Approaching footsteps intruded on William’s meditation. This was the third time that he’d been approached since taking up his watch at the bow of Cudlitz Pride and he was quickly growing frustrated with all the intrusions. It would have been less irritating if the others wanted to watch the coming storm in silence as William was doing, but all of them tried to engage him in conversation about petty things. Two months of travel left him itching to lash out at these creatures, but he’d held himself in check. There was nothing to be gained from violence, after all.

“Nothing but peace and quiet,” he grumbled to himself at this latest intruder’s approach. He’d planned on simply glaring at the man until he left, as he had with all the others. But instead of greeting William with some useless platitude, the intruder vomited on him. Twice.

A moment of angry shock paralyzed William. The man was saying something to him, likely an apology, but William wasn’t paying attention. He’d done his best to keep his violence in check through the months he and Talen had spent at sea, but this was too much. This man had just killed himself. William looked at him with murder in his eyes, but to his surprise found himself face-to-face with an old acquaintance.

A murderous old acquaintance.

A murderous old acquaintance who was throwing a punch at him.

Surprised, William took Seth’s punch squarely on the jaw. Seth was a deadly fighter but skill wasn’t as important in a fist fight as raw strength, and Seth was not nearly as strong as William. The blow rocked William’s head to one side, but little more than that. A trickle of blood fell from William’s lip where Seth’s fist had connected with a sharp tooth, but the split lip was already healing.

Anger burned through William like a wildfire. When he’d though it was just another passenger that’d vomited on him, William had intended to draw out the violence in as painful a manner as possible. But this was Seth Dahlios, and even though he hit like a pillow he was still dangerous. It wouldn’t do to underestimate him.

“Dahlios,” William growled in acknowledgment. Human features burned away in the blink of an eye as William assumed his war form. Heat billowed off his charred skin, and blackened lips pulled back to in a vicious grin. Bone claws shot forward in a flash, fingers splayed to grab Seth’s throat and tear it out.