11. Chapter Eleven

What had Devlin called djinn? Unpredictable? Fickle? Easy to anger?

Rahmi sure had a few more words he could use to describe the djinn he was currently walking toward the brig of his ship. Callous? Certainly. Temperamental? That was an understatement. Prickly? He had a distinct feeling that he would find out just how prickly she could be. But he was sure, based on the depiction Alaric had used upon their return to the ship, that this woman was exactly who they were looking for.

And Rahmi was always sure.

But still, it was all a bit too easy. The thought wormed a doubt-filled path through his mind, one that he struggled to part from. Devlin had made it sound like tracking down a djinn would be the most challenging thing they could do. Liddros agreed. Beginners luck, perhaps? Rahmi didn"t believe in that. He fought his entire life to be decisive and control his destiny. Was it truly going to be this simple?

Rahmi flipped the djinn off his shoulder, planting her feet firmly on the soggy floor of the brig. He ignored the pools of water that splashed onto her bloody skin with every rock of the ship, ignored the shudder of anticipation that trembled through her body, and definitely ignored the high slit of her dress that ended just above the middle of her thigh.

"Would you like to paint a picture?" the djinn snapped, pulling him from the stare he had fixed to the bare side of her leg. "I"m sure we could find an artist of some kind for you on this gods-forsaken raft."

Rahmi ground his teeth. The number of people he had allowed to mouth off to him in the last three centuries was zero. Alaric had the flogging marks to prove it. And Rahmi wasn"t particularly fond of allowing it to continue now, actively fighting against putting her in her place, in fact. But he needed her, and he knew he wasn"t going to get anywhere by poking at the steeled exterior she had built around herself.

Capricious, indeed.

The single sconce bolted to the side of the hull swung with every roll of the ship, the flame flickering an orange glow that cast the iron bars of the brig in sharp relief. Despite the low lighting, it still managed to wink against the exposed nails that held his ship together. The echo of the waves against the keel was louder than it had been two decks up, and dribbles of seawater eddied down the wooden interior. Rahmi took note, knowing he would need to fix that leak sooner rather than later.

"Skirts up," Rahmi said to the djinn, gesturing for her to lift the red satin dress. He watched as the woman"s gaze slid away from taking in the small cells and settled back on him. Somehow, she managed to look down her nose at him, an incredible feat, considering he was nearing a full head taller. He would need to remove that ability from her stores, too.

"Excuse me?" she asked incredulously just as the man in the cell beside hers said, "I beg your pardon?"

Annoyance raked through him, and Rahmi inhaled through his nose that smelled heavily of moldy bilge water and softly of…was that nutmeg? Cinnamon? Whatever it was, it was warm and reminded him of the home he had grown up in. And it was coming from her. That was the very last thing he needed.

"One way or another, ruehi," Rahmi replied, ignoring the man in the cell next door. I"m going to check you for weapons. You can make this easy for both of us, or you can make it difficult. It"s your choice, but remember that I"m in the position to win."

Her stare smoldered, the green of her eyes shining brightly against that soft, golden glow. Oh, she was pissed…not that Rahmi could blame her. "Do you expect me to have a second blade hidden under my dress? Or perhaps I have a cannonball up my—"

"I didn"t expect you to have the first blade," Rahmi interrupted her through gritted teeth, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn"t enjoy being interrupted either. "And lest you have forgotten the last five minutes, you stabbed me with it."

The woman went quiet, and Rahmi watched as she ran her tongue over her teeth in thought. She was easy on the eyes, at least. He had half-expected a wretched hag, wart-covered and hunched. He moved his gaze over the tangles of her long, dark hair. Took in the forest green, almond-shaped eyes that promised revenge…gods, he hoped she was one to go through with it. He would never admit it, but Alaric was right. It had been boring lately. She was curvy beneath the satin dress, and the delicate bangles on her ankles only seemed to enhance the length of her legs.

Once upon a time, he would have done many cruel things to bed a woman like her. He might still try to. He hadn"t entirely decided. There was no doubt in his mind that she would be a wild, untethered ride.

"I can have one of the men come down here instead," Rahmi offered after a second long moment of silence, dipping his head to better catch her eye. "But I can"t promise you"ll love who I bring—"

"Fine," the woman finally spat, holding her arms out to the side. "Fine. Check me then, but make it quick." Rahmi kneeled in front of her, and he glanced up in time to see her eyes flash again. "But watch your hands, or I"ll remove them myself."

The man in the cell behind Kalia watched the interaction with a sharp gaze. He had been brought aboard by Alaric and witnessed the encounter. Rahmi was of the mind to execute him, but Alaric had reminded him of their need for more able men. And the man was that Rahmi couldn"t deny it.

Rahmi started at her ankle, checking the bangles for small blades before sliding his hands up the sides of her calves. He cupped his hands around her knees, prodding the underside of the fabric for hidden pockets. He was slow to slip his hands away from her thighs, enjoying the feeling of the tips of his fingers inching up her warm flesh before coming to rest on the holster she used to hide her dagger.

It was higher than he expected. One flick of his finger upward would have him brushing the apex between her legs. By the way her skin pebbled and her eyes darkened as she peered down at him, she seemed to realize it too.

He smirked up at her, deftly unfastening the sheath and letting it fall from beneath her skirts, clattering to the ground. "I"m shocked there wasn"t more than one dagger on there."

"There wasn"t enough time," the woman replied, lifting her gaze to stare at the swaying lantern. "But I would have if I could." She swallowed, and Rahmi watched her throat bob. "Why are we down here?"

Rahmi couldn"t quite conceal his chuckle of amusement. "Because you tried to kill me," he responded, his knees cracking as he stood. "Do I need to check for that cannonball, by chance? Since you offered."

"I didn"t," she said, her eyes tracking the movement of his fingers, now grazing the sides of her hips. Her inhale was quiet, as though she tried to bite back the reaction to his touch. He tucked that knowledge into the back of his mind, hoping to forget it for eternity. "And that would be one way to ensure the removal of your hands."

Rahmi paused at her waist, digging his fingers into the boning of her dress. ""I"m curious. Does your cunt have teeth? Or would you use your mouth to bite them off?"

The man in the cell choked in surprise, but the woman merely narrowed her eyes. "Somehow, I think you would enjoy that a little too much." She paused as his hands graced an inner pocket, and Rahmi reached inside to pull out a small jar. "It"s a salve. You know, for injuries. I guess you have a use for it after all."

Rahmi glared down at her condescending tone, the pinching soreness of the puncture wound in his forearm beating to the front of his mind. "I"ll allow you to hold onto this," he replied, sliding it back into the pocket. "As a gesture of faith between us."

"I have no small amounts of gestures for you, captain," she murmured in response. "Most of them vulgar."

Rahmi snorted as his hands rose to her breasts, and he cupped the sides of them, making the search as quick as possible. Her brows still quirked when his fingers kneaded under the boning, but he dropped his hands to his sides just as she opened her mouth to speak. "What"s your name?" he asked, trying to forget their feeling beneath his touch.

The woman remained silent for another minute, long enough that Rahmi was sure she wasn"t going to respond. "Kalia," she finally said softly. "Kalia Salam."

A sound of indifference grunted from the back of his throat, but his thoughts spiraled elsewhere. Interesting. A name from the interior of the continent…an interior of the continent that once housed an ancient city built by djinn, according to Liddros. Rahmi rarely encountered citizens from the desert plains, but he had now experienced two in weeks. He didn"t believe in coincidences.

"Wonderful to make your acquaintance, Kalia Salam," Rahmi said as he turned his back to her and stepped over the cell"s threshold, pushing the door closed behind him. It shut with a clink, and he grabbed the key from the opposite wall before sliding it into the hole and locking the mechanism with a turn of his wrist. "We"ll certainly be in touch."

Kalia hurried forward, her bare feet pattering against the wet floorboards, to wrap her hands around the vertical iron bars. "Are you going to leave me down here?"

The vexed exasperation in her tone surprised Rahmi, and he turned to face her once more. "You tried to kill me," he said slowly. He hadn"t realized Kalia was missing half of her brain, though he should have guessed from the vapid cruelness of her personality. "This can"t come as a shock to you, ruehi."

"Killing you is not off the table," Kalia retorted, reaching a hand through the bars to swipe at his tunic. Rahmi stepped back, and her fingers merely grazed his core. "Let me out."

Rahmi leaned his shoulder against the bulwark where the lantern was bolted. The swaying shadow from it danced back and forth on her figure. "The crew would prefer that you remain here to cool down. We don"t need you stabbing more of my men. I"m sure you understand."

A wave of fear crested through Kalia"s glare, an emotion Rahmi hadn"t reasonably expected from an all-powerful djinn. His smug satisfaction leaked out of him at the harsh bite of it, but her following words contradicted what he knew she was feeling.

"The crew that didn"t tell you where they had found me? The crew who were busy sinking their cocks into the women of the brothel while you awaited their return?" Kalia crooned, hooking a foot onto the lower crossbar of the cell door. She lifted her chin, her cutthroat stare boring into him. "Fabulous men, captain. A raise of confidence to the sailors under your charge."

Rahmi tempered the urge to reach through the cell doors and wrap his fist around her exposed neck. To strangle her? He would have tossed her overboard the moment she unsheathed a dagger in his presence if she weren"t necessary to the trajectory they had found themselves on. Instead, he let a vying smirk lift the corner of his mouth. "I"m still not against killing you." His words mirrored her own.

A challenging gleam entered her eye, one that he was sure promised a slow and painful death. "Only if you dared."