Chapter 39
Thirty-Nine
The caw of gulls, the rumble of wagon wheels, and the chatter of morning merchants woke her before the first wisps of sunlight snuck through the porthole.
She sat up in the swaying hammock, peeking over the side to see Thrain sleeping with Bramble nestled in the thatch of his beard.
For a moment, she marveled that the dwarf wasn’t snoring.
Then she saw that Bramble’s tail was holding his chin up and his mouth shut.
“Clever fella,” the pantheri whispered, as she swung her legs over the side and leapt down in a single motion, landing in a silent crouch.
Bramble opened one eye but then closed it again and burrowed deeper into Thrain’s beard.
Cali peered out the porthole and saw that the ship was already tied to Eldu’s wooden dock, flaxen rope draping from The Cruel Mistress like tethers. She pulled on her jacket, hooked the quiver of arrows over one shoulder, slung her satchel over the other, and grabbed her bow.
She left Thrain and Bramble to get a bit more sleep while she said her farewells, although she wasn’t sure if there was anything left to say to Bonnie. Her face warmed as she remembered kissing the woman the night before. Had she overstepped? Had she misread the signals?
The pirate captain had said nothing after the kiss, and she hadn’t tried to stop Cali from leaving. But what was there to say? Cali was going back home, and Bonnie was staying on her ship with her crew.
She hoped that the sparks she felt when she was with Bonnie weren’t hers alone. There’d been moments she’d been sure of it. But now that her mind wasn’t softened by candlelight or brandy, she wasn’t so sure. After all, one kiss wasn’t enough to change anyone’s life.
She padded down the corridor and took the colorful steps two at a time, emerging on the deck in time to see Pinkie sliding down the mast. The gnome ran a hand through her lavender hair and winked at Cali. “I’m gonna miss seeing you up there.”
Cali smiled and put a hand to her heart as she dipped her head in a bow. “It’s been an honor to share the watch with you.”
Pinkie snorted a laugh and patted Cali’s leg as she walked past. “Don’t be a stranger, pantheri. There’s always a place for you here.”
The lump in Cali’s throat surprised her, and she turned to squint into the rising sun as she swallowed hard.
Warm light unwound from the watery edge of the horizon to gild the ship’s bow and bathe the mermaid in gold.
The multicolored sails brightened as sunlight washed over them, and Tris hummed contentedly as she bobbed beside the dock.
“Brought you a scone for breakfast,” Marvella said as she appeared at Cali’s side.
Cali took the triangular wedge from the red-headed dwarf. “Thanks.” She took a bite and savored the taste of sea lime. “And thanks for giving Thrain that potion for seasickness. I don’t think he would have survived without it.”
Marvella chuckled. “My pleasure. It was actually a potion to quiet his snoring, and I did it so the rest of us would survive the journey.”
Cali choked back a laugh and nearly spit out a mouthful of crumbs. “It wasn’t for seasickness? Then how—?”
Marvella tapped her temple. “He was convinced it cured seasickness, so it did.” She winked at me and sauntered back toward the door leading belowdeck.
Cali polished off the rest of the scone and wiped her fingers on her pants, feeling better already although not better about leaving the ship.
“We got you back in one piece.”
Cali spun at the soft voice that ended in a hiss, her pulse quickening at the sight of Seraphina.
The sunlight illuminated the faint scaled pattern of the nagine’s skin, the gold exposing hues of blue and green within the black.
The master-at-arms’s eyes were unblinking, but her thin lips curled in a hint of a smile.
“You did.” Cali exhaled, reminding herself that Seraphina had done a good job of banishing her previous opinions of nagines.
“Perhaps pirates aren’t so scary after all,” the master-at-arms said with a slow wink before she glided back to the ship’s rail.
It was all Cali could do not to laugh out loud, but a hard thump on her back made her jump instead.
“Gert.” She looked up at the orc as she steadied her breath and her stance.
The quartermaster folded her arms across her chest. “I didn’t have high hopes for you and your dwarf friend.” She leaned closer. “Truth be told, I didn’t think either of you would survive the voyage.”
Cali stared at her. “You didn’t?”
Gert gave her a lopsided grin. “Good work proving me wrong.” Then she gave Cali another thump—this time on her arm—and strode up to the quarterdeck.
Cali tracked her with her eyes, her heart stuttering when she saw Bonnie standing at the wheel. There was nothing to steer, but Bonnie appeared to be gripping the colorful spokes firmly as she stared over Cali’s head, across the deck, and beyond the ship.
Cali knew she should go to her. She knew she should say something, anything, before she left, and they might never see each other again. But her boots felt anchored to the deck even as it swayed gently under her feet. What would she say anyway? She’d said everything the night before, hadn’t she?
The captain slowly dropped her gaze to rest on Cali, and the pantheri’s breath hitched in her throat. She managed to wrench one foot up and then another, her unusually stiff gait moving her closer to the stairs. When her foot touched the first step, Bonnie’s hands fell from the wheel.
Maybe there was more to say, Cali thought.
Then a hacking cough shattered the morning stillness, and Cali’s foot slipped off the step.
“Grognick’s beard, we’re back!”
Thrain staggered up from below deck with Bramble perched on his shoulder. He stretched his arms overhead and cleared his throat so violently that the raccoon clung to his head to keep from being shaken off.
The dwarf took long strides toward Cali, tipping his nonexistent hat to various crew members as he passed. “Guess we’d better be off then. Thanks for the hospitality.” He waved to Bonnie. “Good to sail with you, Captain. Don’t forget that you’re always welcome in Wayside.”
All hopes of having a few final moments with Bonnie were dashed as Thrain clomped to the top of the gangway and waved an arm for her to follow him. He swiveled back to Cali and grinned, hiking a thumb toward the dock. “Speaking of Wayside, look who it is!”