Page 239 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

“Yes.” He crosses his arms and leans a muscular shoulder against the wall next to an oil painting of an unfamiliar island.

I blink.

That was easy…

“Why?”

“Now, that is a more complicated question.” He pushes off the wall, wearing another charming grin. “And considering the fact that you are, currently, my prisoner, I retain the right not to answer.”

My lips twist into a scowl.

He’s certainly not speaking to me as if I’m a prisoner. In fact, I’m not even chained up. Which begs the question⁠—

“What do you want with me?”

He tilts his head, studying me. “That’s another complicated question.”

“It’s really not.”

He throws his head back and laughs. His gold earrings glint in the dim light.

Then he resumes his relaxed sprawl against the wall, ankles crossed, entirely at ease while my nerves coil tighter.

Tired of being looked down upon, I push myself up and rise on shaky legs. My gown’s skirt is stiff with dried seawater and blood, and the top is soaked from his rude wake-up call.

Not two seconds later, the ship lurches. I teeter back, and my thighs collide with a narrow table. A glance reveals that it is cluttered with unrolled maps.

One catches my eye.

“Why do you have a map of the Fae lands?”

I recognize it from the Virendrellian library. Only, unlike that map, this one shows many more towns, roads, and cities peppered across the green landscape.

“You mean Eranthia?” The male crosses the small space between us in two long strides.

I lean away when he stops just in front of me.

He bends forward and purses his lips, making a show of looking over my shoulder at the map. “Interesting… Perhaps you do know things, after all.”

His lips curl into another distracting grin.

I bristle.

I don’t know what to think of this male. He’s not threatening me. I’d almost say he’s…teasing me.

“What do you want with me?” I ask again.

His stunning sea-green eyes swirl like disturbed water.

“I told you…” His breath brushes against my cheek. “That is a complicated question.”

My heart thumps an odd rhythm.

Have I met him before?

Impossible.

I’d remember someone like him.