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34 - The Dark Isle

  Jon turned toward the towering inferno, thousands of lives now in peril because of Frank’s sky beasts. Only one remained overhead, keeping its distance as it hovered over the sea. Screams blew across the wind and faded to silence, the shifters moving east as they tried to escape the blaze.

  He tossed the torch into the sea, thankful he hadn’t been forced to use it. Even with the rain cascading over the land, the shifters would lose half their homes, or if they were lucky, the fires would extinguish before any more lives were lost.

  This was not the entrance he wanted to a new land.

  Nudging his horse closer to Malcolm, he pressed two fingers against the old man’s neck. His pulse still beat strong as he lay unconscious over his horse. He’d accidentally run into a teenage shifter hiding from the ships, and the boy was so scared he’d released all his venom into Malcolm’s face.

  The old man should wake up soon. Jon grabbed the lead line and trotted after the others, anger burning in his heart. Not because of the fires or the man who was like a second father to him.

  All because Jàden called him captain.

  Once they found a safe spot to bed down for the night, he would have a few words with her. No wife of his would call him captain, and he sure as shit wasn’t going to let her push him away anymore.

  He was her husband, and it was about time she learned the truth.

  They rode until afternoon when thick fog rolled in from the coast. He could barely see a dozen spans into the foliage.

  Frogs chirruped loud enough to mask the crashing waves as they followed the muddy road along the shore, crossing a tributary from the sea that turned into a wide river flowing straight into the heart of the Dark Isle.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Jon wrangled his horse alongside Theryn. “What happened earlier with Jàden?”

  “Shifter,” Theryn muttered. “The guy saw her face, Captain. And he called her Jàden. The man knew her.”

  Jon clenched his jaw. “Which means he’ll be following us. We need to know more about this place.” If traders like Naréa always dumped their human cargo near the sahiranath web, chances were few escaped with their lives. “You and Dusty see if you can create a projectile launcher similar to those weapons. Everyone learns how to use them and how to avoid them.”

  “Yes, sir.” Theryn rode ahead to catch up with Dusty.

  “Th’fuck happing.” Malcolm groaned and wove his fingers into his stallion’s mane. “Cap’n?”

  “Right here.” He lit one of his nearly dry cigarettes. “Rest, old man. We’re safe for now.”

  Malcolm sat up, stiffness in his movements. Not much changed over the next few hours except they had new shadows tracking them. Likely the ones who saw Jàden’s face, but Jon was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open.

  Jàden held her shoulders hunched. Still hiding something. He didn’t like unknown variables or how unpredictable she was in a fight. No doubt Jàden was smart, but she always seemed to react by her own fears. He had to figure out a way to understand her moves.

  “Last web I saw was hours ago. I think we’re out of sahiranath territory, but I don’t want to take any chances. We keep riding until dark,” Jon said. Fog became trapped between the barrier and the shore while the rain remained a constant cold drizzle.

  “And hope those shifters don’t blame us for what happened.” Malcolm pulled out his pipe, improving back to his cranky self by the time the last sun set.

  Jon scanned the sky for any sign of Frank’s ships as he dismounted and tied off his horse. The sky turned full dark, a hint of illumination in the west as if a large city lay nearby. In any normal circumstance, he would have ordered his men to check it out, but he couldn’t risk an encounter with another web. Nor could he risk sleeping on the beach with Frank’s ships in the sky. Only Jàden’s shelter idea seemed to be the trick.

  “Same as this morning,” Jon said. “Blankets up, everyone inside for sleep. Three watches set.”

  “Yes, Captain.” His men went about their duties.

  Thomas was the exception. “We should let her rest, Captain. She won’t be any good to us sick.”

  Anyone else and he might have agreed, but it was time he cracked Jàden open. He needed to get to the truth of everything—her truth. Jon didn’t like the idea of another Flame, another variable that could cause more problems. “No, push her harder. Do it now.”

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