“Why should she trust you?” Leoni asked. “You kidnapped our boys and delivered them straight to the shadow court.” She jabbed a finger at him. “You’re a sad excuse for a pirate and a sad excuse for a man.”
“Actually, I’m a rather good pirate,” Bastian said, not even fazed by her insult, “but you’re right about that second part.” His voice lowered. “I’m a very bad man.”
Driscoll let out a whimper, and I couldn’t tell if he was afraid or turned on. Probably both, much like myself in this moment.
“We won’t help you get the pixie dust back until you do as the princess said.” Leoni’s hands curled into fists. She wouldn’t back down, even if I was tempted to, tempted to give in and get going, to trust Bastian even when my instincts told me not to.
“Fine.” Bastian took a deep breath, then unhooked the silver chain with the clock from around his neck. It wasn’t anythingfancy. In fact, it looked like a piece of junk. But he touched it like it was a prized possession, something important. He looked physically pained as he unclasped it.
His hands shook as he walked forward and moved behind me. I stilled. He lifted my braid, still wet from the rain, and his hands brushed against the nape of my neck, his breath warm. I suppressed a shiver.
He fumbled with the clasp, the heat of his body behind me almost too much, his scent of sea salt and sandalwood enveloping me.
“Let me do it.” Leoni shoved Bastian aside, cold dousing the flames building within me.
“Careful,” he snapped. “It’s old. It needs to be treated with care.”
Driscoll wrinkled his nose at the tarnished piece of jewelry, and I could tell he was biting back some snarky comment about it. I didn’t know why this meant anything to Bastian, but it clearly did, which was all that mattered.
I looked down and studied the clock, silver with small dots representing the time. “I’ll keep it safe while it’s in my care,” I said to him.
He nodded, eyeing it like he was tempted to snatch it back. “So we have a deal, then?”
“Are you sure about this?” Leoni whispered from behind me.
“Yes,” I said. “We have a deal.”
“Then get yourselves ready to set sail.” Bastian strode toward the door. “We have a wedding to attend.”
Chapter Fourteen
After our deal was made and Bastian ordered the crew to change course toward Elwen, we were given a tour of the ship, which turned out to be very brief.
A stony-faced woman named Kara stood in front of us, little round earrings lining one ear, a red bandana tied around her brown hair. She cocked a pierced brow as she stared at us. Tattoos covered her arms and crept up her neck. She seemed so familiar, but I couldn’t quite place my finger on what it was about her that I recognized. Surely we’d never met before.
“Quarterdeck.” She pointed toward the stairs that led up to the helm, a huge mast rising into the air. “Forecastle deck.” She pointed to the opposite end of the ship with another tall mast. “Main deck.” She pointed down to where we currently stood, right next to the third and final mast. Long ratlines stretched across them and down to the decks, crew members climbing them. “And over there leads down to the crew cabin belowdecks, where you’ll each get a bunk. Mealtimes are morning, midday, and evening, and you better not tarry because we’re hungry, and we’re not particularly keen to share, especially with those who aren’t part of the crew.”
Then, without another word she stalked away, mumbling what I thought was “complete waste of my time.”
Driscoll turned to us. “Well, she was just a ray of sunshine.”
Later, we were shown our bunks, which were so small, Driscoll’s feet hung over the edge. In between the bunks were barrels of drinking and bathing water, boxes of dried and salted meats and crackers, and various other goods that I didn’t pry into. The space was dingy and dark and had an odor of moldy water. Driscoll pinched his nose closed, and Leoni wrinkled hers. I would have felt bad that I’d dragged them into this, except I hadn’t. They chose this after I’d loudly protested, so if they weren’t happy, the fault lay on their shoulders.
Driscoll patted a heavy black cannon that sat next to his assigned bunk. “This isn’t alarming at all.”
Leoni climbed the rickety ladder, which was missing a rung, to her top bunk and plopped down on the sagging mattress. “I’ve always wanted to see one of those in action.” She gestured to the other cannons that were nestled between the bunks. “You think they’ll fire one off for us?”
Driscoll tugged at his collar. “Spirits below, I hope not. Are you a masochist or something?”
I put a hand on his shoulder. “We have to be prepared for anything, Driscoll.”
He sank onto his bed, and a billow of dust rose that he swatted at. “I did not think this through.”
After that, we ascended to the main deck, and I leaned against the railing of the ship, watching the way the water ebbed and flowed, the beauty of the undulating waves, the power of the sea. It never ceased to amaze me. Out here, I felt alive. Exhilarated. I couldn’t say the same for my companions, who sat shoulder to shoulder against the railing, bickering about who should get the bottom bunk.
“I’m almost a foot shorter than you,” Leoni said. “It’s easier for you to reach the top.”
“Yes, it’s also easier for me to bang my head against the ceiling when I jolt awake in the middle of the night from an inevitable nightmare—probably one about this ship.”
