Page 77 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

Footsteps thump on the deck outside the room. “Sir, we’re nearing the Fountain of Silver.”

“Let’s review our plan,” Prince Reen says.

Their voices fade.

The Fountain of Silver makes my heart flutter. Almost daringly, I push the boxes aside, open the closet, and strain my body until I’m peeking outside the window. My face breaks into a broad grin at the island in the distance.

I slide down from the closet when the numbness of sitting for too long shudders up my legs, prickling them with every unforgivable step. Every step sparks tingling pins and needles, and I sit on the floor and rub some life into my feet and calves to prepare myself. After a few minutes, I get back on my feet and enter the bathroom to pee because the nervousness gets to me.

As soon as I sit down, the door opens, and the footsteps grow closer. The bathroom door opens, and a man with a perplexed look stands there. Silver eyes bore into me, and the dark circles under his eyes still plague him. I know him. He was the one who found me that night.

My body locks when he reaches into his pocket. He offered me a cigarette that night by pulling out a packet, bumping two sticks together and gesturing. He does the same thing now.

“What’s up with the fucking cigarette?” I breathe.

He stares without expression; when he talks, it’s as lifeless as his looks. “This is the second time we’re meeting, and it seems both times are in weird fucking situations, don’t you think?”

Fuck, he’s not wrong. I’m on a ship where I shouldn’t be, squatting on the toilet with a man watching me.

“Are you going to tell him?” I say.

“He already knows. It’s the reason he changed rooms.”

My shoulders tremble, and knots in my stomach crunch when I lean forward and laugh.

Fuck me!

“And why hasn’t he killed me?”

The air elemny shrugs. “Something about a debt. He promised not to hunt you until you’re off the ship.”

Pull up my underwear and pants, wash my hands in the sink, and walk past him. If my thoughts are correct, I assume Astin means the time I saved Prince Reen’s life all those years ago. So, he knows it’s me now. And what does that mean? He has a heart and a moral code.

Ha.

Unbelievable.

“What are you doing?” he says when I reach into the closet and grab my bag.

“Well, if you’re right, why the fuck am I hiding?”

With confidence that I shouldn’t have and a sense of power over everything, I open the door and step out without a freaking care. Fresh air first smacks me in the face, and it’s heavenly after sitting in a stuffy closet for days. I inhale deeply, drinking in the atmosphere, the air, and the sounds of lapping waves.

I glance to my right, seeing a man leaning against the railing with arms folded across his chest. He arches a brow, and dark humour holds his demeanour in his crimson eyes. Prince Reen’s taller than I expected now that I’m seeing him up close and personal, but the pressure and intensity of his glare and sharpened eyes make him seem even taller.

I incline my head. “Prince Reen.”

He dips his head. “Pandora Hart.”

I lean my elbows on the railing and glare out at the sea. “You want a hunt. I can give you that, but you need to give me a twenty-minute head start.”

“Are you giving me orders?” Prince Reen chuckles.

“And?”

Red eyes narrow, and upon analysing his face, I see the resolve. “Ten minutes. You’re too good for me to give you more of a head start.”

“What will happen when you find me?” I say out of curiosity. “Will you take me to King Walkyer or kill me?”