Sweet Peril

Zania ate quickly, then downed a bottle of soda. I could see on her face the moment she felt ill.

“Lie down,” I told her, leading her to the bed. She curled up and moaned. After days with an upset, empty stomach, the food and drink had been too much, too fast. I hoped she could keep it down.

The three others returned, so I brought the plate of sandwiches and drinks up to them. Kaidan and Blake were both shirtless with wet hair, wearing shorts. I stole glances at Kaidan’s bare skin while the others were busy talking. That’s my boyfriend right there, I silently announced. He caught me once and waggled an eyebrow. I looked away with a smile.

Everyone quieted and nodded respectfully at Zania when she came up. She dropped her gaze, but stood tall, moving to my side and taking my hand. Glimpses of her regal nature were returning. When the guys finished eating, all three of them got off the boat together. They came out of the boathouse with three kayaks and went straight into the water. For some reason I was surprised to see that Kope had his shirt off, too. He was the broadest of the three. I was glad to see him hanging out with them. He wasn’t as vocal as the other two, but he laughed when Blake splashed him with a paddle. When they were farther out, Zania raised her hands and signed to me, He is different from other men. Kopano.

Yes, I answered in sign. He is.

I tried not to grin as she turned back to watch them. So Kope had finally proven himself to her. Something I imagined no man had done before.

She shivered, but it seemed slight in comparison to the tremors she’d been having before. When she saw me looking at her, she said, “I cannot recall the last time I went so long without a drink.”

“How do you feel?” I asked.

“Strange, but better. I still crave, but for the first time I feel I might be able to stop. I wish to stop and never go back, but . . .”

“But it’s hard,” I whispered. She nodded and ran her fingers through her limp hair.

“I think I would like to bathe,” Zania said, further raising my hopes for her well-being.

She came out later looking revived with rosy cheeks and a glowing hue to her bronzed skin.

“You look good,” I told her. She smiled.

Together we climbed off the boat and walked along the dock, stopping halfway and lying on the wooden planks, soaking in the sun and breeze.

“I owe your beau an apology,” she said after some time.

“What?” I rolled to my side and rested my head in my palm. “My beau?”

“The son of Pharzuph,” she said. Her eyes were closed. “I knew he belonged to you when he showed me your picture on his telephone. He kept looking at it. And then I blackened his eye as we traveled through Damascus when he would not stop for alcohol.”

“You did?” A giggle came out.

She opened her eyes. “I must apologize.”

“Don’t worry, Z. He doesn’t hold it against you.”

“I like when you call me Z.”

“That’s how my mother and I always refer to you. I can’t wait for you to meet her someday.”

I smiled at her, but her own smile twitched and fell. Her eyes squinted, trained on the horizon. I shielded my eyes with a hand and looked out, too. A gray, hazy speck flapped its way toward us like an ugly bruise against the sky. We both gasped as the demon whisperer came into view.

No.

There was nowhere to hide. It would have seen us both by now. Zania began trembling next to me. My breathing went as shallow as hers.

“Guys,” I said, trying not to move my mouth as it came closer. “A spirit is here. A whisperer.”

The feel of the hilt nestled against my ankle gave me a bit of false confidence. Using Zania to shield me, I discreetly pulled the hilt out, tucking it in the back of my shorts where it wouldn’t be seen.

I stood with my back to the spirit and signed to Z, I will handle it, then turned and walked to the end of the dock by the boat, having no idea what I would say or do. As the whisperer flew closer the tension filtered from my body. I let out a huge sigh.

“It’s Azael.”

I only had a second to be relieved before I saw the ferocious look of Azael’s features and my fear revived. He flew at me so fast that I flinched when he halted an inch from my face, his whisper screaming in my mind.

“Hide yourselves! Now! They are twelve miles out and nearing quickly. By my estimate you have forty minutes. Go!” And with those words of warning ringing in my ears, he sped away.

My heart spluttered and for a horrid second I couldn’t make a sound. Then I sucked in a giant breath and shrieked.

“They’re coming to the island!”

Where would we go? Could we hide? By the time the boys made it back, it might be too dangerous to go out to sea. What if the Dukes heard our boat and decided to see who was so close to the island?

Zania’s footsteps shook the dock as she ran to my side. I could hear the fast splashing of paddles in the water. The kayaks were in sight now. I shot my hearing out to them, but they were silent aside from the smacking of water. Probably afraid to talk. I knew the Dukes weren’t close enough to hear us, but it was still terrifying to speak.

“They’re twelve miles out,” I said to the air. “We have forty minutes. Hurry!”

Zania grabbed my hand. All three guys were paddling at max speed, but it still felt slow. After what seemed like forever, they hit the shore and sprinted up the dock with the small kayaks under their arms, returning them. We all huddled together, using our hands to talk silently, fumbling through phrases and not able to pay attention to everyone’s signing at once. Blake waved a frantic hand to get our attention. His signing was painfully slow.