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He stared out with purefor threatening her - he&039;d ht, Gods help any being thatwe&039;re being watched?"

She did She&039;d thought it would fade now that MacRieve was on board with her, but she was definitely sensing an oppressive presence nearby

He turned back to her, studied her face, and said, "Aye,you?"

Cruach had followers in his Cult of Death ould do anything to stop her, but they were usually huh to lose "Actually, yes," she answered softly, and MacRieve leaned in with interest "This jackass Lykae who can&039;t take no for an answer is stalking me"

He drew back with narrowed eyes "Maybe if he ever truly heard a &039;no&039; coive her up"

With that, he began leading her back toward the cabin "So you want to tell me why you tensed when the Rio Labyrinto was mentioned? And unless I missed my mark, the mention of the Barão da Borracha and Captain Malaqu�� dinna coax a sed "You can suppose things all you like"

At the door, he said, "At least tell et a read on Damiãno?"

She answered quietly, "He&039;s a Lorean"

"Aye, but I doona knohathe is Intend to find out Stay here, Lousha And be prepared to answer some questions when I return If you ever want to see your bow again" He patted the case

All that nervousness about being alone with him, until she was nearly sick with it, and noas just taking off? With ?" Had she sounded disappointed?

He grinned, leaning his tall body against the door frame "I&039;ll be back in fifteenfor it?"

"I don&039;t I never" Inhaling for calm, she said, "Leave my bow, then"

"No&039; a chance," he said over his shoulder

Once he&039;d gone, she paced the stifling cabin, her eh she could see in the dark, she flipped on the bedside laht over the interior Without the benefit of the sun pouring in, the room seemed smaller - almost cozy

And he expects to share it with ain and saw another text had arrived fro tranqued 2nite with the witches Bet U wish U were here! LOSER!

Lucia did wish she was there - away from MacRieve, away from the temptation he presented He was the key to her destruction, the closest she&039;d gotten to ruin in centuries

But he wouldn&039;t force her to have sex She knew that about hi of so infor to vent, Lucia dialed the soothsayer Surprisingly, Nïx answered

Lucia wasted no time "How could you book me as Lucia MacRieve?"

In a pedantic tone, N&iu with huht you would prefer MacRieve to your real name Lucia av Cruach"

Lucia of Cruach That had been her identity - as his possession, an extension of hi have you known?" She&039;d told no one but had always suspected Nïx knew Still, it&039;d been a shock to hear her call hiht you juo "Nïx, my alias with mortals has always been Lucia Archer It&039;s on my credit cards,confused, Nïx said, "But but MacRieve is funnier"

"And a paleopathologist? What do I know about pathology, much less the paleo kind?"

"You&039;ve killed as s as some diseases," Nïx pointed out in a chipper tone "Shots to the heart, and you&039;re to bla to shoot you"

"That doesn&039;t sound patient and levelheaded, Lucia"

"And what about MacRieve? You could have warned me he&039;d be here"

"Oh, is he? Would you have missed him if you&039;d been on time, I wonder? Or maybe you need hiht before I&039;m to face Cruach?"

"You&039;ll have to show some restraint"

"That&039;s rich, N&iu this tofor, so - oh, I don&039;t know - I ht knohen I find it!"

For effect, N&iu, "Have you ever heard the term dieuuess, yet actually, I believe it&039;s a god killer"

Lucia rolled her eyes "I am fully aware of what it is!"

"Thunder stolen" Sigh "I already told you, didn&039;t I?"

"Regin and I have been looking for a dieu my neck over the last twelve months to unearth one" Then Lucia sucked in a breath "It&039;s down here," sheinside her

"Uh-huh They&039;re rare - like Amphitrite&039;s-tears rare - but a dieuod killer exists, and Nïx knohere it is! "Is it an arrow?"

"Dunno what forured we could off Cruach with it"

"Off Cruach? Like exterripped the phone hard

"Forever and ever Alas, the gods, or at least the ones I&039;ainst this plan They don&039;t want any knowledge or weapons - or other - brought forth They think they&039;d rather deal with Cruach This is a mistake," Nïx said si to stop you Immortal assassins and mercenaries have likely already been dispatched And this tiods"

So to kill one would be punishable by divine power "Hoould those gods &039;deal with Cruach&039;?" In case I fail

"They expect you to return to your hubby and appease him for a time, to stall while they come up with a way to destroy him"

Lucia nearly retched Appease hih his teeth, the e

N&iuun, you see Just a s Ticktock"

"How could it have started? He&039;s not free" If Cruach were already free, then it was already over He could only be harmed - or killed - within his jail, his lair Only there did he take corporeal form "I&039;d know if he were about to escape" I always know Her nighters

"He&039;s not free yet, but he&039;s been receiving help from his followers"

The notorious Cult of Death worshipped hi themselves Cromites They were robed swordsmen, tattooed with Cruach&039;s narled horns

"The cult has grown," N&iu continual sacrifices in his naer so he can rise"

Cold fear suffused Lucia Gods derived strength froiven day - Lucia could deal with the cult corisly rituals "What else, Nïx?"

"Honestly, all I know is that a dieumort is in Rio Labyrinto"

"How do I find the river?"

"Everything you need will be on that boat"

"Nïx, you have to tell me more!" Lucia cried "Why do you always parcel out information?"

"I&039;m an oracle It&039;s e do," she answered "Now, do I really need to fake the static again?" Click

Lucia paced the small cabin once more, stunned by all she&039;d learned - and hadn&039;t learned Was this a wild goose chase? Was N&iu mentally over the past few months but still had hellacious lapses Like thebut ancient Babylonian or the weeks when she would only answer if addressed as P!nk

As Lucia gaped at the sat-phone, another text arrived fro Ur not loser I shld B there w/ U Kinda miss U

Lucia&039;s brows knit I kindaA bead of sweat trickled down her forehead She wiped it away, but another appeared She felt gris were still sticky fro a snap decision, she grabbed her toiletries from her backpack, then hurried into the bathroo, she hopped into the small shower stall The water pressure was nil, the teh for her to rinse off her body and wash her hair

After she redressed, she sat on the edge of the bed, but just as quickly shot to her feet to pace so at her phone clock MacRieve should&039;ve been back by now What was he doing?

She crossed to the little balcony and stared out at the river The Contessa was chugging along at a steady clip and apparently would ht

The water was muddy, like the Mississippi, the air as sultry as suh she&039;d just taken a cool shower, her skin was already heated She wound her hair up and rubbed her nape

What was taking MacRieve so long? Since Lucia was hyperaware of the Scot&039;s nearness, she was also keenly feeling his absence

He&039;d told her he had questions for her She had some for him as well How&039;d it feel to lose your crown? She&039;d known he loved his older brother and was overjoyed at his return, but to go fro of all Lykae back to the Dark Prince had to have affected hi me when the moon was full? She&039;d feared he&039;d had other fehts to work off the overwhel lust he&039;d had to suffer So ould keep hi now? In ten days, the moon would be full

But mainly she wanted to ask, Over the last year, did you ever consider giving up on me?

Lucia stared down, nearly hypnotized by the swirling eddies Staring at the waterAll the talk with Nïx about Cruach forced Lucia to reht her future

At sixteen she&039;d had no idea how good she&039;d had it in the immortal plane of Valhalla She&039;d spentto leave She&039;d found Valhalla dull

Now she knew it&039;d been a land covered in mists, full of beauty and endless peace

But the outside world had been so clear, so sharp, so exciting Lucia had wanted to lie on her back and stare up at the bright stars that she could only scarcely see froed for adventure but mainly for romance She&039;d wanted her own hearth and family - a husband and eventually a dozen children

Let her half sisters deal with the Valkyrie&039;s duties - choosing the slain and fighting battles She&039;d had no interest in death

Lucia had wanted love

One night, a stranger had appeared at the other side of the portal A man - just there, like a dreaht hair and blue eyes the color of the cloudless daytilimpsed, but always at a distance Never had she encountered anything as coelic looks

"What&039;s your name, fair Valkyrie?" he asked

"I&039;m Lucia the Maiden What is yours?"

"I&039;m called Crom I&039;hed, delighted "Are you, sir?"

"I will ifts and adoration"

"I do like gifts"

They flirted until she heard Regin calling her for dinner As young Valkyrie, they still had the need to eat, still were rown and had frozen into their ilance over her shoulder, Lucia told hio, but will you return to see ht, eagerly awaiting you," he said "And the night after and after again Until you agree to wed me"

That&039;d been the only promise he&039;d ever kept

The cabin door opened

Chapter 23

Garreth found her on the balcony At once, her slim shoulders stiffened

As he crossed to her, heat last He&039;d pursued her for so long, he had a hard tiht, he hadn&039;t wanted to let her out of his sight, but his Instinct had been screaer

He&039;d just confir her outside, he leaned his forearhtti in all around thereen-walled canyon Low stor to that claustrophobic sense

How he reet it

Finally she turned to him, with her lovely face wan, her expression strained

"When was the last ti year, he felt like arse He couldn&039;t iine how she felt or how she pushed herself like this

"A week ago, I think" Io a couple of days without sleep, but a as rough He knew this well - he&039;d been up for nearly a dozen days

She&039;d showered and washed her hair Now it s without " And she&039;d dressed fully again "Do you think a few extra garments will keepto be awaiting you in erie"

"Maybe no&039; yet" Before she could protest, he said, "You need to tell me about whatever littlefollowed Seems quite a few Loreans doona want you to reach whatever you need to &039;attend to&039; So now it&039;s tiet it, MacRieve"

"You&039;ll blindly ignore that you&039;re in danger?"

"Because you say so? Oh wait, how did you put it in the er because we&039;re in the Amazon Wow, that specific? Really, I better protect myself from the rascally Amazon"

"Lousha, I sleo demon assassins just today in Iquitos - they had their swords raised in an alley you were about to sprint by" He&039;d nighhe&039;d had to do in town

"Then all the better that I&039;h "No&039; quite You see, I&039;ll be forcibly re you from the vessel at the earliest opportunity"

"What?" Visiblyan effort to calm herself, she said, "MacRieve, let&039;s be reasonable about this What threat on board has you acting like this?"