He gently bit the tip of one of my fingers. “Remember that ring I mentioned yesterday? It’s an important object. Very important. It belongs to a demon lord, who quite badly wants it back. The dragons want it as well, but only so they can destroy it—or rather, have me break its magic.”

“A ring?” I frowned in thought. “But Mrs. P doesn’t have one. At least, not one she wears.”

“No she isn’t wearing it, and I assume by her comments that she didn’t keep it in her luggage, which means she must have it on her person. Probably on a chain around her neck.”

“I don’t think so,” I said slowly, mentally going over the scene in the ship’s shop. Mrs. P had removed her clothing in front of me without batting a single eyelash. “I’ve seen her in her underwear, and she didn’t have on a necklace of any sort.”

“Well, she has to have it somewhere upon her person, because she intends to use it as some sort of offering to Osiris.”

I leaned back so I could get a better look at him. “She what?”

He nodded. “I take it she’s been waiting a long time to return to him. There’s more of a story there than she’s telling, but the important point is that she has the ring, and we need it.”

“We?” I asked pointedly. “I don’t see where the we comes into it.”

“If the demon lord gets the ring, he will use it to unleash boundless evils upon the world, both immortal and mortal. That’s one of the reasons why the dragonkin want the magic in the ring broken.”

I stood up, the fire inside of me dying down to nothing. “I think you’d better leave.”

He looked confused. “I thought we were going to indulge in nipple exploration, among other things?”

“I’m sorry about what you went through in the past,” I said after sorting through my emotions. “But I have a feeling you told this to me in order to get me on your side, so I’ll help you take Mrs. P’s ring. No.” I held up a hand when he protested. “I know you said you weren’t going to take it from her without permission, and I appreciate that. But now you’re trying to get me on your side so I’ll help you browbeat her into handing it over, and I’m not going to do that.”

“There’s no side to be taken,” Rowan said, slowly getting to his feet. His eyes were filled with sadness. “It’s a matter of simply weighing the need of one person against those of the rest of the world.”

I went to the door and opened it, waiting silently for him to leave. He did with a sigh, his shoulders slumped as if the weight of world was upon him. And it sounded like much of it was, if the dragons really had cornered him at last and forced him into this scenario.

That didn’t make my heart any less pained. It mourned the loss of Rowan with a sadness I didn’t think I could overcome.

Eleven

Ten minutes passed while I paced the main room of the suite, alternating between wanting to go find Rowan, tell him I was sorry, then seduce him like he’d never been seduced before, or standing guard at Mrs. P’s door to make sure that no one tried to get to her. Not that I thought that the priestesses would let anyone in, but I felt obligated to do what I could to protect her.

Just as I was at the end of my wits with the thoughts that kept squirreling around and around, there was a tap at the cabin door.

“Rowan,” I said hopefully, my heart singing a happy little song about nipples and manly chests and other masculine parts.

“Hi! It’s us, Ken and Barbie,” Ken said, now dressed in a mauve linen pantsuit. Barbie stood behind her, holding a small overnight bag. “We heard all about what happened at your hotel. I can’t believe someone shredded all your clothes! That was just spiteful, if you ask me.”

“Spiteful,” Barbie agreed, shoving the overnight bag at me. “We brought you and your employer some clothing.”

“We just couldn’t live with ourselves knowing that you and your boss were here without anything to wear but those ghastly costumes.” Ken smiled sympathetically at me. I eyed first her rotund shape, then Barbie’s slim, tall form, and decided not to point out that neither Mrs. P nor I had body types similar to theirs.

“Thank you, that’s very thoughtful of you. Um. How is it you found out about the attack on our things?”

“The captain, of course. He was most interested in your experience,” Barbie said, trying to nonchalantly peer over my shoulder into the cabin.

I could hear faint noises of chatter coming from Mrs. P’s room, but figured it was better to let go the explanation of why there were seven women stuffed into a single bedroom. I had a horrible feeling the captain wouldn’t allow it. I shifted slightly to the side to block the view of Mrs. P’s door, and said in a carefully neutral tone, “That’s awfully sweet of you to think of us.”

“Sweet is what we do best,” Ken said, beaming at me. “Isn’t it, Barbs? It comes with the territory.”

Barbie looked less than thrilled, but summoned up a weak smile.

“Territory?”

“Yes, you know.” Ken waved a hand in a vague gesture.

“No, I’m afraid I don’t know,” I said, more confused than ever.

Her eyes opened wide in surprise. “Oh, didn’t we tell you? Barbs, can you believe it? We didn’t tell Sophea who we are when we met her earlier.”

“Who are you?” I asked, suddenly worried.

“We’re cherubs. From the Court of Divine Blood, you know? And so of course we’re here to help you and your employer. We know all about her and what you’re both doing here.”

If I hadn’t been startled by the news that the two older women standing before me were cherubs, I was by what Ken was hinting. “The court of what, now?”

Ken giggled while Barbie tsked, and said, “The Court is what mortals think of as heaven. It’s not, of course, but it’s what they based the idea on centuries ago.”

“And you’re the little winged fat babies who float around ceiling decorations in cathedrals and rococo buildings?” I asked, my skepticism obviously showing, because Ken laughed.

“No, of course not. That’s the mortal conception of us. We are as we appear, of course,” Barbie said gruffly.