Trap Read online

  The run turned into a sprint when I heard footsteps pounding a stone’s throw behind me, picking up speed to overtake mine. I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder, like a dummy. I let out a bitten-off scream when I saw a gilled Kataw chasing me, his triton clutched in his hand and a non-negotiable look of rip-tear-kill on his face.

  “Stop!” he called to me.

  He looked so big and ferocious, I nearly obeyed him, but turned back to the path and kept running instead. Relief spread over me when the spires of the palace came into view in the distance above the trees. If only I could outrun him a little more, I could get to Finn.

  I made it about a third of the way into my next rendition of my favorite Evil Dead the Musical song before my foot slipped on something under a smattering of foliage. The next thing I knew, I was being hoisted up into the air by a large net. “Ah!” I cried out, clinging to the sides to try and fight my way out like a fool.

  “Are you tired of running from me yet, little sandwalker?” the soldier teased me with a bite to his tone.

  “Get me down! I need to talk to Captain Finn. I’m the Omen, and I need to see Finn.” I hated throwing around my royalty card, but I didn’t see any other way out of this.

  The man frowned and clicked on his finger lights, shining them so he could get a good look at my face. He squinted up at me with too much skepticism for my liking. “You’re not the Omen. Lady October is regal and travels with her two Reapers. Do you really expect me to believe an Omen would travel to Dagat without her protectors?”

  “I don’t care what you believe! Cut me down from here, or I’ll do it myself. I need to see Finn, so you can either take me in like a gentleman, or you can arrest me and bring me to him. I don’t much care. Either way, I need to see Finn, and I don’t have much time.”

  “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll take you in as a feisty little prisoner, then. The captain can decide what to do with your legs once he gets a good look at you.” He reached up with his triton and sawed only half of the rope netting loose, letting me tumble out and fall with a painful crack on the ground. “Up you get. Try anything smart, and I’ll run you through just to be rid of the hassle. I was hoping for a quiet night tonight on my patrol.”

  I kept my mouth shut as he jerked me to my feet and yanked my arms forward, tying them together so deftly, I knew there’d be no chance of wriggling out. The wisps of the rope cut into my wrists, making them burn and itch as he led me forward like a slave.

  I wanted to pummel him, but didn’t trust that I’d make it to Finn alive if I took a chance on besting the muscular military man. He started out at a march, but looked up at the sky a few minutes in. “Can you run on those puny legs, little girl?”

  “I outran you well enough before you got lucky and that stupid net caught me. Let’s go. If we can get to the palace faster, so much the better.”

  “Oh, how I’m going to enjoy throwing you in the dungeon. Let the more eager soldiers have their fun with you. Or perhaps you’d be better suited for what’s left of the harem?”

  “Just run.” I rolled my eyes and tried to keep up when the soldier picked up his pace so much that I had to really concentrate to keep up. It was counterintuitive to run without pumping my arms, and when the palace was finally in sight, I tripped over my own two stupid feet and did an ungraceful, totally painful face-plant in the dirt. The soldier dragged me a few feet just to be a jerk before stopping to right me.

  I shrugged off his help and stumbled to my feet myself, sucking the blood off my busted lip and blinking a trickle of red out of my eyes.

  The man looked down at me, examining my face with a grimace. “Now you’re probably more suited for the dungeon than the harem, but don’t think that’ll get you out of going wherever Captain Finn sees fit to throw you.” He shook his head at me in exasperation. “Impersonating the Omen. Like I wouldn’t see right through that.” He tugged my rope, and despite my scraped knees, I managed to follow him at a slow trot. “I was at the funeral of the late Lady Mariang, you know. I saw Lady October stand for the shamed Reaper. She was fierce and glorious. You’re nothing but a child.”

  I didn’t bother arguing, but trampled along in silence. I was grateful the three-tailed monkeys had stopped throwing things at me, and more grateful still when we reached the edge of the woods.

  Lit by only the moons was the golden castle that shimmered even in the dead of night. The tall columns seemed to stretch to the heavens, small as I was next to them. The third floor was outlined in rubies, the fifth in opals. I hadn’t taken the time to appreciate the magnificence before, but now all I wanted to do was gape at the beauty.

  Of course, the jag with the rope was jerking me along, so I didn’t have the time to gawk like I wanted to. He took the golden stairs three at a time, which I didn’t have the capacity for. My scraped-up knee was shaking, and I worried about it going out on me if I slipped on the smooth surface.

  The soldier saluted two guards who’d been posted at the entrance. The one on the right managed a shadow of a smirk at my captor. “Evening, Lieutenant Emil. Looks like you found a prize for the dungeon. She give you any trouble?”

  “She tried. I’m taking her to Captain Finn. Is he ashore tonight, or did he go home?”

  The taller of the two scoffed. “You know the captain never goes to his home anymore. He’s in the study. You can take her on back.” The tall guy with a death wish pinched my butt as I walked over the threshold. “I guess I’ll be visiting the dungeon on my break today.”

  I made him jump when I barked at him like a rabid dog. If they wanted to treat me like an animal, then that’s what they’d get from me.

  Eighteen.

  My New Doggy

  We went through two more checkpoints before reaching a long, narrow room that held only a globe in the center, sitting atop a gold stand. The sphere seemed to be lit from the inside. The only other lights were rows of flickering candles lining either side of the room. Finn appeared to be deep in thought as he stared at the globe, startling when the bang of the door announced our entry. “What the... What are you doing here?” Then he stood straighter, barking out a command that made me jump. “Unbind her hands! Are you mad? That’s your Omen you’re leading around like a criminal!”

  Emil’s head snapped toward me, his mouth falling open in stunned horror. “The Omen? You weren’t lying?” With nervous fingers, he took a balisong knife from his belt, flicked it open and cut the ropes off my wrists. Then he dropped to his knees, head bowed before me in a complete 180 of his previous swaggering personality. “Forgive me, your grace. A thousand apologies will never be enough.”

  “You’re right it won’t! Prepare yourself for the gallows, Lieutenant.”

  The worst part was that Emil didn’t protest more than a sharp intake of breath, prostrate before us.

  I moved forward, placing my hand on Finn’s arm. “There’s no need for that. He was just doing his job. He didn’t know it was me. I didn’t tell him who I was,” I lied. “He was just keeping your woods safe.”

  Finn put his boot on Emil’s shoulder and used the leverage to shove him flush to the ground, where the lieutenant remained without a fight. It was frightening to watch Finn’s brutal nature combine with his unquestionable authority. “Be that as it may, you’re bleeding and limping. I’ll match your injuries blow for blow on his body if it’s not your wish he’s executed.”

  I moved to stand between the defeated man and the irrational one, splaying my arms out to guard the poor dude. “I just need to talk to you, Finn. Let Emil go. This is more important than that. It’s just a little blood.”

  Finn glared at Emil and finally nodded. “Very well. You may keep your life, Lieutenant, though you shouldn’t thank me for it. Thank your Omen for your food and your life.”

  Emil crawled to me on his hands and knees, not looking up as he pressed his lips to the top of my black sneaker. “Oh, jeez. You don’t have to do that. Honestly. It’s all fine. I get it. You were doing
your job. It’s why I didn’t put up too much of a fight.” When he remained on all fours at my side, I lowered my hand to his head, hoping it would communicate some sort of kindness to him. I didn’t need someone kissing my feet, and I leveled my hard gaze at Finn to tell him as much. “Emil didn’t lay a hand on me the entire time. I got caught in one of your rope traps, and then I fell while I was running a few times. He’s a good soldier. Did everything by the book.”

  Finn closed the gap between us. Anger painted his features that were only dimly lit by the flickering candles. He jerked my chin upward so he could better see my face. “You’re lying. You’ve got marks all over you.”

  “Then put a muzzle on your stinkin’ monkeys. They pelted me the whole way until Emil found me.”

  “What are these slashes on your cheek from?” He thumbed the injury Mariang had marked into me.

  “I scratched myself shaving.”

  Finn shot me a withering look. “I’ve been going insane down here, hoping you’re okay, and you come to me like this?”

  “Well, if you’d shown up to the council meeting, then you’d know exactly how okay I am. Then maybe you wouldn’t bark like a lunatic at your lieutenant.”

  Finn looked deep into my eyes, saying too much without opening his mouth. He had lines of sleeplessness etched on the corners of his eyes, making him look far older. There was a hardness to his green pools that seemed to pierce straight through me in punishment. Though he tried to push anger to the forefront of his emotions, I could see plainly that Finn was miserable. “Fine. Emil belongs to you until you leave our land, then. Do with your new pet as you see fit.” He leaned down and punched Emil across the face, making me yelp.

  I fell to my bloody knees and wrapped my arms around Emil’s thick neck. “Do you have to be so mean? This isn’t you. What’s going on? I didn’t give you your will back just so you could do this with it.”

  “This is exactly who I am. It’s what you didn’t have to see because I kept you safe from it all. You came here for what purpose, I can’t even begin to guess. I don’t owe you holding back anymore. This is who I am, Lady October.”

  I clung to Emil, pressing my cheek to his as I ran my fingers through his hair to calm us both. He was panting through his fear of being nearly executed. “Well, it’s ugly. So ugly, I can barely look at you.”

  “Then what did you come here for, if not to look at me in all my glory? Did Mason bring you?”

  I stood, but Emil remained at my feet. Finn moved his boot to rest on the back of Emil’s neck, anchoring his lieutenant’s head to the marble floor. Emil bowed without hesitation, his butt sticking up behind him, not resisting the degradation. I scraped at the backs of my hands with building anxiety. “It’s kind of private, so could I talk to you alone for a minute?”

  Finn removed his boot from Emil’s neck and snapped his fingers, as if the lieutenant was a dog. “Leave us, but don’t go further than the door. And don’t you dare rise up off your knees until Lady October leaves our land. Then I’ll deal with you as I please.”

  “Oh my gosh! Do you hear yourself? We all get it, you’re big and mean, and we’re all just shaking in our boots.” I hated myself when Emil kissed my shoe again and crawled quickly out of the room, shutting the door behind him. “That was unnecessary. I can’t believe you treat your loyal men like that.”

  “I treat anyone who crosses you like that, whether they’re my men or not.” He held my arm too tight, jerking me to his chest with too much force. “I don’t know what you’re hoping to prove by coming here. Ezra wouldn’t dare send you here without the whole team at your side. And just where is your dreamy fiancé?”

  “Probably still sleeping with Mason in our bed. No one knows I’m here except Carter.” This bit of news relaxed his grip due to surprise, but Finn still held my arm in a way that felt controlling. I didn’t much like being controlled. “I tricked Carter into taking me down here. He’s passed out drunk at the porting spot, so you might want to send one of your men for him in the morning.”

  “I’ll send Emil now.”

  “No, not now. Not before I tell you why I’m here. I need your help, Finn.”

  “My help? I thought you made it clear you didn’t need me or my help anymore. You’ve got Von. Where’s he right now in your hour of need? What need was so desperate that you came here without an escort?”

  I waited until it seemed he was done with his all-powerful ranting. My voice was quiet when the words tumbled out of my mouth like a confession. “I need your help because I know how to kill Sama.”

  Nineteen.

  One Whole Minute

  “You’re crazy! Your plan isn’t a plan at all! It’s a guess, October. A guess. You want me to gamble your life on a guess? We don’t even know all the ins and outs of that particular kind of magic.” Finn shook his head. “I’m not taking you there. Not in a million years. Not if your life depended on it, which it doesn’t.”

  I finally jerked myself free, staring up at him defiantly. “You think my life doesn’t depend on this? He put my sister in a coma! You have no idea how close I am to being totally wiped out by this guy every single time I close my eyes. I mean it, Finn. I can’t live like this because he’ll kill me. It has to stop, and I think I’m the only one who can put an end to it all.”

  “It’s suicide! I can’t protect you from Sama.” He stepped back and pointed at me as if publicly calling me out, though we were the only two in the room. “You’re marching to your death, and I won’t lead you there. You really thought I’d take you? Of everyone, you thought your hooks in me were so strong that you could get me to say yes to this? Do you really think me so weak?” He held my biceps and jerked me back and forth again so hard, my teeth rattled. “I came here to escape you! I dreamed that you would come and find me, offer yourself to me as the bride I wish you could be, but this is how you come? This is why you’re here? Because you think I’ll help you die? Don’t you know me at all?” He jerked me around again, his grip too tight for my struggle to reason with.

  I knew Finn was strong, but I didn’t grasp just how immovable his muscles were until I was desperately trying to get the crap off his bad side. “Get ahold of yourself! You’re scaring me, Finn,” I admitted, loathing the truth of that statement.

  “I’m scaring you? Good! I didn’t think it possible to knock a healthy fear of the world into your brain. I should’ve done this ages ago.” He breathed into my face through his clenched jaw. There was too much tension – always too much with us.

  I didn’t want my voice to break, but I wasn’t used to Finn being this rough with me. “Sama wouldn’t let me bring one of my Reapers. I came here because I know you’d stop at nothing to save me. Even if it was hard, you’d try until the end. I need someone who’ll try with me.”

  “Make no mistake, this would be the end. It would be the very end. I want no part of your death. I wanted to share a life with you, not end us both so stupidly.”

  I swallowed and cast around for a second option. “Then just give me a guide. Let me take one of the soldiers you don’t need so much. I don’t know how to get around Terraway, and Sama wrote the map to his house on my back using some spell, so I can’t see it. All I need is a guide, Finn! Can I take Emil? Anyone, I don’t care! Just someone who won’t rape me.”

  Finn glared at me, and for once, I truly felt how much bigger than me he was. “Straight back to Ezra’s is the only place you’ll be going.”

  I finally managed to shove him back so I could have two inches of space between us. “Don’t you get it? I’m dead either way. And it’s only a matter of time before Von and Mason are targeted. And the attack at the funeral? It was meant as a diversion so Sama could steal September’s bones. The council was attacked because of me! Ezra was shot in the back with an arrow because of me! Sama has to go down, and I’m the only one with a map and a plan. We can’t just keep dodging him, always on the defensive. You’re a fighter, just like me. You know what we’re doing to avoid him
isn’t sustainable. He has to go down.”

  Finn’s nostrils flared with his waxing and waning temper, his full lips wanting to shout at me, I’m sure. “Let me see this map.”

  My eyes widened that I’d actually made a little progress. “Sure. He said you can only see it with Terraway’s light. I’m guessing that’s either your suns and moons, or it’s the finger lights. Not sure.”

  I was about to turn around and lift up the hem of my nightgown that draped over my jeans and stuck out under my hoodie, but Finn beat me to it. He marched me to the nearest wall and practically shoved my front to the cold surface, ripping my nightgown and hoodie up my back. Luckily the material hitched under my breasts that were pressed to the wall, but my heart raced at Finn’s temper. I don’t think I’d ever seen him so unforgiving. He gasped and dropped to his knees, so I’m guessing the map had revealed itself to him. His fingers flitted along my spine, landing at my hips where he held onto me, thumbing the small of my back. “We never knew where he was sequestered by the last Kapre. Every few years, some of his followers try again to reach him, but it’s no wonder they can’t. Even the Mer can’t swim out this far.”

  He blew on my skin, sending a simultaneous warmth and chill through me. I knew he could see the goosebumps. I knew he could see my fluttering shut eyelashes since my cheek was pressed to the cold stone. “Knock it off,” I warned. “I didn’t come here for that.”

  There was a crazy amount of sexual tension I didn’t want to be part of, but there it was, dripping over our bodies like honey, making him look sweet enough to taste. Finn leaned in and lowered my jeans an inch down my hips. I should’ve elbowed him in the jaw. I should’ve walked away.