Storm Revealed: Phantom Islanders Part II Read online

  Storm Revealed

  Phantom Islanders Book 1 Part II

  Ednah Walters

  Contents

  Storm: Phantom Islanders Book 1 Part II

  Also by Ednah Walters

  Acknowledgments

  MAP OF VAARDA

  1. Chapter 1

  2. Chapter 2

  3. Chapter 3

  4. Chapter 4

  5. Chapter 5

  6. Chapter 6

  7. Chapter 7

  8. Chapter 8

  9. Chapter 9

  10. Chapter 10

  11. Chapter 11

  A note from the Author

  Discover the next in series

  About the Author

  Thank you for reading Storm.

  COPYRIGHTS

  Reproducing this book without permission from the author or the publisher is an infringement of its copyright. This book is a work of fiction. The names characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to any actual events or persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  Copyright © 2017 Ednah Walters

  All rights reserved.

  Edited by Kelly Hashway

  Cover Design by Cora Graphics. All Rights Reserved.

  Interior Design and Formatting by Stephany Wallace. All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  * * *

  Published by Firetrail Publishing: May 2017

  www.ednahwalters.com

  ALSO BY EDNAH WALTERS

  * * *

  The Runes Series:

  Runes (book 1)

  Immortals (book 2)

  Grimnirs (book 3)

  Seeress (book 4)

  Souls (book 5)

  Witches (book 6)

  Demons (Book 7)

  Heroes (book 8)

  Gods (book 9)

  Goddess (book 10)

  * * *

  The Guardian Legacy Series:

  Awakened (prequel)

  Betrayed (book one)

  Hunted (book two)

  Forgotten(book three)

  * * *

  Phantom Islanders:

  Storm (Book one, part I)

  Storm Revealed (Book one, part II)

  Storm Unleashed (Book one, part III) Coming June 27th

  * * *

  * * *

  WRITING AS E. B. WALTERS

  * * *

  The Fitzgerald Family series:

  Slow Burn (book 1)

  Mine Until Dawn (book 2)

  Kiss Me Crazy (book 3)

  Dangerous Love (book 4)

  Forever Hers (book 5)

  Surrender to Temptation (book 6)

  * * *

  The Infinitus Billionaires series:

  Impulse (book 1)

  Indulge (book 2)

  Intrigue (book 3)

  DEDICATION

  * * *

  To my Idun Valkyries.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

  Thanks to my fans for embracing my new project. Your loyalty means a lot to me.

  * * *

  To my editorial team—Editor Kelly Bradley Hashway, Cover Designer Cora of Cora Graphics, PA and Formatter Carolina Silva, Beta Readers and Author Sisters Melissa Haag and Karen Lynch, Omega Readers Dawn Yacovetta and Irina Wolpers… you guys are amazing.

  * * *

  To my launch team: Debbie Jerry Bunton, Carolyn Weigand, Andie Ryder, Lloyd Wright, Jeff Miller, Susan Defoe, Shawn Wood, Laura Carter, Alicia Carter, Kallie Kennon, Jeannette Oatman Whitus, Claire L. Monaghan, Tammy Donnely, Char Webster, Stacey Clifford, Karen DuBose, Jeannie Short Wilheim, Chanell Renea, Veronika Kate, Samantha Bridges, Alicia Allen-Trevino, Christine Poss Sturgill, Meghan S. Johnson, Jaime Lingerfelt Rodriguez, Jessica Sroga, Sue M. Van, Jemimah Zafoune, Patience Cruise, Kacey Sanders-Griffith, Hollian Rickman, Lesley Collis, Ria Arnold, Kelly Kortright, Tiffany Franks-Resseguie, Tonja Ritchea, Deanna Winters Welch, Tracy Cox, Laura Hamilton, Adriane Woodward, CheyAnne Drumwright, Hazel Stewart, CheyAnne Drumwright, Amber Christiansen, Felicia Semmler, and Adriane Woodward—love you guys. You rock!

  * * *

  To my family, as always, thank you for your love and support. Love you, guys.

  CHAPTER 1

  Storm is home, lass.

  Delia’s words echoed around the bedroom, and my heart tripped, a hollow feeling settling in my stomach. How was I going to react when I saw him? How would he react? I glanced outside at the canal and tried to contain my panic.

  “I don’t see the ships,” I said.

  “The horn was a warning,” Delia said, voice rising in excitement. “He should be here within the hour. We’re making preparations downstairs. You should join us.” She left, but didn’t bother to close the door. I guessed she expected me to follow her.

  I wasn’t going downstairs. Nope. Not going to happen. I wasn’t ready to face him and what had happened between us in that cabin. Despite my thoughts, I stayed by the window and watched the canal. Tension coiled tightly inside me.

  What if he assumed he had me and tried to kiss me? Would I kiss him back?

  Nope.

  Unfortunately, what I thought or told myself I wanted often ceased to matter the moment he touched me, feelings, sensations, and needs taking over. Even now, all I had to do was close my eyes to relive every touch, every kiss. Sometimes, I didn’t even have to close my eyes. It was the damn scent. Maybe there was some truth to their obsession with it.

  I wasn’t sure how long I stayed upstairs being a coward, but the waiting and the tension got to me. I stepped away from the window and debated my next move. I couldn’t hide or run. I lived with the man. It was better to just face him and get it over with. Sighing, I left the towers and headed downstairs.

  Men were busy hauling tables, chairs, and benches from storage while others arranged them around the front hall. Women set the table, adding tumblers and plates. At the front was a line of tables with chairs facing the front entrance.

  “Those are for the captains and their quartermasters,” Delia explained, coming to stand beside me. “I’m happy you decided to join us, lass.”

  I was happy I did. The air pulsed with excitement.

  “Is it always like this when they return?” I asked.

  “Oh yes. They put their lives in danger every time they leave, so when they return, we make sure we let them know just how much we appreciate them.” Someone called Delia’s name, and she got distracted. “Go on outside and wait with the others. I need to open the buttery so they can start filling jars with ale.”

  She hurried away, taking with her a few of the men to help carry the kegs. I headed outside and gawked at the sight. I didn’t know what the population of the island was, but it seemed everyone had come out to welcome the ships. I found a place to sit on the steps and watched with awe.

  The sun had barely set, yet someone already had lit the torches along the pier and bridge. Children ran around, chasing each other, and the dogs joined them. Kai and her shieldmaidens, along with Ryun and his swordsmen, walked around keeping an eye on things. Max and Glyn waved when my eyes caught them. The way they nudged their friends and nodded in my direction told me, I was the subject of their discussion. They were probably spreading my story.

  “They’re entering the gates,” someone called out, and the others spread the news.

  The noise level shot up, horns blowing again. They were welcoming Storm and the others home
as though they were heroes. I supposed they were. They’d left to avenge the death of their own. I moved without realizing, until I stood at the edge of the canal.

  The mast of the first ship appeared as it rose out of the water. It was the new one with Nerissa on the upper deck, holding the wheel. She waved, smiling and looking unscathed. The crowd cheered and caterwauled. The other ships followed. Zale was at the helm of the Marduk, Storm on the Mac Lir, and finally Levi on the Yemaya.

  Kheelan was missing. What did that mean? His ship didn’t make it?

  The crews placed planks between the ships and hauled barrels and crates under the directions of the quartermasters. They passed them to those who hadn’t sailed, who took them up the stairs to the Great Hall. Even children as young as ten helped with the loot, carrying smaller barrels and sacks. The whole process went smoothly like a well-oiled machine.

  My eyes stayed on Storm as he moved from ship to ship until he stepped onto the pier. The islanders welcomed them back with hugs, and Storm stopped to talk to them, though I couldn’t hear what he said. He even helped a young man with a chest before another took his place.

  “Maybe you need to move closer and welcome the lad home, lass,” Delia whispered.

  No thanks. I was perfectly fine where I was. Not that it made any difference. I felt the effect of his presence from where I stood. Or should I just admit the truth? I reacted to the mere sight of the man.

  Part of me wanted to run back inside the castle, but I refused to chicken out. I was going to face him eventually. Might as well be now. I focused on the mundane. He seemed okay. No cuts or bruises. He was looking around the crowd as though searching for someone. Then his gaze traveled up the stairs and found me.

  A grin curled his lips, and something strange happened to my heart. It tripped as though it forgot to beat and then picked up tempo. He started toward the steps, and I became a cliché of everything I hated. My breathing quickened with anticipation, and I started to sweat. Everything disappeared as though I’d developed tunnel vision and he was at the end of it. I wasn’t sure what was happening to me, and I didn’t like it, to be honest.

  “I’ll leave you two alone,” Delia mumbled, and without looking, I knew she moved away.

  Storm made it to the top of the stairs and started toward me, a smile tugging his lips. As he drew closer, his scent and heat hit me first, and the scene inside the Captain’s cabin flashed through my head. It was one thing for my heart to act stupid at the sight of him, and quite another to relive his touch and kisses. I licked my lips and pressed my thighs together.

  “So you didn’t escape while I was gone, lass?” he asked, his expression teasing.

  What kind of greeting was that? He was supposed to want to haul me into his arms and kiss me senseless.

  “Not from lack of trying, pirate,” I said.

  He threw back his head and laughed, drawing attention from the others.

  “You need to be very careful around some of the stallions. If you want to visit the north end of the island, I’ll take you.”

  “No, thanks.” I didn’t bother to ask him how he’d known about my misadventure with the palomino. “I’ll take my chances with the black stallion—if he ever shows up again.”

  “I’m starting to be jealous of that quadruped. He gets all your love, while I get none.”

  “He is loyal, smart, and adores me.”

  He leaned toward me. “I happen to adore you, and I’m totally dedicated to you, but I’m a lot smarter than the stallion.”

  I grinned. “He listens to me while you’re stubborn as a mule.”

  “Mule?” He laughed again. The man packed sex appeal when he let loose. The laughter died, his eyes going to my lips.

  “Do I get a hero’s kiss?” he asked.

  I snorted. After what happened in the cabin, I was keeping him at arm’s length. Then I noticed the bruise along his jaw. “What happened to your face?”

  “Where?”

  I pointed. “There.”

  “It’s probably dirt.”

  “No, it’s not.” I touched it. “It’s a bruise. Does it hurt?”

  “Not anymore.” He turned his head and rubbed his cheek against my knuckles, eyes closing. I watched him with morbid fascination. When he opened his eyes, the silver had turned smoky with emotions I didn’t understand. Didn’t want to. Without breaking contact, he turned his head and pressed a kiss against the back of my hand.

  His lips were hot, and heat pulsed from my hand straight to my core. I yanked my hand away and looked around to see if anyone was watching us, but they were headed to the Hall, arms around their mates.

  His arm landed on my shoulders, and he tucked me to his side.

  “Did you miss me, lass?”

  “Not for one second.”

  “I can live with a fraction of a second. What did you do while I was gone?”

  “Stayed busy and kept away from your people.”

  He chuckled. “I had a feeling you were awake during my conversation with Delia. So what did you do? Other than trying to sneak past the forest to leave me?”

  Guilt crept in even though he was smiling. “I thought you knew everything that goes on here on the island.”

  “I may miss a few if they happen while I’m evading a sword aimed at my throat.”

  My stomach dropped at the image he created. “Did you evade a sword?”

  “Too many to count, but you’re avoiding my questions.”

  “I cleaned a room.”

  “At our place?”

  Our place. I hadn’t thought of the tower as ours. “No, Nerissa’s old room. It’s going to be my bedroom from now on.”

  He stopped and studied my face. “Why?”

  So I can’t beg you to give me another orgasm. “Because I like it there. It’s warm and cozy.”

  “Then I’ll build us a fireplace upstairs. Let me see your hands.”

  I hid them behind my skirt. “They are fine. Was your raid successful? How many heads did you send back to Tullius? What was in those barrels and chests the crew brought in? I hope more gilded knickknacks, and not heads for souvenirs.”

  “Lexi.” He scowled. “Your hands. Now.”

  “Bully.” I lifted them, palms up. The left one wasn’t bad, but the right one had raw spots.

  Storm went pale under his tan. “Kraken’s breath. How did this happen?”

  I hid my hands. “It’s my fault. I forgot to protect them while cleaning.”

  “Stay here,” he ordered and took off. I looked up and caught the stares of the people seated in the hall. I’d been so wrapped up in Storm I hadn’t realized we were inside the hall. And from their expressions, they’d overheard our exchange.

  “Delia!” Storm bellowed down the hallway.

  I ran after him. By the time I caught up with him, he was entering her place.

  “You should have told me you had blisters, lass,” Delia scolded, spreading a clear gel over my palm. It had a cooling effect, and the throbbing pain slowly ebbed.

  “I knew they’d go away in a few days. They usually do.”

  “You’ve done this to yourself before?” Storm asked, sounding like I’d admitted to playing Russian roulette.

  “I’ve survived worse, Storm, and I blister easily. Please, stop hovering.” I still couldn’t believe he was making such a big deal about stupid blisters. “Can’t you tell him to go away, Delia?”

  Delia started wrapping my hand with a white cloth. “He never listened to me when he was a child, and he’s not going to start now.”

  “He was once a child? I thought the sea just spat him out all grown-up and mean. Maybe you should box his ears.”

  “Tried that, too. Stubborn as a mule.”

  I laughed.

  “I’m happy you can find something to laugh about,” he grumbled somewhere behind me. “She shouldn’t have been cleaning the room in the first place, Delia.”

  “I had to keep her busy somehow, lad. Besides, she is as stubborn
as you. You tell her to do a little, and she goes all the way. And once she decides on something, nothing can stop her.” Delia shot a pointed look, and I wondered if she knew about my attempts to escape.

  “She’s not staying in Nerissa’s room,” Storm said. “I gave up the tower for her.”

  I snorted. Gave up, my ass.

  “I didn’t say she should stay here,” Delia said. “She cleaned it up. That’s it.”

  “She said she planned to sleep here,” he insisted.

  “Stop talking about me like I’m not in the room. Why can’t I decide where I want to sleep? It gets lonely in the tower, and I like talking to Delia and the boys.”

  “The boys?” Storm asked.

  “Maximus and Glyn. They helped me clean my new bedroom.”

  “Shouldn’t those two be training?” Storm asked.

  “Ryun gave them time off,” Delia explained.

  “First, he skips council meetings, and now, he allows the pups to skip lessons. You need to reel him in, Delia.”

  “Not me, lad. You. You are the only one he listens to.”

  Storm growled something under his breath, then walked from behind the sofa and went to check the room I’d cleaned. He stared into the room with such distaste I got irritated.

  “Shouldn’t you be in the hall drinking rum and singing pirate songs?” I asked.

  He ignored me and disappeared inside the room. When bumps followed, Delia and I exchanged glances.

  “There’s nothing in here but this old bed,” Storm called out. “The mattress is lumpy, and the bottom is ripped.”

  “If the lass is lonely when you are gone, she could stay here. When you are home, she can return to the tower.” Delia patted my bandaged hands. She’d used white linen after applying the clear gel. “There. That should keep the gel in until tomorrow. How does it feel?”