Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127722 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 639(@200wpm)___ 511(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
“Oh…good to know. Not sure why you didn’t mention this before.”
“I assumed you would tell me when you were ready to get pregnant, and I would stop taking them.”
Again, he spoke about us having a family together so nonchalantly. “And I have full authority over this?”
“Always.”
It was just a couple months ago when we were strangers, when he kidnapped me from my home and threatened to kill me. Now we talked about having a family like it was no big deal, like we’d been together for years. “Then that means it really is just seasickness.”
He tossed the apple core overboard and finished his bite. “You seem sad about that.”
“Just surprised. You seem like the kind of man not interested in children unless his hand is forced.”
“You’d be a good mother. Raise my sons to be men. Raise my daughters to fight like men.”
That old pain returned to my chest, the throb that intensified in our separation. This time, it hurt, but it also felt good too. It was too much to contain, like too many coins in a treasure chest. “You’d be a good father.”
27
HUNTLEY
“We really can’t just sail to the other side?”
I dropped anchor and brought the ship to a halt near shore. “No.”
“It took days to cross last time.”
“And it’ll take days again.”
She gave a loud sigh when she didn’t get her way.
“I can take down any motherfucker who comes our way. But these guys…they’re different. The best way to keep me alive and you safe is to sneak through, not parade our boat along the shore and announce our presence.”
“What if we sail in the dark—”
“I said no.”
Her eyes turned furious. “I’m just throwing out another idea—”
“And I don’t give a shit about your idea. This is what we’re doing. Period.”
Her look only became angrier.
“Let’s go.” I prepared the rowboat and extended my hand to help her aboard.
She ignored the help and got in herself.
I rowed us to shore and let our bow anchor into the sand. Most of our clothes were left behind on the sloop, so we were just in short-sleeve shirts and pants. Ivory threw her hair up, and while I liked it down and around her shoulders, I loved seeing all of her face, her slender neck, and sharp cheekbones.
She was fucking beautiful.
I moved to the tree line and pulled out my ax. “Ready?”
“Sure.”
I continued to stare at her. “Drop the attitude. We’re here to survive.”
“You want me to drop the attitude? You just treated me like a child—”
“Because you acted like one. You’re lazy and would rather take a shortcut.”
“Lazy?” She looked like she might slap me. “Every time we move through this jungle, we risk getting caught. Just thought sailing under darkness would be a better choice. Let’s get something straight. This is never going to be a marriage where you just make all the decisions. I’m going to have opinions too—a lot of opinions.”
“I’ve noticed.”
A flash of anger moved across her gaze, and for a split second, I thought she was going to slap me.
“Are we done with this? Because we have shit to do.”
“Yeah,” she said coldly. “We’re done.”
It was the kind of heat that never left your skin. You sweated everything out, but then absorbed it back in right away. It was a never-ending cycle. Moisture glistened on the fat leaves on the trees, and t fruit encased in thick husks was along the ground. I could still make out the last path we’d taken, judging by the slash marks in the foliage, so we followed that without issue.
At nightfall, the torches lit up the island, and that was when mayhem ensued.
One tribe had captured the leader of another, and as he hung from a rope made of vines, they chopped off his arms. They only partially removed one of his legs before he bled out and died, and once it wasn’t fun anymore, they just let him hang there. I watched the whole thing, just to understand my enemy, to understand where they were.
Ivory faced the other way, and every time she heard a scream, she closed her eyes, as if that would make it go away.
Now I realized she hadn’t made the other suggestion because she was lazy.
It was because she was scared.
Yeti. Teeth. Necrosis. They didn’t faze her. But this island full of the worst of the worst…that’s what made her lose sleep at night. Having me beside her wasn’t enough to chase away all the fear that she would end up just like the guy hanging on the vine. “You should get some sleep.”
“Not a chance,” she whispered. “Not until we get to the dragons.”
“You know I would never let anything happen to you.”
“But I’m afraid something will happen to us both.” Her knees were close to her chest, and her arms hugged them tightly. “I know it’s different for you. They’d kill you. But with me…we both know what they’d do to me.”