Page 58 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

A spark of silver flares, but his face is otherwise expressionless.

“You should sit down,” he says.

“I—”

“Launch,” he shouts.

The boat lurches as the men manning the pulleys give it slack.

I fall onto the bench behind me. My stomach flips as we are lowered to the water. Silas shoots me a reassuring smile before returning his attention to the ropes in his hand.

My fingernails dig into the wood on either side of me, holding on for dear life, while my traitorous eyes lock on the Shadow Prince, admiring the way his muscles bulge beneath his damp shirt. How strong his jaw is as he clenches his teeth.

The skin underneath my dark markings tingles.

I slam my eyes shut.

What is wrong with me?

Rian is a manipulator. A trickster. By all accounts, a brute.

I should feel nothing but disdain and mistrust when I look at him. It doesn’t matter that he’s saved my life.

More than once.

I shove the attraction aside, mortified to realize it’s not just the shadows on my arms that want to close the distance between me and the Shadow Prince.

My own light magic coos in my chest, flows into my limbs, and urges me to go to him.

Absolutely not.

I am a grown woman with a mind of her own. I don’t care what the strange markings or my own magic feel about this subject. I’ve made my decision. I will not be pursuing this…unnatural attraction to the Fae.

With a fortifying breath, I open my eyes.

Pools of silver capture my attention.

My magic preens under Rian’s attention.

Gods help me…

I’m stuck on a boat with an enemy—an enemy my magic wants more than it wants my survival.

And judging by the slow, relentless pull in my veins…it’s going to be a very long trip.

12

I’m dying a slow, excruciating death. A death caused by an ailment that is beyond my understanding as a healer, and without my full power, I am fated to succumb to it.

Jaxon’s tonic against seasickness left my system shortly after we sailed away from the ship.

Now I lay with my head resting against the edge of the dinghy, eyes squeezed shut, legs curled into my chest, wishing for Orun, the God of Health, to have mercy on my soul and calm my stomach.

Sweat sticks to my skin, mingling with salty spray that peppers my face. The cool water would be refreshing if its scent didn’t remind me of the monster that pulled me into the ocean depths hours ago. At least, that’s how long I think it’s been.

It’s hard to know how much time has passed with the thick clouds blocking out the sun’s movement across the sky.

The minutes drag on as the dinghy floats over the stretch of endless blue ocean. Rian and Silas have been paddling since the moment the boat hit the water.