One of the men behind Reid mutters something I don’t catch before he spits onto the deck, twisting on his heel as leads the trio away.
The moment they’re out of sight, I let my guard down and slowly let go of Odi’s hand. Her breathing is quick beside me, the tension still evident in her frame by the way her shoulders are squared and her head held high.
She flicks her gaze to me, a silent question on her lips.
“I can’t punish him for it,” I tell her quietly. “He’s allowed his own thoughts.”
Even if they cut deeper than he knows.
Odi’s gaze drifts out to sea. “Talk like that to the captain of theSea Baneand you’ll get your throat slit.”
Her eyes glaze over, like she’s reliving the truth of that in her mind. My chest constricts to think about what she might have been through that I clearly don’t know about. I want to reach for her, to tuck her wild curls behind her ear, and whisper that aboard my ship, she’s safe.
Clamorous laughter shatters my thoughts. The crew that stayed aboard the ship help to empty the row boats, organizing all the supplies and leaving the monster loot in a separate pile. Some of them look at the components with disgust, while others grab handfuls of flesh ribbons or amphibious tongues to brandish against the others. Maurice, a golden-skinned human man who’s been with me through so many fights I’ve lost count,squealsas the man next to him jabs the green-grey skin in his direction, causing another wave of laughs. I grin,my eyes finding Odi. The withdrawn look on her face is gone now, but she just moves for the crates of sticky limbs, jaw set, and gaze focussed, ignoringeveryone else.
I jog to catch up to her, determined to break the shroud of the last twenty-four hours. Anything to lighten the mood, even just for a moment. “Not your version of fun?”
She snorts, brushing away a stray lock of hair as she reaches for a crate. “That word is unfamiliar to me.”
A grin steals across my mouth as I step into her pathway. “Surely there’s something that you like to do.” I’ve travelled to many islands, many parts of the mainland. I’ve heard and seen the weirdest things, not a lot surprises me.
Odi releases her grip on the crate, and stands tall, folding her arms across her chest. “Will you let me take this to Bear if I answer you?”
“Absolutely.”
“Fine,” she huffs. “I like to run.”
I pause, watching her, the weight of those words sinking deeper than she probably meant them to.Run.A simple word, but there’s more beneath it—something caged and aching. As a siren I have the sea to shift and stretch. As a shifter dwelling with vipers, she only had the deck of a ship, a creature made for speed and open ground, forced to pace behind wooden walls.
It makes my chest tighten.
I offer her a soft smile before reaching down to grab a sack of monster parts. When I straighten, her eyes are glassy. “Running suits you,” I say gently.
The look she offers is soft, like a small part of her feels seen. I don’t wait for her to answer as she finally picks up the crate. Twisting on my heel, I lead us towards the galley. “Especially your furrier form. I guess she doesn’t get thechance very often.” It’s strange to talk about her beast like the fear isn’t hers. All of it is her.
“You can see why,” she answers, her voice low and tired like she doesn’t want the others to hear. The jostling components fill the silence that follows.
When we make it past the lines of hammocks, I pause, trying and failing to stop myself from pushing her just a little further. “She’s safe here. No matter what form you’re in, if you go overboard, we’d just pull you back up.”
She blinks her brown eyes up at me, like she’s processing the thought, and I start walking again, hoping she realizes I don’t expect her to respond. Her gaze drops to the floor, her lips press into a line, but she doesn’t argue.
It’s a start.
Otto’s eyes grow to the size of dinner plates when I push the door open,
“All of that for me?” he gasps as he tugs at the collar of his shirt before rolling his sleeves up.
The sack I’ve been carrying squelches as I drop it at his feet. “Well, I certainly didn’t harvest monster organs to give to the quails.”
Otto grins. “Vicious seas, am I going to have some fun.”
Odi drops the crate next to the sack and then perches herself on the edge of the kitchen table. Her creamy blouse is bloodstained despite our pathetic attempts at washing on the island. The fabric slips off one of her shoulders as she hunches forwards, tired from exertion, yet she smiles at Bear with such endearment, her attention focussed on the way his face lights up at the sight of monster legs.I can’t help noticing the way the afternoon sun kisses the exposed skin on her shoulder, travelling across her collarbone to caress the curve of her delicate neck. My fingers itch to brush her nape, to bury my face into the place her pulse flutters with life.
Something’s shifted between us. It started the moment back in the temple when I saw the fear in her eyes when the water started rising, and all I could do was taunt and tease her just to keep her fear at bay. Then she stood her ground against Reid, fire burning without an ounce of trembling in her voice. It was the way my body moved before my mind caught up—how all I could think about was getting her away, keeping her safe. The instinct hit like a wave, sudden and unforgiving.
“What will you do with all of it?” she asks Bear.
Otto holds up a green limb, breaking my trance.
