julian
“Thandie?” Julian hissed in a breath.
Thandie Bell was slender and elegant, with light brown skin and eyes too big for her face. She’d worked in housekeeping on the island. She’d been a prisoner there, the same as everyone else.
