“Was given fencing and shooting lessons every day of her life. A lady she might have been, but she was more than able to stand on her own.”
Valynda hadn’t known that. She’d assumed that as a noble lady Sancha would have had others do everything for her. Janice, she knew, had been trained by the Dark-Hunter leader Acheron to become the fierce fighter she was. Belle had grown up with her father, who’d been a trader and hunter, so she knew that Belle was well versed on how to protect herself. And as an orphan on her own, Cameron Jack had been forced to live and pass herself off as a man for most of her life while her brother was off at sea so that she wouldn’t fall prey to others while he was away. So, Cameron knew well how to fight and scrap.
Mara’s ancient race had been at war with the captain’s and she’d been well versed in warfare, and the captain had trained his sister himself on how to fight.
But Valynda hadn’t known how to hold a sword or even load a flintlock.
Her mind reeled at something she hadn’t thought about before. Scowling, she thought back to the day when she’d awakened in her straw body to find Belle and the captain standing over her, with Thorn, their unofficial boss who’d assembled their crew and charged Captain Bane with the task of driving the escaping demons back through the fractured Carian Gate.
Disoriented and confused, she’d been too grateful to be away from her hell realm of torture to ask too many questions, for fear of it angering them and having them cast her back to that nightmare hole.
Once that had passed, she’d assumed that her story had been similar to everyone else’s. That Bane had gone through her dimension with Thorn and seen something promising in her that he thought would benefit their crew.
But if what Belle was saying was true …
Valynda left her immediately and headed to the captain’s cabin. She had to have an answer for this.
Why was she on board this ship?
She had to know what had happened when they brought her back. There were so many questions and so few answers.
Suddenly, she felt lied to by everyone. Thorn. The captain. Adarian.
Most of all, Xuri.
No longer did she know who or what she could trust. And that was the worst feeling of all. To be betrayed by those closest to her. To lose all moorings and be cast adrift with no direction in the world. She hadn’t felt this way since her parents had found out about Nibo, and they’d lost their ever-loving minds over it.
Valynda froze as those nightmares tore through her with fresh talons and left her ravaged anew.
“You’ve taken up with a native boy?” She could still hear that strident, deafening tone.
She’d just come home to find her parents clustered in the front of their tiny three-room cottage. A place so small, she had to leave it in order to have room enough to change her mind.
The instant the door had closed, she’d seen the stern look upon her father’s face, the taut grimace on her mother’s plump brow, and had known she was in trouble.
Serioustrouble.
“What is it?”
“Tell us it’s not true.” Her father had stood by the hearth with a sneer while her mother sat near the window in a chair, wringing her hands and feigning a fainting spell.
“Fine. It’s not true. I have no idea of what matter we’re speaking, but if it solaces your mind, I’m happy to reassure you, Father.”
He’d backhanded her then. A blow so hard it’d split her lip and sent her to the floor. “You’ve been seen cavorting with an islander in a disgusting, filthy manner. Tell me it’s not true.”
Her heart had stopped instantly as she tried to imagine who could have seen her with Nibo. They’d been so careful, meeting late at night and in remote areas where her people never ventured.
With her ears ringing from the blow, she’d wiped away the blood. Her hands had trembled as she’d rolled over to deal with them.
“Valynda?” Her mother’s voice had cracked. “Answer your father.”
Licking more blood from her lips, she’d searched her mind for something plausible to say, but it wasn’t in her nature to lie.
“My God, it’s true.” Her father had stumbled back as her mother began crying hysterically.
“It’s not what you think, Father. Xuri’s—”
“What kind of name is that?” His roar had cut off her words as he’d seized her arm and yanked her from the floor.
