Chapter 12
T en minutes later, I found myself in a cramped sleeping cabin, stomach in knots as I stared at the door.
Where the hell was Molly?
The crew member tasked to bring me to my cabin wouldn’t answer when I’d asked him that—or any other question, for that matter. He’d led me down a maze of corridors and ladders to the bowels of the ship and left me there with a grunt after I thanked him for removing the manacles.
One problem solved, which was a start, at least. As much as I wanted to celebrate the small win, the aftermath of coming face-to-face with a man I’d long thought to be a figment of my imagination shook me to my core. I lowered myself to the lumpy bunk and blew out a sigh.
Daughter. Tinker. Pirate. Mage.
I had to assume that me being here—meeting Hook—was all part of the bigger plan…of my destiny. But why did every step have to be so cloaked in mystery and so fucking terrifying? Was I supposed to use my time here to get information about the clock…or the croc?
Dammit, Gayelette.
I was sick of the journey. Just give me the endgame already.
The door swung open, and I let out a yelp that had Fetch squawking from his perch on my shoulder.
Molly stepped into the room, her eyes wide.
"Look, Harmon." She plastered a brittle smile on her face, giving me a pointed stare. "First Mate Xander was nice enough to escort me back. And we’ve got our own room, being as I’m the only female on deck. Lovely, right?"
I winced, realizing the sound I’d let out when the door opened was anything but masculine. Pushing myself from the bunk, I crossed the short distance to greet the first mate with as much manly swagger as I could muster. I stuck out a hand and squeezed hard when he took it.
"Good to see you again, Xander."
The first mate looked me up and down with narrowed eyes, taking my measure but giving nothing away.
"Captain tells me you’ll be staying on for a spell.
My advice? Keep your head down, keep your nose clean, and do as you’re told.
You’ll be fine. The crew here has been together a long time, and we like a calm ship.
Some are rough-around-the-edges, but they won’t hurt you unless you give them cause to. "
Molly raised her brows at me and gave a little shrug as I pulled back.
"Rumor has it that Captain Hook is one of the most ruthless pirates around. I’m relieved his reputation has been exaggerated," I added.
Xander’s lips split into a wide smile that took years off his sun-weathered face. For the first time, I realized that he was almost boyishly handsome.
"Oh, don’t put words in my mouth.” His grin widened. "No, Hook’s soul is blacker than the darkest night. We’re well-fed and well-paid because it keeps us loyal. Period. But if you’re not one of us? He’d just as soon see you dead as see you never.”
Alright, then.
“I'll be taking your leave now,” he added, tipping his hat to Moll.
“Someone from the kitchen crew will be down with a hunk of bread and some cheese shortly. Eat and get some rest. You're gonna need it.” With that, he turned on his heel to go but then paused. “Lock the door once you’re settled for the night. No one will try to bother you, but we can’t have you wandering around in the middle of the night and falling off the ship or something. See you at sunrise."
The door shut, and the locks tumbling into place made it feel both final and ominous.
"What the hell was that about?" Molly whispered. "Does he think we’re stupid enough to go walking off the side of the ship? Hell, I wouldn’t leave this room on a dare, given that this whole place is rife with pirates. Like fleas on a dog!"
"About that," I muttered, pulling off my hat and running a hand through my hair with a grimace. "Look, I know you’re gonna be mad, but I was desperate. He was so intense, and I just couldn’t stop rambling…"
Molly crossed her arms over her ample chest, her glare sharp enough to draw blood. "Harmony Marie Fallowell, what did you say this time?"
I swallowed. "I kind of…sort of…told Hook that one of the reasons he should keep us alive instead of killing us is that I was the caretaker for our whole family because our dad went blind after a bee attack, and?—"
"I don’t need the whole story," she snapped. "What I need is for you to tell me what you told him about me ."
I hesitated.
"Wait! Don’t. Let me guess what it is this time," she continued, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I’m a simpleton with a brain the size of a walnut with a death wish to boot, who just wanders around walking off boats?"
"Not exactly," I hedged. "I just… mentioned that I had to get a spot on the crew to take care of you as you struggled to find a husband, what with your terrible sleepwalking affliction."
“What?” Molly’s eyes widened in outrage. "I can’t believe you told him I have a problem finding a husband! That’s even crueler than the vow of silence bit. And, frankly, not even believable. Plenty of men in The Hollow would’ve loved to marry me."
My lips twitched. Only Molly would be more outraged by the implication that she couldn’t land a man more than me saddling her with another feigned affliction.
"I know, but let’s not get caught up in the small stuff here. Hopefully, we’re going to get some information along with a ride to some nearby island, and then, we’re never gonna see these people again. Who cares what they think of us?" I reasoned.
"Fine. We’ll put a pin in it.” She dropped into the tiny stool by the desk in the corner. "But we are going to talk about this pattern of behavior at some point. Either you have a mean streak, or you’re trying to get me back for something I haven’t quite put a finger on. Which is it?"
Then, just as quickly as it had come, her annoyance drained away and she leaned forward, eyes lighting up.
"Oh! But I do want to hear about Captain Tall, Dark, and Sexy, though. Xander said the two of you were talking in another room. How did it go?"
"Not good, Moll." I sighed. "It went…not good." I hesitated, unsure of where to start or how much I wanted to share yet. It was bad enough that we were stuck on a ship with him. Or at least some version of him. The fact that my brain and body hadn’t yet figured out how to separate the humorless, child murdering, cruel pirate from the wickedly handsome dream lover was going to be a major problem if I didn’t get a handle on it fast. "I did finally figure out the real reason he took us, though, so that’s something.”
“And?”
“It’s Fetch."
Molly wrinkled her nose and shot the falcon a skeptical glance. "Why? Does he have a taste for rodents or something?"
I glanced at Fetch, who cracked one eye open before shutting it again, clearly unbothered by Molly’s barbed words.
"No. I just—" I hesitated. I hadn’t told Molly exactly how, since my time with The Speaker and the other Whispers, my connection with Fetch had deepened.
I filled her in as best I could, and when I was done, she stayed quiet for a long moment before shooting me a dubious look. "So you’re saying you can actually meet minds with that bird?"
I shrugged. "It’s not an exact science yet, but I feel like we’re getting better and better at it."
"Great, well then maybe you can ask him why he hates me so much?"
I was about to tell her no—that we had more of a “come here” or “alert, danger ahead!” type of communication, and hers was too complex of a question—but then a sudden sense of knowing flooded through me. A thought that wasn’t mine.
It belonged to Fetch.
"He doesn’t hate you," I said slowly. "He just feels like you both serve the same purpose. You guys are redundant, and frankly, he thinks he’s better at the job."
Molly blinked at me. "We serve the same purpose ?" she repeated, letting out a laugh. "Okay, well first of all, I’m a person and he’s a pet. Second of all, he’s like an indentured servant, while you and I are equals and best friends."
She wasn’t wrong. But that wasn’t how Sir Fetchington Von Buren saw things. Still, if I hadn’t been so surprised by Fetch understanding and answering the question—coming from Moll and not me, no less—I would’ve been a little more careful about how I worded the Falcon’s response.
"I think he means you’re both basically my family," I said carefully, trying to clean up some of my mess. I lowered my voice and leaned in. "And he’s probably a little jealous. He knows how close we are."
Molly pursed her lips, then gave a slow nod. "That makes more sense. Okay, Bird. I guess I’d be jealous of me, too."
"As it stands," I continued, "the three of us are in this together. We’ve got nobody else, so let’s do our best to take care of each other, okay?"
Moll nodded.
Fetch closed his eyes and buried his face in my neck again. "He says yes," I added.
There was a long pause until Moll blurted, “Do you think that Cissy, Tristan, and Caleb will ever forgive us for up and leaving like we did?”
The question may have seemingly come out of nowhere, but I’d been friends with her long enough to know that the thought had been on her mind the whole time since we’d left Neverland.
It was something I’d done my best not to think about, because it was more to add to the steadily rising pile of collateral damage that I had no one to blame for but myself.
“Children can bounce back from almost anything,” I reasoned. “Look how much they’ve gone through already, and they’re still pretty great kids. I think they’ll get over it.”
“Cissy won’t if she’s like our Cissy from The Hollow. She’s going to be pissed for life.” Molly’s mouth wobbled into a smile. “I bet she replaced that Captain Hook wanted poster with a picture of us to throw knives at.”
I chuckled in agreement. “She’s fiery, that one.”
“Poor Tristan, though. He finally found a friend in Fetch, and then we snatched him away—” Molly’s expression went dark and she wrapped her arms around her midsection. “But most of all, I hope Caleb is okay. He really wasn’t looking well…”
She wasn’t wrong. In fact, that last morning, his skin had been so pale, it was almost transparent, the blue of his veins hinting through. The weight of it all got super heavy all at once, and I was grateful when a knock at the door interrupted us.
“Come in,” I called.
A salty looking old man in a used-to-be-white cook’s jacket stepped inside, basket in hand.
“Thanks so m—” Molly said to the door that was shut in her face half a second after she accepted the food. “Did he tell the rest of them that they’re not allowed to talk to us or something?”
“They probably have a lot of work to do now that we’ve set sail.”
"That’s true," she said as we each sat on our bunks and tore into the bread. "And at least Xander seems nice enough—even if Hook isn’t. Tomorrow will be a better day."
I nodded. “Once I’m out there working with the crew, I’m sure I’ll get the lay of the land and ferret some information out of them. First thing on the list, find out where we're going and what’s going to happen when we get there.”
I was feeling more optimistic as we ate our meal in silence. Moll might love some lace and finery, but at the end of the day, we were iron hearts, forged in the poverty of The Hollow.
Surely nothing we'd be asked to do the next day could be worse than anything we'd had to do to survive to this point…
I really had to stop telling myself lies.