Page 23 of Queen of Whispers and Mist

“How are you feeling?” he asked, voice lowered as if they were alone.

“Like I was left for dead.”

Ronan winced, but he couldn’t exactly argue with her. She must have had one hell of a headache when she came to. And after the awkward way she’d been tucked into that sling, her muscles must be screaming at her in protest. It’s no wonder she assumed the worst, especially when physical altercations were commonplace for her.

“Letting you sleep seemed kinder than waking you.”

“Yes, I’m sure you would think so, considering you’re the one who plucked me from my home and brought me aboard this vessel. Perhaps you’d care to fill in the blanks onthatlittle development.”

Not exactly what happened, but not entirely far off.

He’d waffled between sticking around below deck so he’d be there when she woke to explain and going off to familiarize himself with their new accommodations and the crew. In the end he’d taken the coward’s way out, claiming hunger as an excuse to go exploring. In truth, he simply wasn’t ready to face her.

But out here, there was no escape.

No escape... and an audience.

Calypso smirked as her gaze darted back and forth between them.

“Perhaps it’s best if we have this conversation in our room.”

“Oh, don’t let me stop you. This is the most entertained I’ve been in weeks.”

Neither of them spared the captain a glance. Instead, Shadow cocked a brow. “What’s wrong, Ronan? Afraid of admitting you’ve added kidnapping to your list of crimes?”

She was fishing for information, and he didn’t blame her. It had to be beyond disconcerting to wake in a foreign place with no recollection of how you got there. The grace with which she handled her situation spoke to a familiarity he didn’t want to investigate too closely. It would only piss him off, and the last thing any of them needed was him getting into it with a bunch of pirates when he tried to commandeer their ship so he could go back to Glimmermere and murder Erebos.

He really should have taken care of that when he’d had the chance, but then he’d have ended up spending the rest of his life rotting away in a hole somewhere instead of... Instead of what? Sailing off into the sunset with a woman who could barely tolerate him most days?

Ronan resisted the urge to squeeze the bridge of his nose. This was hardly the best-case scenario, but at least they were together.

“I did notkidnapyou, Shadow. I rescued you. My quick thinking last night saved both our lives.”

My quick thinking... and the help of a couple of unlikely allies.

She scoffed. “And I’m what, just supposed to take your word for it? Please. I’ve never needed rescuing a day in my life.”

“Here, here,” Calypso muttered.

“How would you know? You can’t remember any of it.” Exasperation made his voice sharper than he’d intended, and he regretted the words immediately.

Her eyes narrowed. “I wonder whose fault that is.”

He had to swallow back his bellow of frustration. He wanted to scream at her that it was Erebos’s fault, but he had no actual proof, and she had no reason to believe him. And there was also the part where hehadbeen the one to bash her upside the head with a candlestick. So although his intentions had been noble, he didn’t exactly have the moral high ground here.

Releasing a heavy exhale, he said, “Trust me, kitten, it was the only way.”

Thatcaused a reaction. She visibly flinched at the endearment, her jaw tensing. “Why should I trust you?”

“I’ve never lied to you.”

“But you don’t exactly tell the truth either.”

He should have been ashamed they were having it out on the deck, but he was just too relieved that she was finally showing some emotion—or as much as one could expect from the assassin.

“You want the truth? I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” He crossed his arms and held her stare. “Try me.”

“I should have asked Cookie to make me some of his popped corn,” Calypso murmured.

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