Beauty's Secret (Beast and Beauty Book 2) by Brantwijn Serrah

Author:Brantwijn Serrah
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Brantwijn Serrah
Published: 2021-03-10T22:00:00+00:00

Three days after the fire, we made port in a sandy bay surrounded by chalky white hills. A crowded village of squat, square domiciles and red clay roofs climbed rocky embankments, and tall palm trees swayed in the winds, heavy with a reddish fruit I didn't recognize.

"It's not one of our normal supply ports," Ashe confided to me and Rayyan as we helped prepare the rigging lines and the anchors. "Captain might be familiar, and probably some of the old salts like Torv, but I've never been here myself."

I stood on the bow gazing at the unfamiliar landscape. Lush green flora spilled over the tops of the craggy rocks, dotted with vibrant blooms in violet and pink. Children played along the white, sandy beach, beautiful young figures with olive skin and curly mops of dark hair. Along a stony reef, older folks caught enormous red crabs and stuffed them into baskets, and glorious, pale pink sea birds wheeled and cried overhead.

"Is Sanraeth like this?" I asked Bannon as he approached behind me. I recognized the tread of his footsteps, and his wonderful, reassuring scent.

"Nothing like this." He rested a hand on my hip. "Sanraeth is all grand blue peaks capped with snow, and fresh, green forests for miles around. We'll sail upon it through an icy fjord, and pass through the gate of Boga, a grand old ancient sculpture taller than Lord Khan's castle by half. A pair of godly statues flanks the passage through two giant boulders rising up from the waters."

Snow? Fjord? I didn't know those words. I didn't interrupt, though, and leaned my head against his chest as he spoke. The ban on touching now lifted, I basked in his warmth.

"Come, then." He backed away from the ship's rail and took me by the hand. "Let's find out what awaits us in port. Since we're here, we should find lodgings off the ship, and spend our time out of the way of the shipwrights."

I followed. Before we descended the gangplank to the dock, Schala bounded up to sit on my shoulder, and I stroked her silvery head.

The crab fishers approached us the instant we disembarked, offering us the fresh catch in exchange for gold. The price was good, and the crabs smelled fine and briny in the cool beach air, but Bannon gave them a polite dismissal, letting them know the ship's cook would no doubt come looking for good crab in short time. As we ascended to the path from the sandy shore up toward the city, some of the children came racing up to see us, wide-eyed and excited.

My skin prickled. They'd come to stare at me and my tattoos. One of the boys reached out to touch a twining red design on my arm, making me flinch away.

"Stop it!" I snapped. The boy laughed as though I'd shown him some wonderful trick, though, and he and his friends ran away, calling out in a different language, wheeling like the sea birds above.

Bannon kept his mouth shut, but I caught the quirk of amusement tugging at his lips.

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