Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 144411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
I approach her like I would a predator. If I were swimming and saw a shark, how would I react? I would normally display brute force in hopes that the shark would swim away, not wanting the fight, but the princess seems to be reveling in her wild side a little too much. Luckily for me, my wild side likes to come out to play, and I don’t back down until I win.
“If you could help me to understand what just happened,” I say, walking toward her slowly, my palms displayed in peace.
“I had enough,” she hisses, giving Aerik an angry look, as if she expects him to say something back to her. Instead, he is staring up blankly at the ceiling, blood pouring out of the hole in his chest.
“And the mermaid?” I gesture to the dead creature in the tank.
“Your lack of compassion has spurred me.” Her eyes meet mine and narrow. Though they were always an ever-changing brilliant shade of blue before, now they positively glow like there’s a light shining from behind them.
What kind of witchcraft does this woman possess? Venla was a witch and a powerful one in her own right, but she did not radiate power and otherness like this creature does. Venla had a temper, but she did not rip the hearts of men from their chests and devour them like steak. Venla kept me on my toes but she wasn’t so thoroughly unpredictable and rash that I couldn’t see her coming.
“You are a stunning abyss of a creature,” I tell her. “One that I could spend eons swimming in and never get to the bottom of.”
She frowns. “I am not that complicated.”
“You are a mystery, Maren,” I tell her. “I can call you by your name now, can’t I? With your husband gone, you are no longer a princess.”
She opens her mouth to say something, then purses her still bloody lips. “You’ve always called me whatever the hell you wanted.”
My mouth twitches. “That be true.”
Her shoulders relax a fraction of an inch, imperceptible to most but not me. It’s enough to make me move.
I’m at her in a second, moving like a flash of lightning and grabbing her wrists, pulling them behind her as I go behind her back, my hand at her throat and holding tight. I’m not foolish enough to attempt to put my hand over her mouth, not with those needle teeth that could reappear at any moment.
She squirms and she’s stronger than she was before but I’m still stronger. No matter what she is, I still can overpower her, and I’m faster too.
“I’d like to make this as easy on you as possible,” I say to her, my mouth at her ear. “But with how I’ve seen you behave, I…”
I trail off. Dear lord, her smell is overpowering and in the most aggravating way possible. She’s sweet and musky and it screams sex to me, overriding my senses and making me want to fuck her something fierce, more so than normal.
I have to shake it out of me. That’s not what I’m doing here.
“What about how I behave?” she says, her throat moving against my hand as she speaks. The vibration gets under my skin, making my cock harder than ever. What is she doing to me? Is this part of her spell?
“I can’t trust you not to kill me or my crew,” I manage to say to her, my voice thick. “So I have no choice but to lock you up.”
“Put the bird back in her cage,” she comments sourly.
“Oh, you’re not going in the cage. You’re going in chains.”
“Chains!” she cries out and tries to struggle.
I hold her tight. “Quiet. You sound just like your insufferable husband.” I pause. “Or should I say late-husband. You know I’m going to have to answer for a lot now that the mermaid is dead and so is the hostage.”
“You’re the one who killed the mermaid,” she spits out.
“Mercy kill,” I remind her. “I’ll thank you to come along now.”
With my grip vice-tight, I bring her out of the room with the dead bodies and down the stairs to the hold. At one end is the place where we hold the prisoners and livestock if we bring any on board, the rest is storage for dry provisions, powder and shot stores, water and provisions in barrels, plus a hold for any treasure we plunder. At the opposite side of the ship from the prisoner hold is a small room where we keep a set of chains for certain events. This is where I bring Maren.
It’s pitch black in here but I can do this with my eyes closed. I quickly put her hands above her head, chains running from a beam in the ceiling to the cuffs around her wrists, then I do the same to her feet on the ground, keeping her legs far apart enough to keep her from trying to move but not so much that she can’t stand.