Page 16 of Of the Stars and Sea

Blythe moves to take a step back, releasing his hold on me. “Coward,” I mutter under my breath.

Grayson huffs as though I’ve humored him. When he closes the distance between us, I still the shaking of my body and raise my chin a little higher. I won’t let him see me afraid.

Not now.

Not ever.

I tilt my head back further to meet his eyes.

Blessed stars, hiseyes.

A mirror of the ocean’s surface, Grayson’s irises are a sapphire blue with flecks of white, like glittering stars cast across the sea. The colors seem to move—much like the ocean herself, never able to stand still. Not even for a moment.

I’m in awe of them. Captivated, like the first time I gazed upon the darkened heavens while sailing the Aelynthi Sea.

Stricken from my stupor, I notice the rise of his hand as he reaches for a lock of my hair. Frozen, I’m forced to watch as hemoves his fingers over the strands, down to where my mother’s pearl is secured.

His ocean eyes meet mine as he says, “What a mess you’ve made, Little Pearl.”

For a breath, my heart stops. The space between us is charged. It would only take a single swipe of his dagger and I’d be lost forever. Just another forgotten soul claimed by his blade.

“She stole from me, Captain Grayson.” Blythe’s voice shakes as he speaks, but somehow the coward finds his words. “I haven’t broken The Code—asshehas. I’m just here to take back what belongs to me.”

Grayson doesn’t even look up at Blythe as he drops the lock of my hair then grips my chin between his fingers. I suck in a breath, waiting for the blow I know is coming.

“Find your treasure somewhere else, Blythe.” Grayson’s head tilts to the side, assessing me with that subtle grin that sparks some hidden part of me. It screams danger. And that same hidden part of me relishes in it.

Grayson’s thumb traces over the edge of my mouth before he says, “This one’s mine.”

Chapter 5

“And what gives you the right to take her from me?” Blythe asks. He’s either brave or a complete fool.

Grayson’s hand drops from my face and I exhale loudly, leaning backward, away from his touch. He looks behind me to where Blythe and the members of his crew stand. A flicker of agitation feathers his jaw as he steps away from me and toward Blythe.

Turning, I watch, taking note of how Grayson’s body dwarfs Blythe’s. Whatever godless creature created the immortal being before me was surely a beast, given his size. But Grayson’s beauty . . . I’m not sure a monster could create something so fine.

Questions wander through my mind of the male. Questions I am likely not going to survive long enough to ask.

I glance at Amara and Wells, still as stone where I ordered them to stop. Amara pleads with me through the look in her eyes. My throat goes dry and I have to look away.

We’ve already lost one soul tonight and she doesn’t want to lose another. But neither do I. Selfishly, I’d rather be the one to die than the one to see Amara or Wells come to their end. Thankful for their obedience, I look back at Grayson, knowingdamn well if I make the wrong move he’ll bury his dagger in my back.

Grayson stops in front of Blythe and much to my surprise, Blythe doesn’t waver. Just as mine did, his head tilts back when he looks up into Grayson’s face.

“I have theonlyright.” Grayson’s voice cuts through the silent night, giving wings to all the stories spread about him. He lifts a single finger, and one of Blythe’s men starts clutching his throat as blood seeps out between his fingers in a wine-colored river.

My gaze trails to Grayson’s crew, spotting a man with his arm extended. He has cropped blond hair and menacing eyes. In a blink, he’d thrown his dagger. Faster than anyone I’d ever seen—even the vampyre guard Red Beard hired. The man straightens his leather coat before letting his arm fall back to his side like nothing happened.

A scuffling sound catches my attention and I turn to see Blythe’s crew member collapse to the ground. His fingers clutch his neck like he might have some chance of keeping the blood from pouring out of the wound.

We all stare at him. No one takes a single breath as the light in his eyes finally blinks out.

A whisper of swords being drawn from their sheaths sings through the air and my head spins. Another death. Another soul taken for this damn thing that burns a whole in my coat pocket. But I know it is more than just a trinket. It is the key to a life of freedom. One that every pirate here yearns for—will kill for.

Haskilled for.

Everyone except for me and yet, here I stand. Waiting for someone else to take my fate into their hands. Waiting for the death I already know is coming the moment Grayson turns his attention back on me and the prize I carry.

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