“I’ve been tending to you for?—”
Alastair lifted a hand, cutting the medic off. “His wrath is not your responsibility, Parran.” Turning back to me, striations danced along his jaw—a warning. “And this ismyship, so I’d be mindful of how you speak to me. I could’ve left you back on Veilmar, and I should have, but it seems I have far more decency than even you would be able to consider.”
“Captain, respectfully,” Parran started, but Alastair quickly filled the gap.
“I dragged you back onto this shipforCaspian, because had I left you behind, you would be kneeling before Elaros right now.” He raked his fingers through his manicured beard. “Vayne currently resides in the hands of the king.”
“You’re lying,” I seethed, ripping the blankets from my lower half.
Alastair glanced around the room, a lengthened exhale falling from him. “And what godsdamned benefit would I have in coming up with some bullshit farce?” His arm shot toward the door, finger pointingtoward the hall he’d stormed down. “Feel free to roam the deck. Your men are sailing right beside us, and they would be happy to enlighten you on the events that unfolded during the time you spent unconscious, since, regardless of me sparing your life, you still seem to have an issue.”
The information Caspian had passed on, which he had confided in me, came out like seething venom. “Oh, my apologies for mistrusting the man who mapped out his plan for betrayal and the overthrow of his captain in grave detail.”
Alastair’s brows immediately narrowed, a flash of pain darkening his gold irises. “What thefuckdid you just say to me?”
“Did you hit your head too fucking hard when he kicked you off the ship?” I snapped, moving to stand with a hiss. “You want to feign innocence? You wish to pretend you are not responsible for what befell you? How many lies have you told that you have now come to forget the truth?”
Palms slapping against the cot, a deep growl lunged free from his throat. “You will not blame me for crimes I did not commit!”
Ignoring the flash of light behind my gaze as I forced myself to stand, I pivoted toward him. “Andyouwill not sit here and claim the title of victim when you were the one who put Caspian in that position! When you were the one who claimed his heart only to devour it without hesitation!”
Silence consumed the room, the only sound belonging to the erratic pace of our breathing. Nostrils flaring, Alastair held my glare, a darkness swathing his expression. I matched him, unwilling to sink myself for a man who manipulated the details to fabricate his sob story.
A throat cleared, and Parran spoke. “As much as I have no qualms in you two hashing it out with one another, I believe there are far more pertinent matters to attend to—like our arrival in Serevalen and the travel to the palace, alongside both of your… physical states.”
Weaving his fingers through the hair at the base of his skull, Alastair tugged on the locks. “I told you that I am not in need of such catering.”
“And I toldyouthat your fucking ribs are broken, and that you’re one wrong move away from puncturing a lung,” Parran snarled beforeturning to me. “And while your wounds are healed completely, your body will still ache as if they are fresh. There is only so much I can accomplish when I use my abilities on a land where magic is suffocated by the throne.”
They… healed me?
“Wait, what?”
Alastair snapped at me, “What? Hit your head so hard on the godsdamned cobblestone streets that you’re now rendered incompetent?”
Clenching my jaw, I planned to spew more ire at him, but was interrupted by a voice so familiar, so entrancing, I immediatelyknewwho it belonged to. “Gods, you two really are mirrors of one another, aren’t you? It’s no wonder Caspian found you both intriguing.”
Heated rage swallowed me whole, blanketing my vision in a red similar to her hair color. My fingers curled inward on themselves, knuckles whitening until they cracked as my sanity fractured. Turning without thinking, I stormed toward her, more than prepared to gut her just like she had done to our crew.
“I’ll fuckingkillyou, you little bitch!”
Rohen took a step back, and I caught the fresh scar looping up to her shoulder from just beneath her collarbone. Face adorned with bruises similar to Alastair’s, it became clear that she had been with Caspian, too. They hadbothbeen with Caspian, and now he wasgone.
The sharp slide of metal ripped through the tension, and as I grabbed Rohen by the throat, the pointed tip of a sword settled against the base of my skull. “You hurt her, Kao, and I will cut your head clean from your fucking body.”
“You must have a damn good reason to save her fucking life, Seridean, because as far as I’m concerned, this cunt deserves to be butchered and fed to the Vellari.”
Rohen held my stare, unmoved by the threat I posed. Emerald eyes glinted, and something like longing clung to them. “I would take the captain’s word, Syoran.”
“Alastair,” I hissed, the three syllables of his name containing the last of the self-restraint I clung to. “Talk.”
“Rohen happens to be the daughter of the Goddess of the Sea. It won’t do you any good to slaughter her, unless you wish to be spited for the rest of your life. Besides, after ten days of sailing, we are approaching the palace.” Alastair loosened a sigh, as if there were things he wished to say but to someone who wasn’t present. “We are going to get Caspian and the prince.”
“You?” I laughed, shoving Rohen away from me with enough force that she collided with the wall. Turning back toward him, I lifted an unamused brow. “Why the hell wouldyouwant to save him?”
“Originally, I didn’t,” he admitted, his gaze shifting slightly. “Butshedid.”
Spinning on my heel, I glared down at Rohen once more. “For what fucking reason, Levitte?”
