The Storm Gathers by Holladay Maelan

Author:Holladay, Maelan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inimitable Books
Published: 2024-01-16T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

ALANA WOKE IN A BED that smelled clean, which was the first indication that she was most definitely not in the Fe Ressu’s brig. But neither was she in her chambers in Jaarin—the gentle rocking of the ship told her that much.

Forcing her breathing to remain normal, she peeked through her eyelashes, allowing a vague idea of the room. There was a man sitting in a chair a few feet from the bed she was lying in. His head was turned away from her, eyes looking out the window.

Kaius.

His dark hair was mussed, and the scruff along his jaw was the only thing she could make out of his facial features. But she remembered those dark eyes. They were the last thing she’d seen before the pirate had thrown her against the ship’s railing.

With the knowledge that he wasn’t looking at her, Alana opened both her eyes and searched for a weapon. A shelf of books lined one wall. In the center of the stack was a small nook with liquor shining an amber color. There were no visible blades or traditional weapons. The only thing within easy reach was a candlestick beside the bed. Definitely not ideal, but she still relished the idea of hitting him with it. Of just hitting something.

She inhaled a few breaths, coiling her legs and ignoring the throbbing pain in her head. Springing forward, her hands closed around the candlestick at the same moment Kaius leaped from his chair. He caught her wrist before she could swing and pinned her arm over the side of the bed, twisting it until she was forced to drop the candlestick.

He hovered over her, one hand still gripping hers while the other braced itself against the bed on her opposite side.

“I was wondering when you were going to wake up. Took you a while.” Letting out a frustrated sound, Alana pushed against his hold, to no avail. Kaius raised an amused eyebrow. “I see that hit to the head did nothing to help you see sense.”

Alana stopped fighting and glared up at him. “Let. Me. Go.”

To her surprise, he did so immediately. “If you try to attack me again, I’ll put you in irons.”

The queen sat up with exaggerating slowness, trying not to wince at the pain in her head and arm…

Shit.

She looked to where the pirate brute had stabbed her, expecting a bleeding gash, but found the injury stitched and bandaged. She glanced at Kaius, raising an eyebrow.

“I couldn’t let our most valuable prisoner bleed out and die. Or get an infection, which was admittedly more likely. It should heal quickly, and I’ll be able to take the stitches out in a week, or so.” There was a beat of silence, then the first mate made a vague motion at her. “That’s quite the collection of scars you have, by the way. Wouldn’t have expected that of a queen.”

Alana frowned down at herself. “What are you talking about?”

“On your hands.”

Alana lifted her hands in front of her face, squinting in the dim light.

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