He does none of those things. Instead, he bolts up in bed, scooping me into the bed and onto his chest as he rolls backward.
Faintly, I hear Victor call for the Lost Boys, who sleepily scramble out of the room at his command before he shuts the door behind them.
“What do they think we’re about to do?” asks Nolan mischievously.
When I don’t blush, he takes note, and his entire demeanor shifts. “Darling, something’s wrong.”
It’s not a question.
“What happened on the mountain?” he asks. “Charlie? Maddox?”
“They’re alright,” I say. “Well, Maddox is injured, but he’s going to be alright. There’s no need to worry about him.”
“But there is something to worry about,” says Nolan.
I pause, then he cocks his head at me.
“Darling, why were you the one to weave my healing into the tapestry? Isn’t that the job of the Youngest Sister?”
“She wasn’t there,” I say. “She hasn’t lived there in centuries. They locked her away—the other two did.”
“Seems like the kind of thing they’d do, from what I’ve surmised from our brief interactions.”
“Yes, well, they know how to make an impression, don’t they?”
“And is that why you’re so concerned?” asks Nolan. “Because your empathetic heart cannot stand the idea of the Youngest Sister being locked away? You’re not wanting us to go on a journey to save her, are you? Because if you are…”
“It’s not that,” I laugh, “It’s just…”
I watch Nolan. My sturdy, wonderful husband. Alive and well.
I fight for the words, for the truth. But try as I might, I don’t know where to start. “It’s just that I can’t believe that you’re here. That you’re alive.”
Nolan smiles. I try to hide my grimace.
CHAPTER 25
It takes two weeks for the town healer to release Maddox from his care.
By the time we return to the ship, the crew has already received word about Nolan’s recovery thanks to a carrier pigeon Charlie hired in town.
Thus, the celebrations have already been going on for hours by the time we reach the ship.
“You sure they’re celebrating and you’re not being attacked by a gang of rival pirates?” asks Victor as an explosion of fireworks erupts from the deck of the ship and lights up the night sky.
“We’re privateers,” says Maddox, rather moodily. Though I suppose he has an excuse. He’s still having to nurse a bottle of a disgusting antidote the healer in town provided Charlie in order to heal his wounds from the raven’s talons.
I hadn’t even noticed until Maddox pointed it out that my wounds were completely healed. When he’d asked how that had happened, I’d simply shrugged, assuming it had something to do with the magic of the Youngest Sister’s cottage.
“Right. Privateers,” says Victor, widening his eyes at me so that Maddox can’t see.
“I’m pretty sure it’s a celebration,” I say, though as a cannon goes off, rattling the ground beneath our feet, I wince, suddenly unsure.
“You’re sure you don’t want to come with us?” I ask my friend, hopeful, despite his turning down my offer at the house.
Victor scratches his chin, messing up his beard. “You know you’re like family to me, Winds.”
“But?”
