Sustaining by A.K. Koonce

Author:A.K. Koonce [Koonce, A.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-02-25T16:00:00+00:00

Eleven

A Surprise Visit

I blink. I swallow. I blink a little more. Somewhere in my scattered mind are real words. They’re there. I promise. But fuck are they useless.

Why-the-fuck-is-the-Prince-here? Why-the-fuck-is-he-hugging-me and why-the-fuck-is-his-father-here-as-well? Fuck, fuck, fuck.

His hand lingers on my upper arm, holding me, thank the goddess, at arm’s length while Chaos stares hard at the minimal touch. Prince Linden says all these things that I try to process, but fear is crawling around my mind like I’m a host to anxiety.

What if they’re really here because of Molly?

One bat. One harmless little bat could end my life so quickly.

“Are you all right, Arlow?” The pinch of the Prince’s pale brows pull together hard as he looks from me to the three men at my side. “Where’s Kain?” The question is a different tone, a curious tone that throws me off for a moment.

Until I remember he thought Kain and I were an item.

He wasn’t wrong.

Not really.

I just have…items. A small cartload of men, but who’s counting?

“He’ll be back this evening.” Chaos takes a step closer, and the simple invasion of his body into my space has Linden dropping his hand away. Chaos is smarter than he lets on. He doesn’t touch me, but the closeness, the protectiveness in his stance, it’s screaming all kinds of insinuations.

“Where are the ships?” Barron barks from his spot tucked away in the carriage. “It was two days’ journey here. I hope you have some product to show for our exertions.”

His exertions. I arch a brow at him, but that snarky little fear inside me tells me to shut up. If the man wants to talk about ships instead of bats, let him talk about all the fucking ships he wants, and then let him drive off into the sunset far, far away from us.

“Oh, yes. The ships.” A real smile parts my lips. “We just finished the first one last night.”

Linden’s green eyes brighten, and it’s then that I’m reminded how much he looks like his mother. Her eyes are more worn, dimmer, less hopeful. But not weak. Her determination was just as vivid in her eyes as his is.

“It’s just down here.” I motion for him to follow, and he keeps a good distance between us as he trails after me.

Chaos, Rime, and Sinister keep an even closer distance to the Prince as we make our way toward the shore. The sound of the sea is gentle this morning, less roaring and more of a calming sound that makes me believe everything will be okay.

After only a few feet, I slow my gait, second-guessing where we left the massive naval ship last night. It’s hundreds of feet long. Why is this so hard to spot right now? Little sail boats and small fishing vessels line the work area at the coast. The war ship we built near the steam rooms is nowhere to be seen.

A clattering sound beats against the underside of the wooden dock. Men linger around us, and it takes me a moment to notice they’re pulling large chunks of lumber from the lapping white waves.

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