Devourer of Men (Devourer, #1)

by Nikki St. Crowe

We must always be perceived as superior. But that only works if there is anyone to impress.

As I sailed here, I plotted all of the ways I’d make Captain Hook scream. But now that I’m standing in front of him, a scream doesn’t seem quite as satisfying as a moan.

“You missed me, Captain,” I say and toss a peanut shell. “I missed you too.”

Being an ancient supernatural monster does have some perks.

“Everland does not sleep.”

We are a dichotomy, the Captain and I. He wants to forget who he is and I am afraid I might not remember who I was.

He winks at me, swats me on the ass, and steps inside. I really am going to murder him. I mean it this time. More than any of the other times before.

And yet some days I am aware that I am driven mostly by fear. Fear of who I am. Fear of who I’m not. Fear of what happens when I face myself in the mirror. To be bold is to be truthful and I am built of lies.

because details matter

“Everything is a game, Captain. The sooner you pick your game piece, the quicker you can win.”

I’m not afraid of walking away. I’m afraid of the regret if I did. I would always wonder what it might have been like, facing my greatest enemy, and then taking pleasure from him.

here I am, on an island not my own, with a man who hates me as much as desires me, looking for a woman who rejected me.

Wendy Darling was never as innocent as she pretended to be. It’s what I liked most about her.

“Wendy Darling,” he says. “You’re alive.”

In a place like the Everland Court, there is no room for weakness.

I think it’s possible James and I are cut from the same type of fabric. Both fine fabric with delicate stitching and very specific uses. We are the type of fabric meant to drape, not form.

I understand James. I have never understood Roc.

I want to be terrified by Roc. I want to be adored by James.

While Roc may not be royalty, he does have a reputation. If you are not charmed by his charm, or enraptured by his beauty, you are terrified of his power.

While it’s impossible to handle Roc, Roc knows exactly how to handle us.

Roc will never take commands. He gives them.

Everything Roc does he does with confidence.

It’s my opinion that if you want information, you ask the help. The help can get into places that regular people can’t and often they’re overlooked, so they hear things that no one else hears.

I don’t know that I like how he can move so quickly without a sound. It’s a reminder that he isn’t human. A reminder that I am.

A pirate captain must be frightening if he means to get anywhere with his crew.

I don’t exactly know what I’m fighting for anymore, but I know I don’t want to die.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever get used to watching the Crocodile transform. One minute he is man, the next his edges are made of darkness and mist. He devours the witch whole.

Good leadership can make all the difference.