Vengeance (The Prince's Games Book 1) by Rebecca Grey (electric book reader TXT) 📕

"I thought we were being quiet." But the edges of my lips betray me and lift in the slightest smile.

His grin grows. "Right." He clasps his lips closed and lets the quiet settle between us once more. So we stand there under the black sky and the twinkling stars. We stand together at the front of the boat where it splits the sea around us until our bodies are numb. Until my mind is numb.

***

The Elvish pirates call out to a passing boat. They holler encouraging jaunts to one another, waving frantically, as if they're seeing some long-lost siblings. The crew presses themselves to the side of the boat just as the crew from the passing ship does for them. Whoops and hollers ring out on the open sea with nothing to bounce off of but endless waters.

This was the second ship we'd run into so far. The second time these men and a few women, I'd found out, are making themselves look the part of the fool. All I can do is sigh and shake my head at them. As the sun has risen and the heat index with it, I'd taken to covering myself with Juilliard's cloak again.

Smoking away like a goddamn chimney, Juilliard watches me from outside the captain's quarters. His boot presses into the wall behind him, his already narrow eyes practically disappear as he glares at me. Without the cloak, he'd chosen to steal a wide brim hat from one of the crew members. It'd pissed him off when I told him he looked like real pirate scum now, and he's been staring at me like this ever since.

I kind of like that it gets under his skin. Standing a few feet away, I listen to Hedda and Marcello chit-chat about nothing in particular. His almost contemplative turned flirtatious attitude from the night before is gone. Marcello and I haven't said a word yet about last night. About last night... as if us talking in the middle of the night is such a secretive thing, Saints.

"I'm eager to see who else we pick up for this little adventure of ours." Hedda chews on a dry flakey biscuit. Pieces of the bread dust the top of her shirt.

I scowl, but finally speak from my position beside the two gossiping hens. "I'm curious what's next for us." I flick my gaze up to Marcello's. "I can tell you right now that I will not be proving myself anymore.

"Don't suspect our next two teammates will be as hard to convince to come as Hedda was." He pats the Orc’s shoulder. Her large eyes fall on his hand. "These teammates are sort-of a couple."

"Sort of? Or actually a couple?" I deadpan.

"They're actually a couple, living on the edge of the coast just before the wall. They're famous for robbing the trains that carry supplies and merchandise into the capital of The Oasis."

“The Oasis has trains?” I've heard of trains. Seen a few pictures in my lifetime too. But I just thought they were a Human thing that had died away.

"The Oasis has everything." Marcello breathes. "Decades ago they were banished from The Oasis, forced to spend their time at the edge of The Bend without resources. They've outlived their punishment now, but they have remained. Too stubborn, I suppose."

"Could they return to The Oasis now? Would they let them pass even? I've never heard of anyone making it back into The Oasis once they've become a part of The Bend." I look off to the edge of land that approaches. Or more so that we approach. There isn't even a dock for us to pull up to, only the sandy beach leading to a hill that rises up into the sky.

A pirate scurries up to Marcello's side, whispering into his ear. Marcello gives him the slightest nod before he leaves as fast as he came. I try to keep my eyes off of him, attempting to focus on the foreign land that we're about to trek, but Marcello is watching me back, even when he is speaking to the Elf.

"What are you thinking?" He cocks his head. Hedda slows her chewing to look between us with the lift of a single brow.

"Who says I'm thinking anything?"

Awfully pretentious he is. I cross my arms over my chest, knowing my knuckles are white. Fucking Hybrids. They always think they know what's going on in your head. Always. As if they have the power to read your mind.

I pretend as if I'm thinking nothing, just to spite him. Though I know full well that I'd been thinking about how pretty he will look in his death. When the light dies in those starlit eyes, he'll be a corpse more beautiful than most of the living. The depth of which I find myself attracted to him tightens inside of me, making my throat tight with guilt and shame. Marcello would be a good fuck and that would be the end of it. Like Joss. I'd use his body like they've used Humans for centuries. Still, I loathe how much my eyes linger on the warmth of his skin.

"I don't doubt that you're always thinking about something. Calculating."

Water splashes somewhere behind us. I don't let it draw my attention. The ship starts to slow as the anchors lower into the ocean.

"You seem to care an awful lot about what's happening inside of my head. Why don't you ask Hedda what she's thinking about?"

"She's thinking about how good her biscuit is." Marcello smirks and glances at Hedda.

"I am!" The Orc leans back with a laugh. And I'm not shocked her thoughts are so... simple. Not the sharpest weapon in our arsenal. How many brain cells do you really need for a straight shot?

"And," he holds up a finger, "I don't have to worry about Hedda contemplating killing me. But