Page 59 of Traitor Witch
Nilsa shoves at my arm, but she’s still so weak from whatever happened to her in that house. She’s also ridiculously tiny compared to me. Even at full strength, I doubt she could make me move.
“I don’t want on his stupid boat, anyway,” she mutters. “I have a plan, remember?”
“Lie.” Kier calls her out on it, and she cranes her neck to glare at him.
I press a finger to her lips, silencing her as I turn back to the figurehead. “She’s wounded.”
“Why should I care? My hair ispinkbecause of her. And it’s aship, witch!”
I look down at Nilsa. “Can you change his hair back?”
She shakes her head. “It’ll wear off… eventually.”
“I’m not lowering that plank or sailing out of this harbour until it does.”
“Nilsa?” Cas’s head pokes over the railings, his eyes travelling over our blood-covered group with alarm. “Val, let them on board! Can’t you smell she’s bleeding?”
“I’m a mage,” Val reminds us, dryly. “So, no. I can’t smell bleeding.”
Cas glowers, his eyes flickering. “Do you want this ship crushed and sunk to the bottom of the harbour?”
“Try it,” Val dares him.
Nilsa wiggles against me. “Let me down, Rysen. He doesn’t want me on there. I’m going back to Alletta’s.”
I don’t move. It frustrates her, if her cute little growl of anger is any indication.
“You were thrown out of Alletta’s,” I remind her.
I give up waiting for the plank that isn’t coming, bend my knees, and calculate the distance. With a single leap, we’re back on the deck.
Nilsa groans. Val curses. The twins swarm us.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Is she okay?”
“Do we need to get bandages?”
“Why is she still on my ship!”
I shrug, but the action makes her hiss.
“What do you need?” I ask, pushing past the others and heading for her cabin.
“To be put down,” she grumbles. “I’m fine. They’ll heal.”
“Tell that to the blood. They need cleaning.” I shove through the door, barely noticing that the room has been cleared out in our absence. The crates and barrels which were here before have been moved. An armchair, rugs, drawers, and all manner of other furniture has replaced them. All the things she should have had from the moment she first arrived.
Val wouldn’t have done it, so I know the twins must be responsible.
Nos knew she was coming back.
That thought makes me snarl. If he knew she’d be injured and would need to return, he should have stopped her from leaving.
The bed is made with pale cream sheets, but I bypass it and head for the bathroom.
“Let me down!” Nilsa is getting more and more insistent. “You’re not washing me.”
