Jade
The gray sky hasn’t changed. The gray water hasn’t changed.
But I’ve changed. Because my skin is humming where Logan’s hands were, and the taste of him remains on my tongue, which makes standing ten feet away from him and ignoring what just happened below deck feel like a special kind of torture.
Evie and Callie are bent over charts near the bow. Kieran’s standing by the front mast, studying a dagger as if he’s deciding whether to throw it.
The second Logan’s boots hit the deck, Kieran’s eyes track him like a predator sizing up prey.
“The rigging’s intact,” Kieran says, staying carefully neutral.
“Good.” Logan moves to the helm, not glancing back at me. “Navigation?”
Callie doesn’t look up. “Clouds haven’t cleared.”
Kieran’s still watching Logan, his gaze tracking every move.
“Something’s been bothering me,” he finally says.
My stomach drops.
“What’s that?” Logan doesn’t turn around.
“The sirens.” Kieran pushes off the mast, moving closer.
“Evie heard Oliver. Callie won’t say what she heard, but we know she heard something.
Jade was halfway over the railing before you grabbed her.
Even I felt the pull. But you were unaffected, fighting all of us off like you couldn’t hear a thing. ”
He knows. Obviously not about the time travel, but he knows Logan’s using magic that’s beyond what witches should be able to do.
Out here on the dangerous seas, how long is Logan going to keep his time travel ability secret? Kieran’s clearly onto him. Evie likely will be too, assuming she isn’t already. Eventually he’s going to have to give them answers. The only question is when that’s going to be.
Logan shrugs, looking almost bored. “Maybe the sirens didn’t have anything to offer me.”
“Everyone wants something.” Kieran’s tone sharpens. “They find your deepest desire and weaponize it. No one’s immune.”
“Apparently I am.”
“That’s not possible.”
Callie looks up from the charts, her chin raised, her eyes daring Kieran to push this further. “Logan saved our lives. If he hadn’t held us back, we’d be monster-fish food by now.”
Kieran’s eyes flick to her. “I’m not saying he didn’t save us. I’m asking how.”
“And he answered you. Everything doesn’t need a sinister explanation. Maybe some people are just stronger than others. Maybe Logan’s spent so long learning to control his mind that a siren song can’t break through.”
Kieran tosses his dagger in the air and catches it by the hilt, zeroing in on Logan the moment he catches it in his palm.
Logan doesn’t flinch.
Evie points to the horizon, where patches of night sky are peeking through the gray. “The clouds are thinning,” she says. “If they keep up, we could see stars within the hour.”
“Then we wait.” Kieran moves to the bow. “We’ll rest in shifts while we can.”
Callie bends back over the charts, murmuring something to Evie about constellations. Kieran settles against the railing, one hand resting on his dagger at his hip, his eyes scanning the water.
Logan stays at the helm. His back is to me, his hands gripping the wheel like it’s keeping him from falling apart.
I should go to him and tell him I still want him, even while I’m working through my feelings about what we talked about below deck.
But my feet won’t move.
So, I find a spot near the back mast, pull my knees to my chest, and wait for unfamiliar stars to guide our way forward.