His father had believed that wholeheartedly. As a boy, Kalder had thought it the greatest superstition.
Now, as a man, he wasn’t so sure. Like his father, he’d seen a few things that made him wonder if perhaps the universe didn’t listen and set into motion the very things that people spoke out loud.
The very things their minds whispered in fear.
Almost as if the universe was sick that way and took perverse pleasure in manifesting the very things that terrified people the most.
There was whisper magick, no doubt. Powerful and undeniable. This ship was proof of that.
As was Sallie’s fate.
His own. The captain, and all those who lived here. So why was it so hard for him to believe in his father’s proclamation?
But then, he knew. And it was something he really didn’t want to face. Because at the end of the day, the thought of the past coming back to harm him was the most terrifying thing he could imagine, indeed.
The universe shouldn’t have ears.
It shouldn’t be listening. And it damn sure shouldn’t be vindictive or spiteful.
Yet what if it actually was?
What if itcould?
That thought drew his stomach even tighter and made him want to heave.
***
Cameron froze as she met Kalder in the cramped hull. His eyes widened as he took in her new pale hair color.
“Are you all right?”
She felt the heat in her cheeks rise the moment he reached to touch its awkward paleness. Clearing her throat, she quickly explained before he asked about the matter. “We’ve no idea what caused it to do this. But at least I finally got me wings to recede.”
Guilt simmered in his steely eyes. “If I’m the cause, Miss Jack—”
She shook her head to cut off his words at the guilt his tone betrayed. He had nothing to feel bad about, and she couldn’t stand the thought of him suffering for it. “You’re the only reason I’m here, Mr. Dupree. Make no mistakes about that. Or apologies, either. I won’t have it.” Smiling, she took his hand into hers. The strength of that one member was absolute and undeniable. He was a creature of utter brutality. Paden hadn’t been mistaken about that, and she knew it for a fact.
Still, he was also a creature of compassion. One who never hesitated to protect what he cared about.
“I don’t know why you did what you did for me and me brother,Mr. Dupree, but I can’t thank you enough, and I’ll never forget that kindness.”
Kalder couldn’t think straight as her fingers danced idly across the flesh of his palm. Most likely, she thought nothing of the gesture. A simple act of friendship or nervousness that was common in her world. But in his, it was a rarity to be touched without pain. To be offered even this small token of kindness. It was why he’d always been partial to human women. They liked such trivial gestures of affection, even when there was no real feeling behind them.
At least that was true of strumpets.
Ladies like Cameron and Sancha, Belle and Janice and Valynda, Elyzabel, and Mara…
They were a different breed. Ladies placed a great deal of meaning behind the slightest bit of touching. A man didn’t lightly caress one.
Kissing was off-limits completely.
A harsh lesson learned his first day on dry land, when his father had demanded a public beating over a stolen kiss that would have meant nothing in the underwater city where he’d been raised. That degradation and mockery still rang in his ears. Barely fifteen, he’d known nothing of the human world and had been captivated by the blond lady whose flaxen locks had been unlike anything he’d ever seen in Wyñeria, where they were all dark-haired.
More than that, the human woman had smelled of sunshine. So to kiss her had seemed the most natural thing for him to do.
To share breath in Wyñeria was the highest form of a compliment.
In the world of humanity, it was a gross insult that had resulted in first the lady slapping him, then shrieking in outrage.
