Page 8 of A Hunt So Wicked
I eyed Kael. Maybe he was right. Or, maybe the kings would let us float out into the choppy waters, and we’d learn of the shoddy craftsmanship when it was too late while he and the other royals would watch from The Roaring Isle with bellies full of ale and laughter in their throats. The money was the only driving force at this point. I had to win that damned money.
I crossed my arms. “Fine.”
He nodded and took hold of my reins.
“But Kael?” His brown eyes met mine. “When that ship sinks, I’ll be using your body as a life raft.”
“I’d expect nothing less, my lady,” he replied with a grin, leading us to the dock.
At some point over the last three days, all sense had abandoned my brain. Even now, there was a small voice urging me to run back home. But as I said, all sense was gone, so I ignored that voice, and I got on the floating death trap.
Chapter three
Iwipedmymouthwith Kael’s handkerchief for the fifth time since we left the port.
“Well, if nothing else, we’ve learned that you should never pursue a pirate’s life,” Kael said and then laughed at his own joke. I scowled, but before I could bite back at him, I was leaning over the ship’s edge once again and dry heaving with everything I had. There was nothing left in my stomach.
“Um, excuse me?” a feminine voice asked softly.
Slowly, I turned toward her and covered my mouth. The last thing I needed right now was to greet a new person with terrible puke breath. She was a dainty little thing with a deep purple gown that looked lovely against her golden brown skin and hair so dark it almost seemed blue.
“I couldn’t help but notice your struggles with seasickness,” she said with concern in her deep brown eyes.
I waved a hand, as if I wasn’t currently dying and it was no big deal. “I’m fine.” Kael shot me a doubtful look. “Eventually. Eventually, I’ll be fine.”
“Oh. Okay, well, I brought these with me.” I looked at her open palm and saw a small bag of mints and two long leather strings with a smooth ball affixed in the middle of each one. “Mints are the most recommended remedy, but my grandfather, who was from the Eastern Realm, swears by these bracelets.”
“What are they?” Kael asked, barging in before I could ask myself.
“Don’t mind him. He apparently lost his manners back on land,” I told my savior.
She smiled and shook her head. “May I?” She reached for my arm and I raised my wrist so she could secure the leather bracelet. Instead of fastening it so the bead would be on top, she placed it underneath my wrist. “The marble will apply pressure here and relieve your nausea.”
Kael and I glanced at each other as she secured them, the two of us clearly skeptical of her treatment, but my guard couldn’t keep his thoughts to himself. “Well, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of the wrist being connected to a stomach, but if it stops her from retching like a bird, those will be worth their weight in gold!”
She giggled and then passed me the bag of mints. “I would still use these. At least until we get the sickness under control.”
“Thank you…” I trailed off, and my new friend’s eyes widened.
“Oh, pardon me. I should have introduced myself straight away. I’m Isla Bishop.”
“I’m Evie, and my guard is Kael. Do you mind terribly if I sit down? You’re welcome to join me,” I offered, promptly and unceremoniously dropping my ass to the deck. Isla didn’t hesitate for a moment to follow suit. I shut my eyes and leaned my pounding head back against the ship.
“I don’t mean to be forward, but I am dying to know if you’re one of the selected women?” Isla asked me quietly, which my brain appreciated.
“Yes, one of the many.”
Isla exhaled like she’d been holding her breath as she waited for my answer. “Thank the Goddess. I can’t tell you how happy I am that we had the good fortune to meet before arriving on The Isle. I know you haven’t had a chance to get around much, but you’re definitely the most normal woman I’ve seen.”
My eyes remained closed as I popped a mint into my mouth and tried to sort through what she could possibly mean by that. If by normal she meant dressed like a peasant and smelling like a barnyard, then yeah, I was her girl. Isla's and Kael’s laughter filled the air, and I cracked open an eye, wondering what I had missed.
My guard pointed at me. “I agree with the barnyard thing.”
“Ugh,” I groaned. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud, but you’ve been traveling with me for how many days now? If you think you smell any better, then you’re sorely mistaken.”
“The entire ship stinks like shit,” Isla said matter-of-factly, causing Kael and me to look at her in a bit of shock. I definitely thought she was too ladylike to use foul language. “What?” she asked innocently. “It does!”
“Lady Isla is not wrong. I certainly hope they let the lot of you freshen up before you meet your future husbands,” Kael said as he sat across from us, leaning against the bulwark. It didn’t look safe to me, not with the large openings at the base of the wall.
