Despite herself, she laughed. “You're very tempting.”
“That's not a no,” he said with a grin, trailing his fingers under the edge of her shirt to brush against her skin in a light caress.
She bit her lip, reluctant to pull away. Their attraction to each other was undeniable, but sex was viewed differently amongst other races. Depending on how much humanity was within him, she couldn't risk allowing him to form any attachments. She didn't trust herself enough with him to hold back her power. Magic could be addictive, especially when coupled with intimacy. If that kiss was any indication, he could easily cause her to forget herself, and that could be dangerous for both of them.
With a small smile, she said, “No, it’s not. But we should keep moving.”
Malek’s eyes filled with something akin to regret before he moved away from her. She missed the warmth of his body almost immediately, but the space between them brought some clarity. With a sigh, Sabine focused on what needed to be done, namely getting to the bottom of who was behind the attack.
Chapter Seven
Malek crouched down beside Sabine in the alley and studied her profile. Part of him was surprised he’d been able to convince her to allow him to accompany her. Everything about her was fascinating. Each time he got a glimpse of one of her pointed ears hidden underneath her hair, he wanted to trace its graceful slope with his finger. She smelled incredible too, like the forest and moonlight.
His reaction to kissing her had also surprised him. He'd been ready to forego years of tutelage and preparation within seconds of having his hands on her. Releasing her had been more difficult than he’d expected.
She glanced over at him with cheeks that were still slightly flushed. With her silvery hair loose around her face and sparkling lavender eyes, he couldn’t help but stare. She was exquisite. Unfortunately, judging by Dax’s earlier reaction, the guild leader also thought so. He was getting some mixed information about their relationship though. She didn’t appear quite as enamored with Dax.
“It’s the building up ahead on the right,” he said, slipping into the language of the Fae. It had set her off guard before, and part of him wanted to see how she’d respond again.
“Which floor does he live on?” she asked in the same tongue, leaning forward to get a better look.
He paused in surprise, her pronunciation making her normally sultry voice even more captivating. At the very least, one of her parents was Fae. Her inflection with those few words was completely natural. She turned to look at him, a small frown on her face.
He cleared his throat, trying to focus again on her question. Having her so close made it difficult to form any coherent thoughts. “His living quarters take up the entire top floor.”
She nodded. “I don’t see any other guards other than the ones we already passed. Dax probably hasn’t moved his people into position yet. We’ll need to hurry before that happens.”
“Right.” Malek moved forward and away from her, even though all he wanted to do was get her alone. If he had his way, he’d take her back to his ship and spend the next several hours getting lost in her, breathing in her scent and exploring her delectable body. The Fae’s ability to charm and seduce was legendary, but he hadn’t believed the talent would be so potent in anyone with a shared heritage.
He walked up the steps toward Terrance’s building and led Sabine inside. There were three floors in this building, and it overlooked the ocean. The area was a bit run-down compared to the more affluent areas of the city, but the view was spectacular. Malek gripped the rickety banister and started climbing the stairs. Sabine’s footsteps behind him were completely silent, so much so that he kept checking to make sure she was following him.
They’d closed the door to Terrance’s apartment when they left earlier, but Javyn hadn’t bothered to lock it. Malek opened it to find nothing had changed. The apartment was still in shambles, making it obvious the entire living quarters had been thoroughly searched. Sabine moved into the room and swept her gaze over the furnishings. Books and cushions had been tossed around, and papers littered the floor. Her frown deepened, and he followed her into the room, curious to learn what she’d hoped to find.
Sabine trailed her fingers over a table, her tactile exploration making him wonder what it would be like to have her hands on him. He’d noticed she’d done the same thing when she’d been in his room earlier. It was an endearing quality, but it might be more than that. Some magic users could read energies through touch. If that was one of Sabine’s talents, it could be extraordinarily useful depending on how powerful it was.
She crossed the room, stopping at a small bar area. He turned to see what had caught her attention, but it was simply a bottle of a very expensive dwarven ale. Sabine picked it up and studied the hand-drawn label.
“Have you tried that?”
She nodded and placed the dwarven ale back on the bar. “Yes. It’s a bit of out of place here though.”
Malek studied the rest of the bottles on the bar. Most of them had been opened, and there were a few homegrown liquors. She was right; such a costly brew didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the selection. Malek picked up the bottle in question, but it was still sealed. Unusual, but it hadn’t been here long.
“It’s a shame to let this go to waste,” he murmured, debating whether to take it with him.
Her mouth twitched in a smile. “We can’t have that, can we?”
He chuckled. “It would be a travesty. What are the chances I can convince you to share a glass with me?”
She tilted her head, and the tip of a pointed ear peeked through her hair. “It’s not really to my taste.”
He nodded, unsurprised by her admission. “You prefer Faerie wine, right? I happen to have another case of that on my ship. You have my word none of those have been drugged.”
Sabine arched her brow. “You have me intrigued, Captain. Is it safe to assume Dax acquired the wine from you?”
“Indeed, but I can assure you I had no knowledge about what he planned to do,” Malek said with a frown. If he had known, he would have put a stop to it. “I picked up a couple of cases from a merchant in Karga after I left the dwarven city. Dax took one of those cases off my hands.”
Sabine studied him thoughtfully and took a step toward him, closing the distance between them. “Dwarven ale is difficult to come by too. Did you bring any of that with you?”
“Actually, yes,” Malek admitted, trying to recount how many cases he’d offloaded since he arrived. “I’ll have to check my inventory lists, but I know we brought several crates to shore. Dax received one of them, and I believe he handled the distribution of the rest.”
Sabine reached for the bottle in his hand, her fingers brushing against his. “When was it distributed?”
“The items were moved to a warehouse the first day we arrived in port.”
“When did you arrive? The night we met?”
He shook his head, unsure where she was going with her inquiries. “We arrived the day before, but Dax wasn’t available to meet with us then. My first mate, Levin, made the arrangements to distribute the goods with the dockmaster. He’s the one who agreed to coordinate an introduction to meet with Dax so we could secure Akros as a regular trading port.”
She tapped the cork on the bottle. “Could this bottle have come from your supply?”
“It’s possible. Why? What are you thinking?”
Sabine gave a halfhearted shrug and moved away to investigate the rest of the apartment. His eyes narrowed slightly, watching as she moved throughout the room.
She disappeared into the bedroom, and Malek followed her. Clothing was strewn around the room; even the mattress had been cut open and searched. A bookshelf was toppled on its side with the contents scattered on the ground. Sabine walked the length of the room, paused at the wall, and then turned back around. Her footsteps were silent, but she almost seemed to be listening for something as she moved toward him.
Running her hand along
the wall, she paused at a corner and took a step backward. She stared at the wall for several heartbeats before bending down and touching the floorboards.
With a frown, he put the bottle on the messy dresser. “Did you find something?”
“There’s something here,” she said, crawling along the floor and pressing down. Her fingers located a knot in the wood, and she pulled up a loose floorboard. Reaching into the dark hole, she withdrew a small book.
“What is that?”
She turned the pages and frowned. “I’m not sure.”
“May I?” he asked, and she offered it to him.
It was a small leather-bound book that appeared more like a ledger than a notebook. Symbols, numbers, and seemingly random letters were scribbled inside. The handwriting was atrocious, but he’d seen coded entries like this before. “It’s a ledger written in code.”
“You know what it means?” She moved closer to him.
He leaned over to show her the different columns. “If he’s running a gambling hall, these could be people who owe him money. I believe the first column may represent a date. The next set would be the name of the person, and the last is probably the amount they’re up or down.”
Sabine frowned. “Is Riven on that list?”
“It’s possible. Figuring out which entry belongs to him might be the key to unlocking the rest of the code.”
She lifted her gaze, and he was taken aback once again. Her eyes were the palest of blues, but in the right light, the lavender deepened. It made her appear even more Fae-like. She placed her hand on his arm, and the mark on his arm warmed as though it recognized her. “Do you know how to break the code?”
He paused, wondering whether she would agree to accept his help. She hadn’t been willing to accept the kaleidoscope as a gift, much to his disappointment. If he had any hope of convincing her to trust him, he needed to make it clear there was no obligation in return. Otherwise, she’d likely cut him out of her investigation. “I enjoy solving these types of puzzles. I’ve seen enough of these codes that I can probably decipher it, but it’ll take some time.”
She gave him a small smile, drawing his attention back to her mouth. The urge to kiss her again was overwhelming. This woman was going to drive him to the edge of all distraction. Sabine looked up into his eyes. “Perhaps you’ll share with me what you learn.”
“I’d be happy to keep you updated on my progress,” he offered, fully prepared to spend however many hours it would take if he could keep that look in her eyes.
Her hand stayed on his arm as she studied the room again. He wasn’t in a hurry for her to pull away, so he remained still.
“I don’t think there’s anything else here,” she said and closed her eyes for a moment.
He could feel the slightest brush of her magic move outward and sweep across the room. The warding medallion on his neck prevented most magic from directly affecting him, but he’d never been more inclined to yank it off so he could experience the full scope of her power.
He cleared his throat, forcing himself to bury his desires. “You’ve found more in only a handful of minutes than we did when we searched earlier. We wrongly assumed whoever searched this apartment had already found what they were looking for. I’m wondering if you might have better luck at the gambling hall.”
Sabine pulled her hand away and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I might, but not until tomorrow evening. Dax will likely order his people to search the gambling hall and his home more thoroughly if Terrance doesn’t show up soon. We should probably leave before they arrive.”
Malek placed the ledger in his pocket and picked up the bottle of dwarven ale again. Unable to resist touching her, he placed his hand on her back and led her toward the door. She looked up at him but didn’t make any move to pull away. He needed to go for a dip in the ocean to cool off after tonight.
They headed downstairs together, and she halted right at the door. Leaning into him, she whispered, “We need to see if there’s a back exit. I just saw one of Dax’s men.”
Malek frowned and studied the downstairs of the small lobby. There wasn’t another exit as far as he could tell. He handed the bottle of ale to Sabine. “Take this and meet me in the alley where we kissed. I’ll go distract him for you.”
She bit her lip again, and he nearly groaned at the sight. The ocean swim might not be enough to distract himself. He leaned in close and whispered, “I won’t say no to another kiss for my efforts in keeping your presence hidden.”
Her mouth curved in an amused smile. “That can be arranged.”
He grinned, shoved his hands in his pockets, and whistled a tune as he walked out the front door. The possibility of having to deal with an enraged demon had never been more attractive. Malek had the feeling another kiss from Sabine would definitely be worth the cost and so much more.
Sabine barely resisted the urge to laugh. Malek was a little too charming. Even if he hadn’t suggested it, she wanted to kiss him again to see if the first time had been a fluke. She had the feeling their next kiss would only fuel the flames even hotter.
She ducked down as he headed out the door as though he was simply out for a pleasant stroll. Dax’s man would probably recognize him and ask him why he was here, but his presence would be easier to explain than hers. He should be safe enough as long as Dax didn’t learn Malek was helping her. Making sure to stay within the shadows, she slipped out the door and headed for the alley.
Malek joined her only a few minutes later. She offered him the bottle of ale, and he took it with a mock bow. “I’d ask for my kiss now, but it’s probably not a good idea to stay here. I’m not sure if Dax’s man believed my excuses.”
She gave him a teasing smile. “Then we’ll have to see about settling my debt when we’re alone.”
His eyes sparkled. “You won’t hear any complaints from me. Shall we?”
Sabine tucked her hair behind her ear and led him back toward Dax’s territory and the tavern. If Dax or any of his men saw her from this point onward, it wouldn’t matter. She might not be able to lie, but it wouldn’t be difficult to lead them to assume their meeting was simply a coincidence.
Thankfully, she’d managed to get some information from Terrance’s home, but it had raised more questions than answers. If Malek managed to decipher that notebook, it might lead her to the person who had hired him. Her only other option was to go through Dax again, but she wasn’t inclined to ask him for any favors.
“How long have you and Dax known each other?”
She frowned. Normally, she wouldn’t answer such personal questions, but Malek had earned the right to know some truths. “Several years. I met him when I came to the city.”
“Where are you from originally?”
Sabine shook her head, refusing to answer the question. Even if she trusted him, the truth was too dangerous to share. “Our past may shape who we are, but it doesn’t define us.”
“Fair enough,” he murmured, keeping pace with her as they walked down the mostly empty streets. It was only an hour or so before dawn; people would be waking up soon. “Some of Dax’s men tried to warn me away from you. I was under the impression the two of you were involved.”
Sabine frowned at him, suddenly wary. “You were asking about me?”
Malek hesitated. “In a manner of speaking. The night we met, Pozgil mentioned Dax tortured and killed the last man who was interested in you. Then, earlier this evening, Javyn suggested it would be beneficial to keep my distance from you. He indicated Dax would have an issue with it.”
She sighed. Some of Dax’s men were bigger gossips than the fishwives who gathered at the docks. Javyn was usually more discreet, but he probably thought he was protecting Dax and her by warning Malek away. Pozgil, on the other hand, was typical of most goblins and relished stirring up trouble. If Pozgil wasn’t careful, Dax would toss him into Martha’s stewpot and eat him for lunch.
“The goblin was talking about Cristof, but he wasn’t killed becaus
e he was interested in me. Dax caught him stealing from him. He’s always dealt with traitors harshly.”
“Ah, so it’s safe to assume I should avoid listening to rumors?”
Sabine paused and turned to face Malek. “That would be wise, but I’d like to give you another bit of advice too.”
He arched his brow. “I’m listening.”
“Don’t underestimate Dax. He’s smart and ruthless, and not even my mark on your wrist will protect you for long. Tread lightly around him, Malek.”
Malek’s lips twitched into a hint of a smile. “You believe I need protection?”
She glanced down the street to make sure it was empty before looking up at him. “You claim you’ve come to Akros to establish a profitable trading route, but no one comes to this city to secure a fortune. Everyone’s either searching for something or hoping to forget something. As long as you’re claiming anything different, Dax will never trust you.”
He studied her for a long time. “Why are you here, Sabine?”
“I’d like to forget,” she murmured and lowered her gaze. There were so many things better left forgotten, but her past was reluctant to release her from her chains.
“Hey,” Malek said gently and touched her arm. She lifted her head, somewhat surprised by the genuine remorse in his eyes. “I’m sorry if my question upset you. I didn’t realize it was a painful subject.”
Sabine nodded. “You may want to be careful asking too many questions in Akros. You have few allies here, and you’ll have even less if Dax decides you’re trouble. I won’t be able to help you if that happens.”
Reaching out, she touched the mark on Malek’s wrist and infused it with more of her magic. It flared to life briefly before dimming again. Malek wasn’t shy about asking her probing questions, and it would be better for both of them if she allowed him to walk away now. Even though it was the smart decision, she couldn’t bring herself to part ways with him permanently yet.
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