*Eva*
I stomped across the ship, feeling panic and rage sweep through as I searched for my brother. It didn’t take long to find him. He was below deck in the tiny room that he was using as a bedroom during our voyage. He looked up from his book in alarm when I entered.
“How could you do this to ?” I raged, pointing at him. “And after we had just agreed to start over!”
I would have liked him to appear more apologetic, but he just stood calmly and made a move to wrap his arms around , as if he was going to attempt to pacify .
That might have worked when he confronted at the warehouse, but I wasn’t going to fall for it this ti. I stepped away from him. “Don’t touch !”
Rion lowered his arms but took another step toward . “Eva, everything is fine. We got rid of Daphne. She’s not going to bother us again.”
I saw red tinge my vision for a mont. I spoke through my teeth, very narrowly resisting the urge to wrap my hands around my brother’s throat. “That’s not the point,” I snapped impatiently. “You think I see that little princess as an actual threat?”
Rion didn’t respond, knowing that I would elaborate.
“Do you realize what you’ve done by giving away our location to her?” I seethed. “If the princess is here, it’s only natural for more royal forces to co hunting for her and finding !”
As I spoke the words, I started to really feel the gravity of them. I had avoided confrontation with the royals for this long, and now that I would likely have to face them, I feared that I would have no choice but to use my powers to protect myself and end up losing control. The results could be catastrophic.
I was so lost in my panic that I didn’t realize that Rion was right in front of . He grabbed onto my wrists, lowering them from my face. He looked into my eyes, lowering his voice to a calming one.
“Daphne tracked us down because she wanted closure. No one is coming for us. We’re going to be fine. I made it very clear to her that I wanted nothing more to do with her.”
I stared at him, in the eyes that were so much like my own that it was painful to focus on them for too long. I averted my gaze. It was still difficult for to trust him. I had been abandoned and disappointed too many tis in the past for to have faith in anyone. I had hoped that Rion being my brother would make more confident about putting my trust in him, but that just wasn’t the case.
In fact, Rion being my brother just made fear losing him even more.
As Rion continued to attempt to comfort , my dark thoughts continued to spiral out of control. He kept repeating himself, assuring that he was loyal to and that he cared about . I wanted to laugh in his face. Even if he wasn’t lying and believed his words to be true, that didn’t an he would stay by my side forever. It was childish and foolish of to even be tempted to believe that.
So, if he dared try to leave , I would just have to keep him by my side by force.
***
*Daphne*
We were still a few days away from making it back to the kingdom. The voyage back was even more anxiety-inducing than when we were on the way to finding Rion. Now, I had all the ti in the world to replay that awful scene between Rion and in my head.
Why did I believe he would be happy to see as he was dragged in front of all tied up? Perhaps I had hoped that our history together would make him see past all that. Maybe I was hoping that he would be happy to see no matter what circumstances we t under.
What was I going to do now? That could have been my one and only chance to see Rion again, and I had completely blown it. I crawled onto my cot and lay on my side, feeling tears prick at my eyes as I thought about the hostile look in Rion’s eyes when I tried to tell him about the pregnancy.
I hadn’t seen him since he got dragged away to the royal prison when we returned to the palace. Was he angry at for being locked up and likely tortured? I stroked my stomach, murmuring to our child, tears dripping down the side of my face as I rembered the last ti Rion touched , in the cave after we’d escaped from Eva’s lair.
Was it possible that he hated now? After everything we’ve been through? I didn’t want to believe it, but it was possible for his previous anger toward my family to rekindle, especially now that he was back with Eva. What if she convinced Rion that I was the bad guy and that all the pain they had endured really was because of my family?
I tried to repeat my mother’s words in my head, telling myself that I wouldn’t be raising this child alone. I would have my family and whatever husband they decided to set up with. I tried to picture another man, and it just made the pain of losing Rion even worse.
I wanted him desperately. I wondered if it was because we had a child growing inside of that linked to him. It felt like we both needed Rion in the sa way that we needed air to breathe.
I gasped and sat up when I felt the ship lurch violently. I heard so commotion above , but it didn’t sound panicked, so I figured we weren’t being attacked. I hoisted myself up and made my way up the creaky steps to the deck.
Crew mbers were running back and forth, a couple of them adjusting the sails sharply.
We were changing course, but why?
I found Kyle, standing behind the helmsman, who was steering the ship.
“Captain, what’s going on?” I asked, coming up behind them. “Why are we changing course?”
Kyle barely glanced at , his expression dark. It imdiately made uneasy.
Before I opened my mouth to repeat my question, he answered in a flat voice. “It appears that the daughter of the Dark Witch was aboard that boat that your little boyfriend was on, Princess. Naturally, we’re tracking them down so that I can collect that reward money.”
I felt dread fill . “But, you’re supposed to be taking back to the kingdom,” I said. “You know, so that you don’t get in trouble for supposedly kidnapping ? Rember?”
Kyle chuckled. “I’m sure the royal family will be able to overlook that if I have their number one enemy in my possession. They will likely view as a hero.”
“Do not underestimate the Dark Witch’s daughter, Captain,” I warned in what I hoped was a voice to be taken seriously. “She is powerful and unwilling to yield if sothing were to get in the way of her goals. I have watched her take lives without hesitation in the past.”
I thought this would surely convince him, but Captain Kyle just threw his head back and guffawed as if I had told the funniest joke in the world.
His laughter cut off very suddenly and he leered at . “You’d best watch yourself, Princess. I am still the captain of this ship.”
I sucked in a breath, debating what to do. If I argued or fought back, they would deem as a threat to their mission and possibly tie up. I backed away and nodded as if I had ordered this very change in plan myself. “Very well. Carry on then, Captain. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.”
Neither man looked at . “Thank you, Princess,” Kyle said.
I turned to go, my heart racing as panic ran through . What would happen to Rion if those n captured Eva? Would they turn Rion in as well? I shuddered to think about what my parents would do if they learned that he was traveling with his sister again. I doubted that they would be so forgiving a second ti.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on what side one was on, a terrible storm hit that night, throwing us completely off course. I stayed below deck, hugging my journal and my stomach as the boat rocked violently. I could hear the crew running around and shouting against the harsh winds. Thunder seed to shake the entire world.
I didn’t know how long I curled up into a ball in the corner of the room, praying for the violent rocking to stop, but eventually, it slowed significantly. Kyle ca down into my quarters, grabbing my arm and pulling to my feet.
“Let’s go, Princess,” he said, giving a firm yank.
“Where are we going?” I asked, hating how frightened and small my voice sounded.
Sohow, the crew was able to get us safely to a harbor until the storm passed. Several other boats were settled along the shore.
My eyes imdiately settled on a sleek one that was just slightly smaller than all the others.
It was Rion’s ship.
Kyle ordered for one of his crew mbers to be my escort for the night. I wasn’t sure if it was because he wanted to make sure I wasn’t hard, or that he didn’t trust not to run off. It was likely both.
The crewman was short and stalky, just slightly taller than I was, but he looked like he could hold his own in a fight. He had a thick, wiry beard and a scar above his left eye. I heard the crew mbers calling him Patch, though I doubted that that was his real na.
We were spending the night in a crowded inn. It wasn’t just full; it was rowdy and loud. The atmosphere of the dimly-lit main room was thick with the sll of salt, sweat, and alcohol.
The air was filled with loud, rough laughter and the occasional out-of-tune singing by a rough-looking group in the corner. Lanterns swung from the rafters, tossing shadows down at the wooden floor.
My breath caught in my throat as we walked directly past Rion and Eva. Eva didn’t seem to notice us, but Rion definitely did, his eyes locking with mine. My eyebrows rose when the expression he wore wasn’t the sa hostile one he had had on the ship.
His gray eyes, illuminated by the orange lights that hung above, widened for a brief mont before they seed to lt as he stared at . I didn’t understand the expression; he almost looked regretful. The pretty redhead stuck close to his side, eyeing with suspicion.
It didn’t take long for Patch and the others to have a couple of drinks and completely forget about . I sat in a corner by myself, nibbling on so bread and so weird, tropical fruit. I wrapped my cloak more tightly around myself when Kyle and the redhead moved toward the bar near .
I listened intently to their conversation. She was the captain of the ship that Rion was on.
“So, you’ve actually heard of it then?” the redhead asked, her thin eyebrows rising with obvious surprise.
“Why, Captain Carissa, how could you assu that I’m that uncultured?” Kyle asked, causing to roll my eyes. He lowered his voice slightly. “Do you have reason to believe that Hestia’s legendary treasure hoards are more than just an old pirate’s tale?”
“Oh, it’s real alright,” Carissa said with a sinister grin that caused the tiny hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. Her eyes shifted around before she lowered her voice as well. “And I believe I have the leads right aboard my ship.”
I listened intently, my nerves rising as the pirates’ conversation took a darker turn.
How much worse could things get?
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