Sea Gypsies: The Draga Isles

Chapter 24: Cousin

Gin dragged Ria by the wrist, turning away any tiny etiquette he knew to treat a lady.

She's the princess?! Does the captain know? Does Enzo know? Is this why the Acantians are now after her?

Why did Migal agree to leave without her?

The questions came in a muddied mass in his mind, but one thing was for sure: Acante had just turned more dangerous for them--for Ria. They needed to get out.

They proceeded with haste through alleyways, ducking to hide every time they came across someone--anyone, even a little girl carrying a jar of water from a well.

"Gin," Ria kept pulling back and calling his name, tugging at his hold.

But he needed to get her out fast and didn't stop. The little discomfort was a needed sacrifice.

She was in danger. The princess was in danger!

Why would Captain Zalez allow this? Yes, twenty-five thousand pridas was a lot of money, but Ria was worth more. If anyone found out about her, she would be taken and sold like a slave or held for ransom. Was that what Enzo wanted to do?

A bile crawled up his throat as he remembered what Enzo said about the princess being bred to make more of her kind. Apart from being adopted under the care of the late king and as the brother of the Draga Isle's current ruler, she was the only living psychesi from the Marena tribe. That was worth more than all the pridas in the kingdom.

At that thought, chills crawled up his arm. He let Ria's wrist go.

When he turned to her, she rubbed her wrist like he'd hurt her. The guilt made him want to reach out, check her wrist, and apologize, but he pushed it away.

"Have you--" He started. His tongue forced out the words even before his mind could come up with the conclusion. "You--" He thought about those annoying moments he'd looked at her and felt the need to be close. "Do you use psychestringere on me?"

"What?" Ria narrowed her eyes. "I'm tempted to right now."

"So you have!"

"No! Never!"

A seller from a stall a few paces away glanced at them, and Gin pulled Ria behind a corner of an establishment to hide.

He began again. "But then why do I feel--" The realization crept into his thoughts. If Ria was telling the truth, then what he felt for her was real.

He thought about that night in Basiago. Guilt had nagged him for scolding her about leaving the ship, and he'd bought her tsokolate to make up for it. Though he wasn't able to give it to her then, the way his heart fluttered like a tuna's tail made him hold his breath as if the ocean had engulfed him.

He liked her.

He was attracted to her.

That was all true.

They stood so close. This was what he'd always wanted--to be near her. To be with her.

"I've never used psychestringere on you," she repeated. Creases formed between her brows.

Gin stared at her longer as if he didn't believe her, but he already had. He shook his head at himself, cursing inward for having a petty crush on a girl he barely knew.

The noise of a passing automobile on the street pulled him back to their situation. More people were coming out on the street, which meant that the city was waking up.

He pushed all thoughts of attraction away. "Fine," he said. "Who else knows about you?"

Ria's shoulders rose, tensed. "Just the captain and Rodri."