Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Evelyn

THE AUDACITY OF THIS MOTHERFUCKER!

I fight against the invisible hold around me as the captain walks across the deck. Telekinetics are rare, and it’s good that they are because they’re a gigantic pain in the ass. If I could get to my spells on my chest, I should be able to break his hold, but he’s got my arms pinned to my sides.

He’s also got me over his shoulder like a sack of grain, and I will absolutely not be even a little affected by the fact that he doesn’t seem to register my weight at all. Why should he? He’s the size of a house. He’s got to be at least six-five, with shoulders that block out the sky and skin tanned by spending so much time in the sun. Even upside down, I can tell that his crimson cloak fans out dramatically when he walks, like some kind of lone wolf character in a movie.

He might be handsome, too, in an earthy kind of way.

I haven’t noticed, though.

There’s no getting out of his hold for now, so I turn my attention to the ship and crew. At first glance, it looked like a pirate ship from a movie, but it’s not quite the same. The whole space is saturated with magic, and it’s apparent in the way some of the bits and pieces are moving without any crew doing the moving. The big crimson sail overhead unfurls and the ship jerks a little as we catch the wind.

The other thing that’s different is that everyone appears recently bathed. In fact, the ship smells … kind of nice. Like pine and lemon with the faintest whiff of mint. It smells a bit like the protection spell Bunny put into her cleaning spells. Makes me think of Sundays being hauled out of bed and put to work. I always bitched, but now nostalgia hits me so hard that I have to blink rapidly against the burning in my eyes.

Bunny isn’t here, and I’m in danger.

I close my eyes and try to focus. The captain is moving rather smoothly, almost like he doesn’t want to jostle my stomach on his shoulder, but that must be a coincidence. The guy just gave me the option of joining his merry band of murderers … or drowning. After that trip through the portal, I am not going out by drowning. No, thank you.

I’m in Threshold.

I still haven’t processed that. I might have poked the captain about the C?n Annwn being myth—everyone knows both they and the Wild Hunt actually existed and still ride in the dark of certain nights—but I honestly thought Threshold wasn’t real.

Once upon a time, the realms used to be much closer to one another. People and creatures could jump them easily, which is where a lot of stories of myths and monsters come from. No one knows what happened to make crossing all but impossible, only that it was a very long time ago. So many generations have passed that people have stopped wondering.

But … Threshold? A realm that’s still connected to every other realm in existence? The possibilities make my palms itch.

The captain shoves open a door and the light dims as we leave the deck. I honestly don’t know what I expected. Nothing about this ship matches expectations for … pirates? I’m not sure if this crew even qualifies as pirates as I recognize them.

Cool air brushes my bare skin and wet clothes and makes me shiver. The captain sets me on my feet and I waste no time looking around. There’s a large desk near a trio of massive windows that look out over the water and the wake of the ship’s passing. Polished wood floors. A door on either side of the room.

It’s bigger than I expected, and I pause to take in the space again. I’m no architect but I’m certain the walls go well past where the end of the ship should be. Is this a pocket realm? But then how is it looking out at the water we’ve just sailed through?

My attention goes to the desk. It’s not made of any wood I recognize and the surface shimmers a little. Magic? I try to take a step forward but I’m still bound with the captain’s power.

I glare at him. Gods, but he’s even more attractive now than he was when I first opened my eyes. Dark hair that’s just long enough to be termed roguish. A nice square jaw that probably shatters the fists of anyone who tries to punch him. A well-muscled body that is obviously used to hard work, clothed in fitted pants, a loose black shirt with a V that gives a tantalizing glimpse of a broad chest sprinkled with hair, and a duster I want to steal right off his back. His eyes are almost as dark as Lizzie’s … No, best not to think about Lizzie or how furious she looked when I saw her last. How murderous.

If I can get through a different portal, I really will be beyond her grasp.

I tuck the thought away. It’s a potential plan for the future, but first I have to navigate this mess I’ve found myself in.

The captain surveys me with a critical eye, his expression all forbidding lines that do not give me a thrill. “If I remove your gag, will you behave?”

Absolutely not.I try to look sincere as I nod. He doesn’t seem convinced, but the power wedging my jaw shut eases. I open and close my mouth a few times. It doesn’t actually hurt—he was remarkably gentle, with superior control—but I’ll take any drop of guilt I can dredge up. It’s an excellent lever to get people to do what you want.

Unfortunately, there’s none to be seen on his face. If anything, he looks more irritated. “I didn’t hurt you, so stop playing that game.”

“Maybe I have a glass jaw.”

“You don’t.”

He’s right. I abandon that line of manipulation and move on to the next. “I didn’t mean to end up here. There was a glitch in the portal I was using. I have a family that needs me. Children. Four of them. If I don’t get back, they’ll starve.”

He might as well be carved from granite. “What are their names?”

I blink. “What?”

“Your starving children. Their names.” He snaps his fingers. “Quickly.”

“Dean, Sam, John, and … Cas.”

The captain doesn’t seem convinced. “Even if that were true, which I highly doubt, it makes no difference. We have our laws for a reason.”

“Your laws. Not mine.”

“You’re in Threshold, Evelyn. They’re your laws now.”

The way he says my name is so severe, I don’t know what to do with my body’s reaction to it. I simultaneously want to flee the room and climb him like a grumpy tree. Which is just further proof that my hormones cannot be trusted.

First Lizzie, who was totally willing to let me die and will undoubtedly try to hunt me down and kill me for betraying her.

Now this captain, who gave me the option to join his crew but obviously has no problem killing me if I decline.

The best way to win a fight with a telekinetic is to never start one. The second best way is to knock them silly in a dirty attack and then run like hell. Neither is an option right now. I’m on a ship in the middle of an ocean. I have nowhere to run to, even if my arms were free.

There’s an angle here. I just need to find it.“What’s your name, Captain?”

He clenches his jaw like he might not answer, but finally he says, “Bowen.”

“Nice strong name for a nice strong lad.”

He doesn’t smile. “You have a choice, Evelyn. Make it.”

So we’re back to that. I shift, trying to press against his telekinetic hold on me. The fucker is strong, I’ll give him that. I think I could break the magic around me given the right spell, but the longer he holds me, the more I wonder if that’s even true.

Most people have tells, even if you’ve only just met them. Their faces or bodies give them away, provide leverage to get what I want. Having a conversation with him is like beating my head against a stone wall. I don’t think I can talk my way out of this one.

True fear licks up my spine, putting an edge of desperation into my tone. “Drop me at a portal. Any portal. Or throw me back into the sea and I’ll find my own portal.”

“We’re days away from the nearest island. You won’t make it without a ship.”

If that’s true, then he’s probably right. I could theoretically propel myself through the water for a decent amount of time, but my energy reserves aren’t unlimited, and I can’t hold a spell for days on end. Especially one that would require so much power.

But neither of the other options are good. “Well then, I’m not choosing.”

He flicks a glance over my shoulder to the door we just came through. “Not choosing is still a choice. Any choice that isn’t joining the C?n Annwn is a choice for death.”

I go cold in a way that has nothing to do with the pleasant chill of the room or my wet clothes. “What’s to stop me from joining your little fan club and then betraying you the first chance I get?”

“There are vows.”

Vows were made to be broken. Bunny’s voice whispers through me. Maybe I can work with this? I shrug, feigning nonchalance. “Oh, well, in that case—”

“Whatever you’re thinking, discard it,” he cuts in. “In the event that someone breaks their vows and deserts, a hunt is called and the entire fleet participates. The longest a deserter has lived is three days.”

Three days. That’s … not a long time. “So you put a magical tracker on them when they take the vow. That’s hardly sporting.”

Bowen stares at me for a long moment. “This is not a game. I’m sure you’re very formidable, but you are no match for us. Take the vow and take it seriously. Mourn your old life if you must, but let it go.” Shadows lurk in his eyes, but he blinks and they’re gone. “You don’t want the fate that awaits you if you try to run. Trust me.”

He sounds so sincere, it makes me fight down a shiver of dread. I’m good at evasion, but this group is the C?n Annwn. The Wild Hunt exists in multiple folklore traditions, but the general consensus is that they’re unstoppable. When they ride, smart people hide. Getting swept up in the hunt might mean you end up miles—and sometimes years—away from where you started … or it might mean you end up as prey.

The prey never escape.

TheseC?n Annwn either got their name from the myth or the myth got the name from them. Neither option is ideal for my odds of evading them indefinitely. Three days. I bite down on questions about that person. The way Bowen spoke of them, I bet he was part of that hunt. Were they just a normal person? Were they magical? Surely I have some kind of advantage over them.

I clear my throat. “Why the choice? Seems like guiding people back to their home realms would be just as good an option as anything. Having your crews staffed with reluctant people can’t be good for business.”

Again, a flicker, but I can’t divine the emotion behind it. It seems too much to ask for that he agrees with me. Bowen finally shrugs. “I don’t make the laws, Evelyn. I enforce them. Now, you’ve stalled long enough. If you don’t choose, I’ll choose for you.”

I almost ask what choice he’d make for me, but I don’t think I want to know. He might have stopped his crewman from attacking me again, but he’s obviously one hundred percent done with my shit, so it’s just as likely that he’d toss me overboard to fend for myself if he didn’t kill me outright.

Great.

Awesome.

I close my eyes and try to think. There’s a way out of this. I just have to find out what it is. What I need is a loophole. No organization or person is free from things that they’d rather keep quiet. If the C?n Annwn has existed as long as it seems, I bet they have a boatload of secrets stashed somewhere. One has to be nasty enough to convince them to set me free from their group. Without a magical tracker attached to me.

Good thing I excel at stealing secrets.

Or, fuck, worst case, I can find a portal, jump through it, and start running.

Either way, under no circumstances will I spend the rest of my life trapped here, vow or no vow. I lift my chin and stare down Bowen. “Fine. Have it your way. I’ll make a choice. I’ll join the C?n Annwn.” For now.