Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97071 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“Don’t do it.” I don’t mean to speak, but Hedd immediately turns his vicious attention in my direction. It’s too late to back down. The only way through is through. I lift my chin, trying not to flinch as someone screams far too close. “It’s the wrong call.”
Hedd looks at me for a moment and then dismisses me just as quickly. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that mutiny.”
“Someone questioning a dangerous order is not mutiny!”
Bowen answers without looking at me. “That’s enough, Evelyn.” He nods slowly. “Of course we’ll follow your orders, Captain.”
Hedd grins and rushes toward the railing. I waste no time grabbing Bowen’s arm. “You can’t seriously mean to obey. I thought we were past this.”
“He’s a berserker.” Bowen speak so softly, I can barely hear him over the sounds of fighting. “If he attacks you, even with all my power, it will be a battle of attrition. While we’re fighting, the mermaids will kill too many of the crew. There’s no choice. Set up a shield around you and Dia. Don’t argue with me, Evelyn.”
He considered all that in the span of seconds? I don’t want to admit that he’s right, but I can’t find a fault in logic with what he just said. I lick my lips. “What about you?”
“I’ll be able to function better if I’m not worried about you and Dia.”
There’s no time left to argue. I grab his shirt and pull him down for a desperate kiss. “Don’t you dare die.”
“And lose out on even a moment with you? Never.” He guides me back to the mast. “Shield. Now.”
I pull my chalk out of my shirt with a shaking hand. Dia watches with interest as I draw a circle just large enough to encompass both of us. I hesitate to close it, but Bowen is already moving away. He’s trusting me to do what I said I would. I have to trust that he’ll do the same. I press my hands to the deck and speak the words that bring the shield into being. It snaps into place with the strength that makes me shudder.
Dia carefully presses a hand into the air in front of her. “Neat trick. Most folks I’ve seen make shields do it with a bit more pizzazz.”
“I don’t know about other types of magic, but if a witch is using a bunch of song and dance to cast a spell, it’s likely for the benefit of those watching.” I don’t rise. I can see clearly enough from my position where I’m crouched. Besides, if I need to break the shield, it will spare me a second or two. “Why is he doing this?”
“Hedd?” Dia shrugs. “He likes a fight, and berserkers aren’t built for long range.”
I have nothing to say in response to that. This man’s selfish desire to commit violence is going to get people killed. His people. And there isn’t a damn thing anyone can do about it. I’m so furious, I can barely breathe past it. Or maybe that’s fear. It’s hard to tell the difference right now.
I don’t know if it makes things better or worse to be able to watch Bowen in action. It’s the first time I’ve seen him truly fight, aside from the cat-sìth. It’s never been clearer that he’s in his element.
Instead of using a wall, he moves through the fight with targeted attacks that send the mermaids hurtling back to water. I can’t tell if we’re making headway with their numbers, or if they are truly unending. It certainly feels like it. In reality, judging from the frothing waves around us, there are … maybe a hundred? It’s hard to estimate when they move so chaotically.
Hedd swings his ax wildly at a knot of the creatures. I might hate the man, but even I can admit that I’m glad he’s not fighting us. He’s cutting through the mermaids as if they’re paper. I shudder. “He’s a monster.”
The sweet scent of pot reaches me. “So are most of the Cŵn Annwn. You haven’t been around long enough to notice, but the ones they pick up who are gentle folk don’t last long.” Dia’s tone is neutral enough, but when I look up at her, her dark eyes contain sorrow. She’s lost someone she cares about. Maybe several someones.
I’m trying to come up with a response when a roar makes me whip around. A mermaid has latched on to Bowen’s back, its teeth ripping into the spot where his shoulder meets his neck. I scream and lurch forward to break the shield on instinct. I don’t know what the fuck I can do to help, but I can’t just sit here and watch him die.
I never get a chance.
A burst of power surges from him, so strong that I can feel it even through the shield. It sweeps the deck, and for a moment I swear nothing actually happens.