Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
I shrug out of her jacket and hold it out. “Well, this is suitably embarrassing. You don’t need to drop me off at the next port south. I can find my way from here.”
Maura lifts a brow. I’ve always been so damned jealous she can do that. When I was younger, I used to practice in the mirror to attempt to replicate it, but I’ve never managed. She crosses her arms over her chest, and I’m only human. Of course, I look at the way the motion makes her white shirt cling to her chest. Her breasts are smaller than mine but absolutely perfect in every way. I can clearly see her rosy nipples through the fabric.
My body gives a pulse of desire that I try very hard to ignore. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I snap.
“We’re at sea. How in the gods’ names do you expect to find your own way from here?”
I open my mouth to tell her I have a piece of eight that will grant me access to Atlantis, but I stop before the words escape. If she’s done with me, then she’s done with me. There’s no reason to tell her more than I already have. “That’s my concern.”
“Juliette.” She sighs. “You were kidnapped and had to call for help within a few hours of leaving port. Surely you can see that it’s not wise to make a go of it alone. No matter how capable you think you are, you’ve spent your entire life in a gilded palace where there were servants to take care of your every whim. It’s not like that out here.”
Of course it’s not. I may be a bit naive at times, but I’m not actually a fool… Or at least I didn’t think I was until today. Now I’m not so sure.
No.
Damn it, no.
I will not doubt myself. Not now. Not ever.
“You’ve made your thoughts on me very clear. I thank you for your help, but that’s where this ends.” It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her why she bothered to rescue me when she obviously wants nothing to do with me, but my pride won’t let me ask the question. “I’ll just clean up now.” I reach for my bag, which is still slung over her shoulder.
Maura steps back out of reach. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”
She rolls her eyes, and it’s so purely Maura that my heart ripples with pain. “Don’t get all pissy with me for pointing out the obvious. I’m trying to help.”
“I don’t need your help.”
She snorts. “Right, because you were doing so well alone on The Drowning Maid. That’s why you called for my help.”
I reach for the bag again, and again she shifts back. “What do you want, Maura? You say there’s nothing here for me, but you’re not exactly letting me leave right now.”
“I just want to help.” She almost sounds like she means it. She bites her bottom lip, the gesture harkening back to our younger selves. How can so much have changed and yet she be so familiar to me? She lifts a hand, her knuckles scarred with silver lines. “Hold still.”
I don’t have time to protest, not that I’d bother. I’m wet and cold and hurt in a way that has nothing to do with the physical. If she wants to dry my clothes, then I’m not going to stop her.
It’s very strange to watch her pull the water from the fabric and my hair. Elementals are relatively rare, at least in Skoiya. Maybe because my father looks down on that magic, calling it unsophisticated. He prefers magic that comes from pomp and ritual. I have no magic at all, so I’m even below the elementals in his eyes.
Maura flicks her wrist, and the water gathered in the air between us shoots out the window near the desk. “There.”
“That wasn’t necessary.”
“Juliette.” Her smile is sad and a little sweet. “You’re welcome.” She hands over my bag. “I have to speak with my people, but take as much time as you need. It will be a day or two before we reach our destination.”
I blink. “It takes a week to reach Oplain.”
Maura’s smile goes fierce, her teeth white against her tanned skin. “Maybe for normal folks. I have a dozen elementals who specialize in air on my crew. The winds are always with us.”
So eager to be rid of me.
I don’t say it. I gave up begging for the people in my life to love me a long time ago. I never thought I’d have to beg Maura, but that just goes to show that even the most unexpected person can let you down. “I see.”
“We’ll talk soon.” She turns and walks out of the cabin without another word, and it’s just as well. I’m not sure what I’d even say.