Champion of Arcadia by Annathesa Nikola Darksbane

Author:Annathesa Nikola Darksbane [Darksbane, Annathesa Nikola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: series, Romance, Fantasy
Publisher: Darksbane Books
Published: 2019-01-21T05:00:00+00:00

5

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“We were worried about you, you know. The least you could do is—”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Jone responded for the third time, cutting the pirate off. “And I’m not even certain I want to talk about it.” She’d never told her friends about the Voice in her head, and she wasn't sure now was the best time to start.

Esmeralda sighed, running a frustrated hand through her thick black hair as she climbed the gangplank onto the waiting airship. Once on deck, Bellamy started shouting orders at the crew to get underway; they might not be her crew, but they listened anyway. The highly valuable if comparatively small amount of treasure the three of them had brought back in their packs would be enough to get their plan underway; to do more than that right now would require bigger ships, and extra hands to speed the collecting and heavy lifting. That part would come soon; Jone wondered what Esmeralda would do when her storied hiding spot was public knowledge.

“Jone…” Esmeralda stopped her at the top of the ramp, putting a hand lightly on Jone’s chest. “I… You really gave me a scare back there. Two in under an hour, even.” She cracked a hesitant grin as she stepped even closer, sliding her hand around to the small of Jone’s back, her striking emerald eyes turning soft and damp. “And then there’s that spirit-thing inside you… So yeah, call me worried.”

Jone shook her head, but let the woman pull her intimately close. “Don’t be. I’m in control.”

“Oh? How sure are you?” the Voice—Rote—interjected. “I’m not your slave, you know.”

That’s not how I meant it. Jone carefully kept the apology off of her face. I’m not trying to—

“Gotcha! I’m just messing with you.”

Only sheer willpower kept Jone from rolling her eyes.

“—and if you don’t want to talk about it, I get that,” Esmeralda was saying, unaware of the Arcadian’s internal conversation. “And it’s okay. Really. As long as you’re really okay, that is.”

Jone smiled, leaning comfortably against the pirate’s chest. “I am.”

Esmeralda put her hand under Jone’s chin, tilting her head up, bringing their faces close. Jone’s breath caught in her throat—what of it didn’t intermingle warmly with Esmeralda’s. “Good. Now don’t do that to me again, okay?”

“Yeah,” Jone didn’t resist as Esmeralda pulled her to her toes, the dark-haired pirate leaning down just a little to close the final whisper of distance between them. Their lips met softly, urgently, passion fired by the stress of the evening that the intimate moment burned away. For a few precious seconds, Jone’s fears, worries, and burdens were simply gone, melted away by the kiss.

But they wouldn’t stay gone.

Jone hesitated, then pulled back.

Esmeralda reluctantly cut the kiss short. “What is it?” she asked softly, resting her forehead against the shorter Arcadian’s.

Jone frowned, trying to find the words. “I can’t… I mean, it’s not…”

The pirate’s eyes darkened, flashing like a brewing storm as she read the answer in Jone’s face. “Seriously?” Esmeralda let her

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