17. Jasper

Chapter seventeen

Jasper

R eina could've died.

The weight of her in my arms reminds me that she isn't dead, but I need to get her into the room she damaged so I can take off her binds and heal her. She's cut everywhere from the rocks, and a bruise is forming on her cheek.

Why the fuck did she do that?

I understand her need to be free, to get back to her people, but to risk the eksteinvas caves…I pull her in closer, tucking her head under my chin as I remind myself that she's not dead. She'll be fine once I get her back to the room.

The village is settling down for the night and the rain has calmed to a drizzle. I find my way back to the White Sail without issue, using my scent and hers to guide us. The windows of the tavern have been boarded up against the storm, and it's smoky inside. The revelry quiets when I enter with Reina in my arms.

The bartender points at me. "She destroyed the room!"

That's an overstatement if I ever heard one. She broke a window and a headboard, hardly destroyed . But I won't tell the man that. I need to get off this damn island without additional fuss, and with those three men I just killed…

I walk to the bar and put my leg up on a stool, then balance Reina against my thigh. I reach in my pouch and remove two rubies. "There, that will cover it and our stay, plus a meal."

He frowns deeply. "Three rubies. One you'll get back if she doesn't destroy anything else."

I sigh and produce the last ruby from the pouch. That leaves us with just seven gold coins and two diamonds to get passage all the way to the little seaside Illyan village closest to the false king's island. I could count the extra ruby but I don't trust Reina not to throw something at me when she wakes up.

We'll make it work. The princess is good at roughing it.

I look over my shoulder and find the woman I'm pretty sure is the captain. She's put away all her papers and has a bowl of stew in front of her. I hoist Reina up in my arms and scoot my way through the crowded tavern as the conversations resume.

The captain doesn't glance up from her meal. "Later."

I drop one of the gold next to her. "How about now?"

She looks at me and finishes chewing her tough hock of bread. "What do you want?"

"Passage to Illya."

Her dark eyes comb over us, stopping on the pistol laid across Reina's stomach. She kicks out the chair next to her. "Sit."

I readjust Reina and take the offered chair.

"Who are you?" Captain Alejandra asks as she returns to her meal.

"Jasper Luvine. I'm a bounty hunter."

"And who is she?"

"Amaya Ravensword. She's a wanted criminal in Illya."

Alejandra looks up at me, her expression dubious. "You don't cradle a criminal like your dearest love."

I scowl. "How else am I supposed to carry her? Over my shoulder like a sack of grain? Drag her through the streets by her hair?"

"Just saying what I see." She shrugs, then returns to her meal.

I wait for her to say anything else, but she doesn't. The quiet between us feels uncomfortable. I've never been good at talking to Men, but I have to keep trying, for Reina.

"Can we barter passage with you?"

She snorts. "We."

"I'm not leaving her behind. She's my payday."

The captain puts her spoon aside and turns to me. "Lies can throw me off course, compromise my crew, my cargo, or get me killed. So, I ask again; who is she?"

Well, fuck.

There's no other way off this island but on one of those ships.

"Don't even think about stowing away. We keep very scrupulous track of our cargo and our holds."

Is she reading my mind? I'd heard rumors of rare magus abilities like that, but never once met someone who could do it or who'd met someone who could.

"There're few options for you here, yes? You can try to barter passage on the other ship headed for Wolfsheim, but Captain Yoseph is much like me in regard to knowing exactly what we've taken onboard. So"—she leans in closer—"how about the truth?"

"Absolutely not," I say. "But you can have three more gold."

She scoffs. "You think four gold will cover the cost of my shipment if something goes wrong? Cover the cost of my ship if we sink like the Maximus Helion just did in the Silver Passage—some of the calmest waters in the five seas?"

Fuck.

She's onto us.

She smiles with victory and pushes back her chair. "Why don't you come to my room and explain things?"

Reina is still bleeding, but if I can't get us on a boat tomorrow, we'll have to wait for another ship. That could be days, or even weeks. Our limited funds would surely run out. I can't see either of us stowing away successfully, and carrying Reina in my octopus form isn't an option I'd like to entertain. It's too far to the next island, and the warmer waters are teeming with potential threats.

I stand and push the chair in with my foot. "Lead the way, Captain."

We take the stairs up to the last door on the second floor and she turns the key in the lock. Runes light up around the frame and I work to keep my face expressionless. Of course a captain is going to have some magus ability strong enough to infuse into rune-writing.

She offers for me to go first. "Set her on the bed."

I step inside, noticing that the Captain's room not only has a larger bed, but a fireplace and a bathtub as well.

I place Reina down gently on the large, comfortable bed and inspect her closer. The cut on her cheek has stopped bleeding, but her feet are lacerated deeply. I'm not sure how she kept running. Desperation…

"She's precious to you, this I can see, so why don't you tell me what this is all about," Alejandra says as she leans against the wall beside the bed.

"She isn't. She's payment and that's all," I say, the words feeling bitter in my mouth.

"Then why fuss over her wounds? Why give her your pistol to defend herself?" She squats down beside the bed and looks up at me. "Why would you ‘chase Nol'Ther across the sky to reclaim her'?"

I snatch the pistol off Reina's chest. "What is this?"

She taps a finger against her ear. "I have exceptionally good hearing thanks to my high-blood status. The doors aren't very thick here, in any case."

She heard everything we said.

"I'm more than willing to take you to Illya for just the one gold you've already given me, but only if I know what that means for me and my crew." Alejandra stands up and shrugs. "Or you can try your luck somewhere else."

Well, that's not much of an option.

There's no way I'm going to tell her what I am, or what I need Reina for, but maybe I can mince truths enough to get her to believe me.

"You're a high-blood magus?" I ask.

She nods. "Second cousin to the royal house Ladron."

Fucking hells, she's connected to the Wol monarchy . If this goes belly-up, there will be nowhere on Gaien I can hide from the Wols. Still, her powerful magic will allow us to do what I need if I'm going to be truthful with her.

I set the pistol aside. "Will you make a pact with me?"

Her eyebrows shoot up. "It's that serious?"

I hold her stare. "It's that serious."

She tucks the coin away in her pocket and puts out her hand. I clasp it. "Should you break this pact of secrecy and speak, write, or otherwise convey this coming knowledge to someone other than myself or my ward, your magus ability will turn against you. You shall forever be deaf."

My opal magic snakes down my arm and circles around our joined hands.

Alejandra licks her lips, hesitating for a moment before she nods. "I agree."

Her own fuchsia magic curls down her arm and entwines with mine. The essence transforms into a shimmery light pink that settles around our wrists and leaves a soft brand like a braided bracelet.

"She is part of a secret rebellion in Fynren. I had to rescue her from the queen who meant to do something quite terrible—though I don't know what. She called her ‘vessel' and wielded dark magic unlike anything I've ever seen."

Alejandra nods. "And the manacles? Why did she try to escape you?"

"She doesn't know who I am, or what I'm trying to do. Secrecy is essential, even from her. If she's captured and tortured, if she tells anyone who I am or the plan, all could be lost."

I'm mixing truths hard now, but at least I'm not lying. I hope I made it convincing enough.

"And what about Nol'Ther? That's not a claim you make lightly, to fight gods."

I look at Reina. The blood on her face incites my rage, but I already got retribution for that—something I might want to inform the captain about so there are no surprises come morning when some crew is missing.

But my anger quickly cools as I watch her breathe easily. Her dark lashes fan over her tan, freckled cheeks. Her gold hair, though wet, is still brilliantly beautiful. The fire in her, both literally and figuratively, warms the deepest abyss in my soul.

Ohksana'amai.

"She is precious to me," I whisper.

Alejandra walks across the room and unlocks a chest beside the door. "Clean, dry clothes for her, and boots," she says, then tosses the things down beside the bed.

"I'll pay for you both to have a bath—can't have you reeking like wet dog for days on end." She smirks at me.

"You have very good hearing, I take it?"

"Very good."

I hiss in a breath. "On that note, I need to report—"

"That some of the crew from the Golden Doubloon attempted to abduct your ward and were lost to the mountain caves in that attempt?"

Why is she suddenly so interested in helping me?

"Yes," I say slowly.

"I'll make a note." She turns for the door. "You'll have my room. Heal her before the bath or she'll bleed out in it."

The captain closes the door behind her without waiting for my reply. Why the hell is she suddenly so willing to bend for us? Could she too be part of this Fynish rebellion? Could she be wanting to see the fall of the queen and her empire for another reason?

Who the fuck is Captain Alejandra?