Page 6

“Hello, Map.”

Chapter

Four

Did he just call me Map? Gods in the skies, he knows. For what feels like more than a few seconds, we just stare at each other here in the dim light, and there is only the sound of the waves splashing against the side of the ship and the tap-tap of water droplets falling from somewhere. I barely hear them over the sound of my heart racing as I stare at the cloaked, very dangerous-looking man. He pushes the hood of his cloak back, and I nearly gasp at how striking he is. Some men can be called beautiful, but him? He has the kind of intoxicating male beauty that lures you in. Thick locks of soft black hair curl around his forehead, some curling just past his pointed ears. I’ve seen some people with pointed ears before, but it’s rare. His hair is messy and wind swept, like the sea air’s blown it a million times to the point that the ends of his hair have curled.

The man is tanned, too tanned to be from Azurestone, and his massive, chiselled body easily fills out the seat. His shoulders are thick and padded with muscles. I’ve never seen anyone like him before, and he seems to arrest my body with one look. The muscles move in his neck as he leans back in the seat, cocking his head to the other side and observing me closely. Some men are weapons, and this one certainly is. “Welcome to my ship. Are you not going to say anything? Map? Or are you unable to speak?”

“That’s not my name,” I bite, breathing in the smell of the salty air through my nose.

The stranger only smirks. “I never asked for your name.”

“Technically, you never asked for anything,” I snap back, crossing my arms and hiding a wince at the pain.

His lips twitch almost just for a second, but then all amusement is gone as he looks me over from head to toe. I know I must look the picture of an absolute mess, and I’m not sure how to get out of this one. He must know about the map plastered all over my skin, and the only way he could know is if he has been watching me. “Tell me, how did a scrawny little thing from the Stilts manage to get the map? You’re not a noble or rich enough to live in the city; therefore, you wouldn’t have gotten an invite.” Scrawny little thing? Fuck him. “And tell me, what do you want to wish for?”

I don’t answer him, and I never will. I’d rather die than tell him about my brother when he can use it against me. Everything has changed now. The map is me…and I don’t need anyone knowing about the only person in the world I care about.

The large man continues, “See, we have a problem. I don’t allow stragglers on my ship, but…you’ve got something I want.”

I make sure to look him straight in his crystal blue eyes. Sea blue, perhaps. I’m not close enough to make out exactly what shade they are, but it’s an interesting color. The way I’m looking directly at him sends a chill down my spine. But I don’t bend to the challenge he offers with a single look. “I’m not giving you the map.”

He laughs, rising to his feet. “Map, I know everything. I came for the map, and looks like the map walked its pretty self right onto my ship. I’ll thank Noctaris for that.” He takes one step towards me, and fear locks my body down. “You’re on my ship; you’re mine now.”

“Not for long,” I taunt. I run from him like my ass is on fire, because I need to get off this ship and I need to be far away from this dangerous stranger. I run straight past the crates, and l feel like the darkness around me, the shadows themselves, softly laugh, almost like they are watching and judging me. My feet nearly trip over themselves when I get to the stairs, and I rush up them. My body screams in pain with each step, particularly from my ribs. I’m not stupid enough to think that standing down there with him while he knows I’m the map is a better idea than this.

I run faster. My hair flies around my face as I rush into the main part of the ship, right in the center, and it’s one massive open room with a dozen or more pillars holding it up. My heart rate painfully increases as several people stop and stare at me, completely pausing in what they’re doing, but I look past them to the other side, where there is another staircase—with light pouring in. Run, Mir. I fly across the room, ignoring the shouts of the crew, to the stairs, flinging myself up them, past another level that I barely glance at and to the stairs that lead above.

I climb off the final step, rushing straight onto the slippery deck, the bright light of the sun glaring and making it hard to see. When I can, I almost wish I hadn’t. Azurestone is in the distance, nothing but a tiny island with a glittering castle, and the ship is storming through the sea away from it. The ship itself is pitch black, just like I thought it was, and a flag flies from a pole, but I don’t recognize the symbol at all. It’s black with a diamond right in the center of it. I don’t know what island that’s from, and it matters because I’m not getting off this ship without a little boat or with death as my new friend.

There are several people on deck who turn my way, but two of them are much closer: a petite woman with a head of red curly hair, and she barely comes up to the chest of the gigantic man at her side, who is brown-haired and fierce-looking and well over six foot. They both have pointy ears, too. The beefy man frowns, drawing his eyebrows together. “Who are you?”

I don’t know where I’m running to, but I don’t stop until I get to a dead end, right next to the massive gold wheel that steers the ship, and move myself to the edge, standing on the banister ledge, holding on to a single hanging rope. The sea slams and crashes against the ship, and my stomach rolls when I hear heavy footsteps coming closer. I know it’s him, the stranger, before he climbs the last step and comes into view. His cloak is gone. Now, he’s just wearing a loose black shirt, and it’s tucked into tight black leather trousers and thick heavy boots.

Snow begins to drop through the air as my sweaty, burnt hands hold on to the rope with all I have. His eyes hold me in place, and I get a good look at them in the light. Blue is a weak word for the intense color of his eyes, and I don’t think there is a depth in the sea I could swim to and find the same color. “Map, Map, Map. You are aware how a ship works, right? I had you down as smart, seeing how you stole the map, but right now I’m thinking you’re not. You can’t just jump off.” He holds his hands up at his side and laughs at me. He is a patronizing asshole. “You don’t have to run. I won’t hurt you.”

I laugh at him, scoffing, and his eyes narrow. “Let me guess, you’re used to women falling at your feet and everyone else being scared of you, so you’ve likely never had someone say this, but fuck off. I don’t want to talk to you, make a deal, or work with you. If you start telling me that you’re perfectly safe and I’ve got nothing to be scared of, I’m flat out going to call you stupid. I know jumping off this ship might kill me, but I am not letting you use the map.” I lift my chin. “The king just tried to have me killed, and compared to him? I’m not scared of you.”

“I’m well aware. I watched the guards.” He yawns and leans on the gold wheel. “I knew he would. Why would he want someone else to potentially have the same power that he does? He is the only one that has magic in this world, and he likes it that way. Did your grandparents call themselves witches or mortals?” He looks at my ears. “Mortals, I bet. Shame. If you were a witch, you might have been somewhat useful to me at the end of all this.”

“Witches are tales told to kids to keep them in their beds long past their bedtimes,” I snarl. Not that I’ve ever had to use that to keep Rowe in his bed. He couldn’t get out and run off even if he wanted to. “Just like the Shadowlands they came from.”

“Lies can make the scariest tales.” His grin is nothing short of sarcastic, but something flashes across his eyes that I can’t read. “You’re staying on my ship, Map. The gift that’s wrapped around your skin, that map, is a gift from the gods, and you’ll be on my ship to get to wherever it’s leading you. We will find it together, and then you are free to leave.”

“Liar,” I breathe out.

He smirks. “Look at us getting to know each other so well.”

“I’ll find my own way,” I retort.

“No, you won’t. Someone will figure out who you are, and you’ll end up dead. Your skin will be peeled off to be used as a map, and that’s only if the king’s soldiers don’t find you first. They will be looking, and lucky for you, they won’t find my ship. I promise not to skin you alive or dead if we make a deal. At the end of this, you get a wish, but there are also treasures to be had. You get the wish. I get all the gold and treasure there. I don’t care about anything else, and I’m not interested in the gods. They fuck this world over enough without meeting them.”

“You expect me to trust you? I don’t know who you are. I don’t know who that flag is for.” I point at it. The black flag is like nothing I’ve seen before, nor is the symbol. It is silver and looks like a crown, but each of the seven points are strange symbols. It’s not the same diamond one I saw earlier…did they change it? And why?

“Maidenlone,” he dryly replies. Maidenlone? I’ve never read that name or seen it. He could have just made it up for all I know. “Say yes, and we have a deal. I’m getting bored.”

“Oh, poor you. How will you survive your boredom?” I roll my eyes at him. “I’ve never heard of Maidenlone.”