part0033

When Kelia stepped foot on the docks of Port George, she looked up at the castle that once housed The Society.

She lived—well used to live—here. It looked terribly similar, and yet, things had changed so much. There was an emptiness about it. It was as though a looming tension still hung in the air around this place even though there was no one here except ghosts.

She looked at the ground, and her stomach flipped. She hadn’t been seasick in months, and yet, there was something about this place that made her weak, that made her more human than she cared to admit.

She flared her nose and looked around. The scent of the fire seemed to linger even though the barn was in a heap on the ground. Her mind flashed to that evening, where everyone died. Where Jennifer betrayed her. Where Drew had come back and rescued her.

At the time, Kelia thought the entire island was going to go up in flames, and she would not have cared. Now, though… Port George was resilient to say the least. It had endured fires and storms, battles and hurricanes, and somehow, it was still standing. It would probably still be standing long before she—

Died was the wrong word.

She hid a grin and shifted her weight, glancing behind her. Drew followed her onto the island. The dark sky was not so dark to blot the light from the stars shining down upon them. There was no moon. It was completely black—a new moon, the witches called it. A new beginning. Time to start over, set intentions. A clean slate.

“Are you ready for this?” Drew asked, stepping next to her and flattening the wrinkles on his pressed white tunic.

She did not think she had ever seen him look so clean before. It reminded her just how handsome he was, which surprised her because she was already so in awe of him as it was.

“Are you ready for it?” Kelia asked. “You’ve been on the run from the East India Company your whole life. Do you think they will honor the truce?”

“I have no expectation whatsoever,” Drew returned, his voice dry. “Unfortunately, I trust no one save for a select few.”

“Am I on the list?”

“You are still under review.”

Kelia smiled despite herself. “I’m surprised Wendy didn’t want to come,” she said as they began to head up to the fortress. “I was sure she would want nothing more than to see these bastards sign over their desire to see you arrested and killed.”

“Wendy jumped at the chance Adelaide gave her and, quite frankly, I don’t blame her,” he said. He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Adelaide does not endure others unless it benefits her in some way. The fact that she took both her and Wendy surprises even me, and I am not one easily surprised.”

Kelia pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. They began to walk up the path that led directly to the fortress. From where Kelia stood, there were two armed guards dressed in all black, a bow slung across their chests and arrows on their backs. Kelia would not be surprised if the tips of the arrows were laced in silver. Just in case.

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” Kelia asked. “We do not know what they’ll do to you, Drew. What if they kill you?”

“I haven’t entertained any other outcome,” Drew returned.

Kelia recoiled. She couldn’t believe she was walking with him to his death. She had to believe there was still hope, if not for them to be together, at least for him to remain alive. Even if he was a prisoner.

If he was a prisoner, she could visit him. Free him. Something .

But there would be no bringing him back from a final death.

“Don’t go,” she said, stopping hard in her tracks, his hand in hers to stop him from walking on.

“Kelia,” he said, sorrow filling his eyes. “You know I must. Perhaps…” He bit his lip and then curled an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “Perhaps we should part ways here. Leave on a good memory. You can carry whatever hope you need with you. Remember me this way.”

She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “I am with you until the very end, Drew Knight. Know that as absolutely as you know your love for me.”

His sad gaze searched hers a moment longer before he silently started up the path again.

Kelia followed, her feet like lead with each step.

A man emerged from the building. Kelia could tell he was a Sea Shadow just from the way he carried himself. There was also something about him, something supernatural that called to attention his good looks. Even Kelia could not help but stare at him. His chestnut hair was thick and wild, like the mane of a lion. He had sharp gold eyes and a strong jaw that seemed perpetually clenched, as though he was angry at everything all the time. He was taller than Drew by about two, perhaps three inches, and his body was packed with muscle.

“Drew Knight.” The man’s voice was a rich timber. He was probably a delightful singer when he was alive. He could still be one even now. “And you’ve brought a…friend.”

Drew forced a smile and matched this Shadow’s stare with an unflinching one of his own.

“I’m sorry, I don’t believe we had the pleasure,” Drew said.

Neither man shook hands.

“James,” the man said. “James Faulkner. Lieutenant in the Shadow Army. I’m here to show you to the drawing room. Your friend will have to wait outside while things our discussed.”

“My friend will do no such thing,” Drew said seriously. “She will come inside and stay with me. What you say to me, you can say to her.”

“The East India Company does not wish to bore the lady with words and trivial details,” James Faulkner said as they stepped into the fortress and made a right.

“Mr. Faulkner,” Kelia said before Drew had a chance to reply. “Forgive me, but have you met a lady before? One who is educated and has killed? One who can match appropriate stockings with dresses and one who, as a Shadow herself, has tasted Siren blood and lived to tell the tale?”

James shifted his gaze from Drew to Kelia. Kelia forced a smile.

“No,” he admitted, though his voice was still curt. “I have not.”

“I am not surprised,” she said, turning her attention away from Faulkner and letting her eyes roam the familiar hallway. “If anyone is in need of assistance when particularly difficult words come up in discussion, I am happy to offer my services.”

“Darling, no need to make a spectacle of the Shadow,” Drew murmured, though Kelia could see approval shining in his dark eyes.

“He needs to learn manners,” Kelia pointed out.

“I am quite aware of the decorum of our society,” James Faulkner put in. He opened the door to the fortress and took a step back so both Drew and Kelia could step forward. “Whether I choose to actually participate in said decorum is a different matter.”

“Does your employer not wish you to be their perfect beast?” Kelia asked.

There was part of her that was being saucy on purpose, but she was genuinely curious about this Sea Shadow. If he was being honest, if his bristle regarding the rules was not for show, then she wanted to know how the East India Company kept him in line.

“I am no one’s beast,” James said. There was a slight bite in his tone.

As the trio walked down the shadowy hallway lit up only by the torches hanging on the walls, Drew slid his hand into Kelia’s and gave it a gentle squeeze. To a casual onlooker, it might have been a romantic gesture. Kelia knew, however, that he was sending her a silent warning.

The rest of the walk was silent and unhurried. James did not seem to be in a rush. Kelia knew she and Drew were not. Kelia knew the East India Company expected Drew to turn himself over. Bethany expected the same. But perhaps there was a way to bargain Drew out of this.

Kelia was willing to do anything for the East India Company despite their treacherous, sordid history if it meant getting Drew back.

James turned left and headed up the staircase. Kelia instantly recognized it as the way to the council chambers. She remembered coming here when she was searching for documentation on where Wendy Knight was located within the Society. It held a secret library filled with books of magic that Kelia had longed to read before she was pulled away by fate.

They walked down another hallway where soft voices echoed from behind closed doors as they passed. She clenched her jaw. She thought the Society had been destroyed since they left, since the death of Rycroft, since—

The Society—just like their fortress—was still standing.

Kelia blanched. She had to stop herself. Her stomach was getting woozy, and she was almost afraid she might wretch all over the floor.

She had not been nauseated like this since she had been human and was battling her prevalent sea sickness.

“You all right, darling?” Drew asked, stopping so he could stay by her side.

James stopped and gave her a questioning look but said nothing.

“Good,” Faulkner said. “We would not like to keep the EIC waiting any longer.”

Kelia had a retort waiting for him on the tip of her tongue, but Drew pulled her into the room before she could say anything. The long wooden table was still there, but the library had completely vanished. Kelia hoped more than anything that the East India Company had not burned the books or destroyed them. Hide them if they must, but anything more than that was simply criminal.

“Drew Knight,” one of the men said, standing up from his seat at the head of the table.

His partner, a short man with a scowl on his face, did not even bother to pick his head up from the fascinating task of cleaning his cuticles with his fingernails.

“To what do we owe the visit?” the first man asked.

Drew furrowed his brow. He eased into the room. Kelia preferred to stand next to the door in case a hasty exit was required. From the corner of her eye, she saw Faulkner slide into a chair on the opposite side of the table and drum his long fingers against the surface. His shoulders were square, his posture nearly perfect. He must have been some sort of gentleman before he was turned.

“I made a bargain with a Siren,” Drew said. “In exchange for the Sirens’ help in killing the Queen, I was to pay you a visit.”

“Why?” The dry voice of the indifferent man filled the room.

Kelia bristled even though she should not allow someone inconsequential to get under her skin. There was just something about this man, however. Something she did not trust.

“Why?” Drew repeated. “Surely you know what happened by now?” He took a tentative step into the room, but his head moved panoramically. Kelia knew he was trying to scan for potential exits. “The Queen is dead.”

“Would you like a biscuit?” the second, sitting, man said. He finally looked up at Drew, his periwinkle eyes as bored as his curled lips.

“Wilson,” the first man said in a gentle warning. “Drew Knight and his friend have done us a great service by killing the Queen.”

“The East India Company wanted the Queen dead?” Kelia said before she could stop herself.

“Why do you think no one from the EIC defended her?” Wilson asked. He leaned forward in his chair and placed his hands on the surface of the desk. “Don’t you think it strange that her greatest ally was not there for her during such a threatening time?”

Kelia’s mouth dropped open as she let the man’s words sink in. Not once had she questioned why the East India Company was not there. She knew the Queen and the EIC had a tumultuous relationship to say the least, but they regarded each other as allies. At the very least, they would fight on the same side.

And yet, there was no one on Sangre besides the Queen’s Shadows to defend her.

That was telling, and Kelia had not realized it until just now.

“You wanted the Queen dead?” Drew repeated, as if hoping for a different answer.

His tone was much more reserved than Kelia’s had been. He always held his emotions close to his chest. Kelia wished she could be more like that but knew she would never be. And she was starting to accept that that was okay.

“Yes,” the first man said. “And you helped us accomplish that. We didn’t have to risk our men. And for that, we thank you.”

“What does that mean, exactly?” Kelia asked, taking a step forward from where she had positioned herself in the corner of the room.

“It means, dear , that you and your beloved are of no consequence to us,” Wilson said. “Do whatever you want. Go wherever you want. We do not care. We are starting to execute the second portion of our plan, and since it should not affect Shadows, no one is concerned with you.”

“Won’t affect Shadows ," Drew said slowly.

“The EIC has always had its eye on colonizing India, China, and the eastern part of the continent, and we’ve succeeded in doing so,” Wilson continued. “We continue to trade with a variety of countries in order to unite them all and establish England as the sovereign ruler over those countries.”

“But," the first man put in, “there are others who need our help.”

Kelia pursed her lips. Need their help ? They pitched this as if they were heroes. Really, they were trying to get control of anyone they could.

“Your father’s breeding program gave us some headway,” Wilson went on. “But we’re going to start a new program. We don’t just want countries, after all. We want creatures. We started with the Queen, but we want to expand. Experiment. Create. Add more value to the world.”

“Control over the land does allow us to help many people,” the first man said, “but imagine how much good we can do if we also had control over magic.”

“Is that even possible?” Kelia asked, a pit growing in her stomach.

The East India Company may have wanted the Queen dead, and may have been willing to let Drew walk free, but they were not good and noble people. Power in their hands was dangerous.

“We think so,” the first man said with a grin. “And we have you to thank for getting the Queen out of the way, thus giving us the ability to move forward. Thank you, both of you. Now, if you’ll excuse us. We have much to discuss.”

Faulkner stood and headed to the door. He opened it up, and Drew piled out followed by a very confused Kelia.

Why was Drew not saying anything?

“You’re okay with this?” she asked Faulkner as she brushed past him. “They control your balls as well as your mouth?”

Faulkner gave her a look but did not respond.

When they finally arrived at the ship, Kelia threw her arms out and stomped her foot. “Why no fight, Drew?” she demanded. “Why no argument? Why no—”

“Because we are free !” he exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders and bringing her close to him. “We are free, and we are together, and we are alive . That is all that matters to me. Don’t you see? We went to Hell and back, and we survived. I want to enjoy this. All my life I have been running. Now, I don’t need to. Not anymore.”

Didn’t he get it? This would make them just as bad as everyone who had looked the other way at what the Society was doing. At what the Queen had done.

Nobody cared until it was their own lives on the line.

“I thought you were different, Drew,” she said, shaking her head. “But you only care about yourself.”

“And you,” he said, stepping closer. “But you’re right. We should do something. We will do something.”

Kelia arched her eyebrow. “Will we?”

“Yes,” he promised. “But not today. Not when we know so little and we’re so ill prepared. Let’s see what they do first.” He brushed hair behind her ear and cupped Kelia’s cheek with his palm. "Please, Kelia. Grant me this one favor. Let us simply forget anyone else exists for just a short time. Let me enjoy you.”

He got down on his knees and gazed up at her, causing her stomach to twitch. “You are my Queen. Let me worship you without worry or stress. We have a thousand lifetimes together. Let’s start now.”

Kelia wanted to argue, but she could not find a good reason to do so. Especially not when he looked at her that way.

They could save the world another day.

“Queen, you say?” she asked as she ran her fingers through Drew’s hair.

He caressed the hemline of her tunic. “And I am your Knight. And that’s the way it is. That is the way it will always be.”

He lifted the clothing and kissed her bare stomach, and her eyes closed on their own accord.

“What say you, darling?” he asked.

“I thought I was a Queen,” she teased.

“You’re right, I apologize.” Another kiss, near her navel. “What say you, Your Majesty?”

“Yes,” she murmured back. “I say yes.”

With that declaration to seal the deal, he tugged off her tunic and undressed her before making love to her under the stars and in the cool swell of darkness.

A New Adventure at Sea begins in The Legend of the Siren series, coming soon! Subscribe to the authors’ newsletters for updates!