Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
That, I have to think about.
chapter 4
Maeve
The vampire is watching me again.
In the week since I’ve been aboard the Audacity, it seems like every time I turn around, there’s a weight of a contemplative gaze on the back of my neck. It’s always her. Every time. The only small mercy is the fact that she’s taken to avoiding our shared room. I don’t know if I would’ve gotten a single hour of sleep otherwise. I’d like to say it’s her being considerate, but all evidence points to the contrary.
I’m not used to people taking one look at me and deciding they dislike me. Usually, my face is enough to have strangers spilling secrets and placing their trust in me within a few minutes of meeting. I look younger than I am—and innocent. It allows people to underestimate me, which is something that’s served me well. Served the rebellion well.
But Lizzie doesn’t trust me. She doesn’t seem to like me much, either. Which is fine. Better than fine, even. I have my hands full arguing with Nox about the need for me to reclaim my skin. They refuse to divert their course to Viedna, my home island. Tucking me back safely where the rebellion needs me most.
It’s not enough.
My connection to my skin was severed the moment it was stolen from me, but there’s a part of me that’s certain I can feel the distance between us growing greater with every day that passes. I can’t help but fear that if too much time and distance pass, I’ll never be whole again.
I wish I could hold Nox’s refusal against them, but I’m participating in the same rebellion they are. No one individual is more important than the cause. I may contribute a significant amount of information and assist with guiding people back to their portals, but ultimately I’m only a single person in a vast network that spans the length and breadth of Threshold.
“It’s frustrating when they won’t do what you want.”
I yelp and startle several feet backward. I hadn’t realized Lizzie was so close until she spoke right at my shoulder. Embarrassment heats my skin. I tuck my hair behind my ears and move closer, even though my instincts demand more space between us so that I can maneuver in the event of an attack.
Lizzie shows no indication that she considers my response an overreaction. She just watches me with fathomless dark brown eyes. I’ve always been told that my eyes are true black rather than a deep brown, but hers have less to do with color than with power. There are old legends about avoiding looking a vampire in the eyes to prevent them from mesmerizing you, but Evelyn quietly confided to me that while there are bloodline families with the power to glamour—they do it using their voice—that’s not the bloodline Lizzie hails from.
I still get a thrill when I meet her gaze.
“What do you want? You’ve been watching me for days. Unless you plan on eating me, I need you to back off.”
“Eating you?” The way she says it gives the words an insinuation that I absolutely did not intend. Probably.
If anything, my face flames brighter. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I suppose I should reassure you that I have no intention of . . . eating you.” Lizzie hasn’t looked away from my face. I’m not even certain she’s blinked. It’s eerie in the extreme. “We’ve both lost something vital to us. Nox isn’t in the market for playing finder. I’m not certain if you have a timeline on reacquiring your skin before the magic breaks, but it seems better to accomplish that task sooner rather than later.”
She’s not saying anything I haven’t already considered myself, but it still feels like she reached out and struck me. “I suppose you have a point in all of this verbal circling.”
Lizzie blinks as if I surprised her. Her lips shift in something that’s almost a smile. “I’ll help you reacquire your skin. In return, you will act as a guide and help me find the Crimson Hag.”
The Crimson Hag. It’s the Cŵn Annwn ship Bowen used to be the captain of. As best I can tell from the gossip on board, his crew voted him off after he sided with Evelyn in a fight against a dragon. It’s a story that seems to defy belief. In the few encounters I’ve had with Bowen previously when he’s come through the port on my island, he seemed to be the very essence of the Cŵn Annwn: Cold. Unquestioning. Absolutely ruthless when it comes to hunting down the so-called monsters of this world.
Funny how the Cŵn Annwn are the ones to decide who’s a monster and who isn’t.
The man now part of the crew on the Audacity seems a changed person entirely. I don’t know what happened between losing his ship and coming on board, but there’s a new fervor in his eyes that matches Nox’s. They’re true believers in the cause.