24. Chapter Twenty-Four

Wright studied the map with narrowed eyes, his stare flitting from one corner to the other. He certainly wasn"t the man Rahmi had released from his ship all of those years ago, his thoughts more panicked and disorganized. It was evident in the way he kept shifting back and forth on his feet, as though determined to pace in any way he could.

"I don"t know, captain," Wright finally said, rubbing the palm of his hand down his pant leg. "This seems well past my prime."

Alaric leaned in, his gaze darting around the parchment. "All we need is a direction. We don"t even need a pointed location—"

Rahmi scowled, tipping his head back to look at the cabin"s ceiling. His inability to read the map itched a part of his brain that he couldn"t scratch, and his needed reliance on Wright was a blend of vexing irritation that he couldn"t shake. Relying on others wasn"t something he wanted to be practiced in, yet here he was…the djinn in one corner and Wright Thackeray in the other. Having the orb, the NightWatcher, was a quicker way to rid himself of both.

"Where is the NightWatcher, Wright?" Rahmi asked through his teeth, a painting of forced restraint. His impatience was finally getting the best of him. "I gave it to you when I let you off this ship. I rescued you from the Labyrinth. I want it back."

Wright straightened as he ran a hand through the length of his salt-and-pepper hair, another new feature in the ten years since Rahmi had last seen him. "Now, captain…"

Rahmi drew in a sharp breath and released it before he spoke. "I"m not asking for a story. I want the NightWatcher. You and I know it"s the only thing to help you read that map."

Alaric seemed to be holding his breath, his attention away from the desk for the first time in nearly twenty minutes. The ship creaked in the silence, the cool evening breeze that drifted through the open porthole briny, salty, and sweet. The scent of the sea, having the water surrounding him, was usually all he needed to calm down.

But not now. Not when Wright was stalling, and Rahmi"s attempts to hurry him along had been failing for two fucking days.

"Where is the NightWatcher?"

Wright"s mouth fell open. "I stumbled on hard times a few years back…"

"I want the NightWatcher. Now."

"Times were real tough, captain. I—I was living in an animal pen near Amberwick. You"ve seen that town, it"s nothing but mud and cow shit..."

"The NightWatcher," Rahmi snapped, withdrawing his cutlass from the sheath and slamming it down on the desk, rattling the surface so hard that a brass instrument clattered to the floor. He tried not to remember how the pile of parchment had done just that when he had hoisted Kalia onto the edge of the desk only a week before. "What did you do with it?"

"I sold it," Wright squeaked out. Alaric cursed quietly as his one eye squeezed shut. "I sold it. I needed coin."

Rahmi"s fingers curled against the blade, feeling the cold metal prick against the callouses. He should have listened to his gut back then. He should have known that he would need the NightWatcher, and Wright-fucking-Thackeray would have done away with it somehow. But no…Wright had been a trusted member of his crew for one hundred years. It had been a gift, something he had squandered the moment he couldn"t keep his cock in his breeches. Was it fion? Gambling? Brothels? If Rahmi knew Wright, he would have guessed it was a combination of the three.

"Tell me," Rahmi seethed. His jaw already began to ache with the strain of his clenching.

"A-about six years ago," Wright replied, and Rahmi didn"t miss the tremble to his voice. He also didn"t miss the details Wright spared as he clamped his lips shut again.

Rahmi"s brows rose, an expectant look passing over his face. Though Wright was no longer a true member of his crew, Rahmi wouldn"t hesitate to treat him any differently. And from the gulp that worked Wright"s throat, he seemed to realize that, too.

"The brig may loosen his tongue," Alaric said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Karim is still down there, they could be cellmates."

Wright"s eyes widened. "No!" he exclaimed, approaching the desk to stand before Rahmi. "No, do not lock me up, captain!"

Rahmi glanced at Alaric in disgust before his quartermaster grabbed the front of Wright"s tunic and tossed him into the old armchair. The chair slid as Wright collapsed into it with a loud oof, the legs scraping against the wooden floor.

"What say you then, Thackeray?" Alaric went on, resting his forearm on the headrest directly above Wright. "Are you going to tell us the truth or go to the brig? Captain is giving you a choice; don"t waste it."

Wright"s gaze flicked around the room before finally landing on the open porthole, where the stars had begun to glitter against the navy sky. The night was clear, not even a wisp of clouds in the sky, and the streaks of orange signifying dusk had already given way to the depths of the horizon. He sighed, dropping his chin to his chest and shaking his head.

"The si"lat. It"s with the si"lat."

Rahmi stilled, and Alaric swore louder this time, pushing himself from the headrest and placing his hands on the top of his head. Rahmi"s pulse thundered in his tight chest, and he had to turn all of his attention toward not overturning his desk out of rage, something he hadn"t done since he was a young sailor aboard his first ship. It would be fitting now. The si"lat were dangerous, and he had barely escaped the prison. How much stupid shit did he need to endure before the end of this?

"Alaric, tell the crew to set course for the west."

Alaric regarded him for a moment. "The si"lat might not even have the NightWatcher any longer," he started, but Rahmi was already shaking his head.

"An instrument used by a cursed captain and traded to them by a former crew member?" From the corner of his eye, Rahmi saw Wright wince at the emphasis of the word former. Rahmi waved a dismissive hand toward Wright. "Get out of my sight. Now. Before I change my mind about killing you and drown you in a bucket of your piss."

Wright scampered from the room and didn"t look back.

"Do you know where to find them?" Alaric asked as soon as the tail of Wright"s coat whipped around the doorframe. "The si"lat are notoriously difficult to deal with."

"We have a past, and I"ll have to use a part of my day on land to do it—" Rahmi began, though he was cut off by the whine of a door hinge and a sudden shriek, followed by a clang of wood on wood and raucous laughter. He sighed, closing his eyes. "Bring me Kalia."

Alaric"s responding nod was curt as he pivoted on the balls of his feet, marching from the room to give the orders.

"Dragging a woman from her bed. It"s uncouth," Kalia said as she entered the cabin, stopping a few feet short of the desk Rahmi sat at. With a gloved hand, Rahmi lifted the dead Man O"War siphonophore from the bucket at his feet, tossing it toward Kalia. It wetly slapped against the wood as it slid, its venomous tentacles coming to a halt near the toes of her boots. Her eyes lifted, roving over him with unconcerned interest. "You don"t look injured."

"And you"re no woman," Rahmi retorted in exhaustion, ripping off the glove and dropping it onto his desk. "You"re a plague."

Kalia smiled and looked about to say thank you but thought better of it. It was one of her best ideas since boarding his ship; he was in no mood. "Has Wright been particularly helpful?"

She was goading him. He knew it by the smugness that dripped from that smile, a smugness that nearly bordered on scorn. But he needed her, so he swallowed back the derisive comment dancing on the tip of his tongue.

"We"ll be at the lair of the si"lat in three days," Rahmi said instead, lifting from his seat behind his desk and winding around the corner of it. He leaned against the edge, amusement kindling in his chest when Kalia"s cheeks warmed, presumably at where he had perched himself. Two could play at that game, as he well knew with her.

Kalia cleared her throat, shifting from one foot to another, but didn"t look away. "And?"

Rahmi pointedly ignored the quip and went on. "Si"lat are dangerous. We"ll need to be on our guard when we get to the lair."

At his words, Kalia"s brows rose. "We? What do you mean by we?"

"Do you require a definition of the word, or can I assume that question was rhetorical?"

Kalia narrowed her eyes on him, but he refused to break under her stare. She was deeply perceptive; he would give her that, but Rahmi was the one to give the orders. It would be her who followed.

"Wright sold something of mine to the si"lat," Rahmi said in her silence, picking up an eagle feather quill balanced on the edge of the desk. He looked at it, turning it over, before setting it back down. "I need it back."

"And you need me to come with you, why exactly?"

He still wasn"t entirely used to her questioning. And he certainly didn"t understand why she was determined to make everything monumentally more difficult. "You were so helpful in the prison, I figured you would want to make yourself useful again."

Kalia snorted, the sound one of the more unladylike things he had heard, and turned to walk back out of the cabin. "You figured wrong."

Rahmi pushed off the desk just as she reached the door, and he held a firm hand to shut it back against the frame. It clicked into the lock with a soft snick, and Kalia whirled around to face him, a heavy glare set on her face. He bracketed his hands on each side of her head, trying to get past the smell of her hair and the fullness of her lips. The same scent sunk into every corner of his office for the day following their encounter. The same lips that he so badly wanted…no, needed…wrapped around his cock.

He was pleased to see a gentle flush spreading at the base of her throat. He suddenly wanted to kiss it, to see if the skin had grown as warm as it looked. It awoke something in him, something that had slumbered until that moment.

"You"re coming. I"m not asking."

Rahmi could see her slamming the wall shut behind her eyes, any openness she once held now well hidden behind it. That gentle flush shifted into a rage-filled crimson, and those full lips, once parted, now pressed into a tight line.

"What are you looking for?" Kalia snapped back, placing both hands on Rahmi"s chest and shoving him. He didn"t budge. "I thought you had what you needed."

Rahmi grabbed her hands and pinned them to her side, his fingers encircling her wrists. He found he liked the feeling of her skin beneath his, and that wasn"t something he was r to reflect on. "What I need is no business of yours. You"re going to come with me and retrieve it, or—"

"Trust should be shared," Kalia interjected, but Rahmi snorted in response.

"You"re going to lecture me on trust?" he asked, and his forced laugh made his smile harden. "I put my trust into those who have earned it, and I can"t seem to turn my back on you without you trying to stab me in it." She went quiet, a seething quiet that Rahmi knew meant she was attempting to read him. He sighed. "Wright and I need a special instrument to read the map, one that he sold to the si"lat years ago. I need it back."

Kalia swallowed, her eyes searching his. "What does the Luminaria have to do with the king?"

The question was odd, and Rahmi found himself studying her in return. He let go of her wrists, taking a small step back. The cool night air flooded the sudden space between them, pricking at the heat he had come to know. "What makes you think that it is?"

To her credit, Kalia didn"t turn away. She held his gaze, crossing her arms over her chest as though battling the open-sea wind. "What happens to the souls on this ship when they are given to Liddros?" When Rahmi didn"t answer immediately, she let out a scoff. "If you truly want my trust, your honesty would be appreciated."

It wasn"t a request. Rahmi heard that loud and clear. Information itself was dangerous, but any information regarding the king was lethal. Rahmi had a sinking suspicion that she would find out one way or the other…or eventually grow tired of his demands.

"What do you know of the king?" he finally asked, and from her furrowed brow, the question seemed to take her by surprise.

"What do you mean?"

Rahmi took a deep breath before replying, the taste of salt on his tongue. "It"s a simple question. What do you know of the king?"

Kalia ran a hand through her locks, carefully picking at a tangle in her hair that snagged on her finger. She licked her lips, drawing Rahmi"s attention downward. "I know that he"s cruel, that he rips apart families without a second thought. I know that he rules the continent with an iron fist. I know he doesn"t leave the palace unless it"s to watch an execution."

"And what do you know of his age?"

The notch in her brow deepened as she frowned. "His age?"

"Yes, his age. How old do you think the king is?"

Kalia opened her mouth to reply before closing it again. When she finally did respond, there was a bite of impatience that marred her tone. "I don"t understand what that has to do with—"

"How old do you think the king is?" Rahmi repeated slower, not allowing her to get another word in. Behind him, the sun had set completely, casting them in darkness. He wound around the desk, striking a match and lighting the half-used candle in the copper holder on his desk. The scent of honeycomb wax and burning wick curled around the room, replacing the fresh smell of the sea. "You can guess."

"Fifty," Kalia said with a scowl, placing her hands on her hips. "But I don"t know what—"

"He"s nearing one thousand." Rahmi blew out the match, and the thin band of smoke danced toward the ceiling.

Kalia blinked, and her grimace nearly looked pained. "One thousand?" she shook her head. "I asked you to be truthful with me."

"He reinvents himself, pretends to be a son or a cousin. From what I understand," Rahmi started, ignoring her again as he lit a second candle with the help of the first. "Liddros was in a bad way with his brothers. He requested to be hidden and used a mortal to mask his powers behind a tethered bond. The king agreed to allow Liddros to use the continent on one condition—Liddros would allow the king to access his magic, enough to make him immortal. But the king deceived him."

"Liddros is just a god of the sea, though," Kalia said. "How is that possible?" Her gaze dropped to the floor, tracing along the worn rug like she would find the answer buried in the fibers. There was a flash behind her eyes, a shift of something thunking into place. "What is he?"

Rahmi hesitated before shaking his head. "I don"t know. Liddros"s accessible power ran dry about one hundred years into their deal, and he wanted his bond to be broken with the king. The king refused. Liddros was forced to create a set of cursed captains who could harness what little of his power remained—ones who could scour the continent looking for souls that the king could use to stay immortal."

Kalia"s eyes looked over his exposed forearms, where the black ink of his curse was written into his skin. He was forced to hand over the souls of his crew, the ones he could no longer save. The ones fed to a greedy king were never allowed to move on. He fought Liddros on it once he realized what he had done and what he was now forced to do. These days he was numb to it, resigned to remain a pawn in an immortal"s game.

"And your curse?" Kalia asked tentatively, lifting her gaze to connect with his. Her lingering stare

"I broke the laws of nature when I became this captain and took on the role of Liddros"s watchman. I"ve been punished accordingly." Rahmi scrubbed a hand over the underside of his jaw, feeling the pricks of his unshaven beard against his palm. "I sailed in battles in the king"s name and killed many of my brothers in the process. Now, I use my hands to supply those very souls to a king who has locked himself behind the luxury of a palace."

Shame flittered through him, an emotion he wasn"t ready to contend with. It pierced through his chest, drawing him back to the last time he felt his way. The only reason he allowed the crew of his ship to reckon with their guilt was the war he once had with his own. But that guilt wormed through his memories, recalling faces and smiles he hoped he would never have to see again. Not even in his mind.

"What happens when you have the Luminaria?" Kalia asked quietly.

Rahmi pushed his feelings aside, shrugging his shoulders with a nonchalant raise that he hoped conveyed a casual indifference. "I give it to Liddros and pray that he remembers who helped him. I wanted to sail the seas for an eternity, not take the souls of the men and women who want the same." He cleared his throat, glancing toward the shadows that quivered against the far wall.

Kalia sighed, dropping her head back to look at the ceiling, her lengthy hair draped against her back. "I"m going to regret helping you, aren"t I?"

Rahmi chuckled low. "Get me to the Luminaria, ruehi, and it will be something that I will never forget."

She lifted her head at his words, the intense green of her eyes forging a path straight to his soul. "I"m just praying I"ll get back to shore, and you"ll forget I ever existed." Kalia twisted the ends of her hair around a finger.

Something about her words sent a shot of discomfort through his gut. "You and I both know that isn"t possible."

"I told you once it was over, it never happened." It was the first time Kalia had spoken of their encounter, and Rahmi felt his cock twitch at the unexpected reminder.

His eyes darkened, and he watched Kalia"s throat bob with her forced swallow. "On the contrary, a night hasn"t gone by where I don"t think about how you tasted."

Kalia shifted on her feet, an unfamiliar expression passing over her features. She hesitated, rocking to her toes before pivoting on her feet and gliding from the room. For the first time in a very long time, the certainty and confidence that Rahmi operated on were beginning to waver.