“I had a feeling you might show up,” he said, the instant Kelia righted herself once on board.
Suddenly, all of her anger was unleashed. She did not say a word. None came to mind due to how frustrated she was with this Shadow in front of her. All she could do was stomp toward him. As soon as she got within range, she threw her fist at his face.
Drew Knight did not seem to calculate that Kelia was going to punch him. Or if he did, he didn’t care, because he didn’t move out of the way.
The minute her knuckles hit his cheek, they screamed in pain, but Kelia was too furious to care.
“You’re a liar,” Kelia said as Drew grabbed his right cheek with his left hand.
There was a flash of fury in his eyes, and Kelia felt herself straighten at the sight of it. In an instant, however, it was gone, replaced with amusement and approval.
Once he righted himself, he moved quickly and leapt for her.
“You’re angry,” he told her. “As usual.”
Kelia managed to get out of the way just in time, then reached for her sword. But Drew was quick to grab it and toss it to the side.
“If we fight, we fight without the assistance of unnecessary weapons,” he said.
There was an amused glint in his eye, but his lips were pressed together, determined. He circled Kelia, and Kelia followed suit.
“Why are you angry?” Drew asked.
“Because you’re a liar,” Kelia growled. Her fist throbbed, but it was still curled and ready to hit again. If she managed to even get one more punch in, it would all be worth it. “You knew about the human cargo. You knew and did not tell me.”
“Would it have changed anything?” Drew asked.
Kelia lunged again. This time, Drew sidestepped her attack; she punched nothing but air. From there, she whirled around and reached out again, only to have him grip her arms, trapping her in his grasp.
“Tell me, darling,” he said, his lips close to her ear. “If I told you I knew exactly what they were picking up, would you have hesitated? Would you have changed anything?”
“I would have been furious!” Kelia roared.
She lifted her foot and stomped it on Drew’s. He let out a grunt but did not release her as he had before. She tried again, but Drew dodged her foot and forced her legs further apart so she would not be able to try such things again.
“And that is exactly why I did not tell you,” Drew said. She could hear the amusement in his tone, could feel the vibrations of chuckles running through his chest even though he was not laughing. “Your anger makes you impulsive and unwise. If there is one thing I feel I must teach you, it is how to control your emotions. Your emotions make you weak.”
Kelia’s blood heated. If he was attempting to get her to control her emotions now, she was certainly failing, and there was a part of her that did not care.
At that moment, she flung her neck backward so her head smacked Drew in his face. He let out a grunt and released her, grabbing his nose with his free hands. She whirled out of his grasp, then used his momentum against him by sticking out her foot and causing him to stumble and fall on his back. Kelia ran up to him and placed her foot on his neck, pressing against his throat as she stared down at him with narrowed eyes.
Drew lifted a hand, and it was only then Kelia noticed his crew of Shadows—a crew she had never seen—edging toward her. When Drew lifted that hand, they stopped. He kept his eyes directly on Kelia, however. She could not read the dark irises, though he did seem somewhat surprised she had managed to get him in this position.
“Emotions are motivating,” Kelia told him, breathless. She slowly lifted her foot and placed it back on the deck. “They push me to act rather than to sit and think about what I should do next.”
“Perhaps,” he said, picking himself up. His nose was still bleeding.
Kelia cleared her throat, feeling herself calm at the sight of the red blood.
“You’re getting better,” he told her. He dropped his eyes to her hand. Kelia was certain it would swell with the number of times she had punched Drew. Her head was starting to throb as well. “You’ll need to ice that when you return to your fortress.”
“The fortress is not mine,” Kelia said before she could stop herself. “It does not belong to me.”
Drew shifted his weight, his eyes shining. “Am I hearing animosity toward your precious society?” he asked, his voice teasing. However, Kelia could tell he was genuinely curious about her new feelings regarding The Society.
“Don’t turn this around on me, Shadow,” she said, uncurling her fist and wincing at her sore fingers. “You lied to me. How are we supposed to work together if you won’t share information?”
Drew took a step toward her and then another until he was standing directly in front of her. His crew of Sea Shadows had disappeared. Now it was just the two of them.
For a moment, Kelia wondered where Emma was, but she bit back from asking. She didn’t want to seem as though she cared about anyone on this ship…and more so, Kelia didn’t know what or who Emma was to Drew, and she did not feel comfortable asking.
Or perhaps there were other reasons she didn’t want to know.
“Let me ask you a question, Slayer,” Drew said slowly. His voice had a slight slur to it, which did not make much sense considering Sea Shadows could not get drunk. They could eat and drink what humans did, but it did not affect their bodies, did not sustain their lives the way blood did. “Do you trust me?”
Kelia opened her mouth, prepared to answer when Drew jumped in before she could. “Really think about it, Slayer,” he said. “Do you trust me? Drew Knight, infamous Sea Shadow? Your mission as a Slayer is to find me and condemn me to death. So, even though we are forced to work together by this deal, it is the only thing keeping us from killing each other.”
Kelia blinked. “Is that what you believe?”
She hadn’t meant to sound so curious for the answer, hadn’t meant to sound offended. Perhaps even hurt, though she did not think hurt was the best word to describe it. She refused to think that Drew Knight could hurt her with his words—though his betrayal at keeping something from her…
That hurt, did it not?
She would never admit such a thing, of course. But maybe it did, just a bit.
“I am not asking you about my beliefs,” Drew told her in a low voice. He was still so close to her. There was no reason for him to be this close, and yet…and yet, she found she did not want him to step away. As though his body was protecting her from the cold, even though she had never needed protection before. “I’m asking you yours.”
Her insides were conflicted, churning the way a witch’s cauldron might, filled with a potion she was creating for profit.
“To be honest, I hated the idea of working with you at the beginning,” she told him slowly. “I hated that I had to partner with not just a Sea Shadow, but the Sea Shadow. If The Society ever found out about our partnership, I would be sent to rehabilitation for sure, after a thorough punishment.” Kelia stepped away from him, letting the emotions from before slowly exit her body as she walked to the banister portside of the ship. When her hands touched the railing, she breathed in deeply, her nose tickling with the salty air. “Obviously, that did not stop me. My desire to solve my father’s death beat out any qualms I had about working with you.”
“And you do not think our relationship is on the brink of combustion?” he asked in a low voice.
She could hear his footsteps draw nearer to her, could feel him when he positioned himself next to her, but she did not turn her head to regard him.
“I think we are opposing features of a coin that has yet to be read,” she said.
“And what does that mean?” he asked, turning his body so it was positioned toward her rather than out at the calm sea.
The last time the waters had been choppy and unpredictable had been when she was battling that Infant, when her father had been alive. Since then, she could not remember when the water
acted up. Currently, it was calm and soothing, dark and steady.
“It means,” she said, “that deep down, I think we want the same thing. I want the truth of what happened to my father, and you want your truth of uncovering what The Society is up to. Our truths are more important than our alliances. We are forced to act as though we trust each other, even when we might not.” She glanced at Drew from the corner of her eyes. “You are the last person I want to trust. It is still difficult for me to admit to myself that I need your assistance, that I can’t do this alone. But if that’s what it takes to find my truth, then I will deal with it.”
Drew was silent. Kelia was not sure if the silence was heavy, filled with tension, or if it was comfortable. She supposed it did not matter, that she did not particularly like him staring at her with such intensity.
“You are much wiser than you often behave,” he said quietly, making her body fill with a tense warmth. More conflicting feelings.
She tilted her head to the side, a small smile on her face. “Is that a compliment?”
“Take it as you will,” he said with an easy shrug. His eyes found the ocean again, leaning his body against the banister of the ship. “How was your meeting with Rycroft?”
“You know Rycroft?” she asked him, surprised.
“Of course,” Drew said, his voice tight and restrained. Tension radiated from his body, an anger that swirled above him like a black cloud. “When Shadows are created, they get a handler assigned to them, just as you Slayers do.”
“What?” she asked. “I’m not quite sure I understand what you mean.”
Kelia held her breath, his words sinking past her thick skin. There were so many ways to take his statement, and her mind instantly jumped to the worst-case scenario. But she held back, refusing to push him. Needing to hear him explain.
“You want me to tell you things, Slayer,” he finally said, turning toward her, “and yet you cannot possibly comprehend what I know. More than that, I doubt you would believe me, even if I did tell you.”
Kelia clenched her jaw, her eyes flashing into his. Anger burned her blood as she turned to him. “Try me.”
“Sea Shadows aren’t natural,” Drew said, keeping his eyes on hers. “Sea Shadows aren’t born. They’re created. And who do you think created them?”
Kelia kept her mouth shut. She did not know the answer to that. They had not studied such a thing in her classes.
“The human cargo your society was picking up was probably explained by Rycroft as a good deed his group was participating in, yes?” Drew pushed up his eyebrows to emphasize his point. “Your society is based on lies. Everything. The very basis of what you stand for is a lie. Your human cargo was going to feed Infants your society created.”
Kelia face paled. “What? That…that can’t be right. I think—”
“That I’m mistaken? That you can’t, as I predicted, believe what I’m telling you?” All the playfulness had vanished from his tone. Now, he spoke clearly, his voice low and dangerous. “Believe it or not, Kelia Starling, your society created Infants.”
“But why?” Kelia asked tightly. “That doesn’t make any sense. If you want me to believe you, I need more than that. I need a reason.”
Drew opened his mouth, but quickly closed it again. “Not now,” he said. “We don’t have the time. They will wonder where you’ve been.” He nodded across the ship, where the boat was being placed back into the sea by his crew. “Go.”
“Tell me,” Kelia demanded.
Drew snarled. “I said, go!”
Kelia stumbled back, startled. For a second, she thought she saw regret flashing in his dark eyes, but surely she was mistaken.
As she put more and more distance between herself and the Sea Shadow, Drew said, “The society created Sea Shadows specifically for The East India Company, Kelia Starling, and I waste both our time telling you any more if you won’t believe me.”
Chapter 15
Once Kelia shut the fortress door behind her, she knew her absence had been noticed.
“Kelia,” came the calm, low voice of Charles, piercing the air.
She almost let out a relieved breath, up until the point that she turned from the door to look at his face. His stormy blue eyes were dark and hard, his lean body tense, almost as though he were angry with her.
What could she have possibly done to induce his wrath? In fact, she did not think it was possible that Charles could even get angry. Yet, he stood there, his fists at his side, his eyes narrowed, his lips tugged into a thin, white line.
She didn’t have time for this. Kelia was ready to collapse into bed. Charles was only preventing her from doing so.
“Charles,” Kelia responded tentatively, making her way to the staircase.
Charles stepped in front of her so she would not be able to get past him.
Kelia blew a breath through her lips and shook her head. “Charles,” she said, trying to ease the edginess in her voice. “I am very tired, and there’s nothing more I’d like right now than to retire and get some much-needed sleep. Can this wait until morning?”
“You’re out of breath,” he said, his eyes on the bodice of her dress. “Your dress is a mess.”
“I have had a long day,” she said.
“Clearly.”
Kelia noticed the malice in his tone. She went to walk around him, but he sidestepped to stay in her way.
“This is the third time I’ve caught you sneaking into the fortress past curfew,” he said, his eyebrows pushed together. “Kelia, you could get into big trouble for this. Do you understand? I don’t know what you’re doing out there. Perhaps it’s not my place to ask. But I do worry about you, and I cannot keep hiding your secrets when you could be putting yourself at risk.”
Kelia’s breath hitched. She had barely gotten away with simply having a black mark on her record for partaking in a mission she had never been assigned to in the first place. She could feel her blood pumping through her body due to her time with Drew Knight. She did not need a lecture from Charles right now. She wanted sleep. She wanted to check on the status of Jennifer’s health.
She wanted to yell at Charles, or to ignore him and flee to her room. Instead, she forced a sigh from her nostrils, trying to think of the best way to handle the situation. She hated that she found herself taking Drew’s lessons to heart, thinking about what he said about her quick temper and how that hurt more than helped her.
“I am sorry to have worried you,” she finally managed to say, picking her eyes up so she could lock her gaze with his. “That was never my intention. With everything that has happened, I find I must distance myself from this place as there are too many memories…” Kelia forced herself to crack her voice so it sounded as though she was on the brink of crying. She could instantly see the sympathy swell in Charles’s stare. “I just find my own company in Port George much better and easier to manage than here.”
Charles’s mouth dropped open slightly. Kelia thought she had done a damn good job of convincing him that she was sorry and that she did not want him to worry. Considering he was all but in love with her, she thought those were the perfect words to tell him. There was something brewing in those eyes, however. Something Kelia knew she would not like.
“Of course, I know it is not your intention to worry me,” he said in a low voice, taking a threatening step toward her. Everything in Kelia’s body screamed at her to retreat, but she forced herself to stand still. She would not let him control the moment. “However, this is the third time I’ve caught you out past curfew. And I worry you are engaging in behavior that puts you at risk. Who knows how many times you’ve come in and I haven’t been there to ensure you are safe?”
Kelia mouth went dry. What was he saying? Where, exactly, was he going with this?
“I’m sorry,” she forced herself to say, though she wanted nothing more than to yell at him. “But what do you mean, Charles?”
He sighed. “I cannot, in good conscience, allow you to cont
inue to come in past curfew,” he said. “I feel as though I’m forced to report you, Kelia.” His tone was almost desperate, as though he needed her to understand why he was doing this. “For your own good. You are engaging in risky behavior, and I would be completely beside myself if anything happened to you late at night while you were out.”
“Charles,” Kelia said, trying to keep her voice controlled. Her fist was throbbing, and she wanted to get ice on it as quickly as she could. “I can take care of myself.”
“There was a sighting,” Charles continued, ignoring her comment. “Drew Knight is somewhere nearby. He intercepted a cargo ship of ours and freed—”
“Slaves, Charles,” Kelia said, her voice flat. “The society was transporting slaves.”
“All for the greater good, I am sure,” Charles said, but even he did not sound convinced. She immediately regretted confiding that detail in him. “Either way, Drew Knight was spotted, and his thirst for Slayers has only increased. It would not surprise me in the least if he was somewhere on this island, in fact, considering how half of it remains unexplored. Uncharted.”
“Charles,” Kelia snapped, causing Charles to freeze up where he stood. “Are you saying you’re going to report me, then?”
“Yes,” he said with a nod, then shook his head. “No. Kelia, I… The Autumn Festival is coming up in a week or so. Are you attending?”
Kelia blinked. Where was he going with this? She had not even thought about the Autumn Festival, a celebration of the autumn solstice, held at the end of September every year. Every Slayer was expected to attend. This was where The Society matched Slayers who chose not to continue with their time in The Society and, instead, chose to start families. Jennifer’s fiancé would be there, and if Kelia chose to step down, she might meet her intended there as well. Weddings were held in the spring, but the Autumn Festival provided a good place to socialize and converse. Attending with someone implied she was taken; she would be attending alone, but only as it was required.
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