Pesky Desire
Chapter twenty-two
Curiosity reigned in Lucianna’s mind as she followed Finnick and Mr. Barrister up the ramp and onto his ship.
They had friendly rapport as though they knew each other, but Lucianna still suspected something more was in the air.
Barrister gave in far too easily, unless he was teasing them about Petals being his best employee.
Two bottles of wine—royal or not—was not worth losing a dedicated worker.
Had Finnick swindled the man by utilizing his Gift?
Did Barrister know that Finnick possessed such power?
“How’s Diyona?” Finn asked as they walked across the deck toward an opening in the wooden floor.
“She’s already tired of Eventide,” Barrister chortled. “But other than being frustrated with my working late, she’s happy as a clam. Spends her days tending to our grandchildren and her garden.”
Barrister paused at the opening and peered down. Then he cleared his throat and shouted, “Petals! Come to the captain’s quarters at once!” He glanced at Finnick. “Thought you might appreciate a bit of privacy for your conversation.”
Finnick slapped Barrister on the shoulder with a smile.
“You’re a good man, Barrister. Thank you.”
He gestured to the quarterdeck.
“Captain’s cabin is down that way. Can’t miss it. I’ve got to get back to supervising. Not all of my men are as motivated as Petals. They need me there to push them along.”
Lucianna frowned. There again was another sign that Barrister hadn’t wanted to give up his employee.
“I’ll have that berry wine sent to your home, along with some flowers for Diyona,” Finnick promised with a winsome smile.
Barrister returned the expression.
“Good. That might keep her from tossing me out on the street when I come home late again.”
Finnick stepped in the direction of the captain’s quarters. Barrister started toward the gangplank.
“Don’t work too hard. And thank you again!” Finnick yelled, to which Barrister waved. “Well, that was easy enough.” He clapped his hands together. “Now all we have to do is convince this Petals to come with us.”
Lucianna followed Finnick across the deck.
“Did you manipulate him?” she asked bluntly.
He huffed a laugh. “Are you asking if I used my Gift?”
“Yes,” she said in a tone that implied the questions were one in the same. Because in her mind, they were. He played the emotions of others to his gain.
“I used my Gift, but I don’t consider that manipulation. If he was truly adverse to giving away Petals, he wouldn’t have been that easy to sway. I merely softened him.”
“I don’t see how that’s any different,” Lucianna countered.
“I know you don’t.”
She scowled. They reached the cabin and walked inside. A small but solid-looking wooden desk sat in the middle, with a matching chair behind it. There were a few crates on one wall and a map of the Seven Havens pinned up on the opposite one. It was otherwise barren.
Finnick rounded the desk and placed his palms against the tabletop before leveling her with a look.
“Do you use your Gift during your missions?”
She didn’t miss the pointed way he said the last word. Lucianna set her jaw.
“Sometimes, yes.”
“Would you consider stealing someone’s voice manipulation?” he challenged.
Lucianna’s stomach dropped. Her throat burned as she considered the fact that she was actively using a stranger’s voice with Finnick right now.
“Not necessarily,” she hedged.
He raised a brow. She rolled her eyes in response.
“My Gift is hardly the same as yours.”
“You imitate voices to trick people. I soften people so they will talk more or give in to a demand a little more easily. Both of which are things we did not choose. This is what the Tides gave us.” He pushed off the desk.
“Furthermore, it’s why we’re a part of this undertaking.
Make no mistake, Castien would not have brought me along simply because I’m family. ”
Lucianna thought of Wren. The princess’s Gift was known throughout the Lucent Encalve.
She was a storyteller. Her tales had been published in several of the island’s most illustrious libraries.
Lucianna could not ascertain how such a Gift would make her helpful during a heist. This made her doubt Finnick’s words.
She went to say as much when a throat cleared behind her.
“I was told to report here,” a voice boomed through the cabin. While he was not shouting, the natural baritone was louder than regular conversation.
Lucianna spun around in time to see a man of obscene stature ducking through the cabin doorway.
She blinked as she took in his appearance.
He wore the typical uniform of a dockworker: dark, loose trousers and a white linen shirt that was stained with oil and dirt.
His incredibly large black boots bore the scuffs of hard work.
The only out-of-place item on him was the thin copper-frame glasses perched atop his strong nose.
“You are Petals, correct?” Finnick asked.
Petals nodded and crossed his corded muscular arms over his broad chest. The fabric of his shirt stretched with the movement.
“Adriel Petalton. But most call me Petals.”
Finnick gave a slight bow.
“Enchanted to meet you. We’re associates with Caldwell. Perhaps you know of him?” Finnick inquired.
Petals bobbed his head again.
“I apprenticed under him until I found work with Barrister.”
“And you are Gifted with stamina?”
Petals shifted at this, eying Finnick and Lucianna warily. He coughed in his fist.
“Why do you ask?”
Finnick grinned.
“We’ve got a job offer for you, my good sir! One that will pay even better than Barrister.”
Petals’s brown brows furrowed.
“What kind of job? I’m quite happy here. It pays well and is quiet.”
Lucianna looked at her husband. Petals did not seem adventure-oriented. Cora hadn’t been so difficult to entice given her desire to be away from home. Lucianna felt it would not be the same for their new larger-than-life acquaintance.
“We need a man with your abilities to accompany us on a quest. I cannot give you all the details up front. It will be dangerous, you will likely have to hurt some people, but at the end of it all you will be considered a hero.” Finnick paused, then added, “Oh, and you will be paid enough gold where you would never have to work another day in your life if you so chose.”
Petals reared back. “Hurt people? Am I to join the military? I told the last recruiter I had no desire to be a knight.”
Finnick waved a hand.
“No, no, not the military. This is a private endeavor.”
Petals looked uncertain. Lucianna considered speaking up, but convincing wasn’t her strong suit. She had simply assumed Cora would come along, and she’d been right. If she would have said no, that would have been that.
Finnick walked around to the front of the desk, then leaned against it, tucking his hands in the pockets of his coat.
“What is it you want most, Adriel?” he asked, his eyes never leaving Petals’s face. “I get the sense a man like you enjoys a simple, hardworking life. And yet . . . most men I meet have a pesky desire that disrupts that life. Something that can’t be obtained by moving boxes on a ship.”
Petals glanced at Lucianna. Then he began to fidget, uncrossing his arms and tugging on the hem of his shirt before crossing them again.
“As I said, I enjoy my work and life,” he replied.
Finnick tipped his head to the side, a smirk budding.
“Ah, but what is life without someone to share it with?” He gestured to Lucianna. “This is my wife. I couldn’t imagine life without her . . . to keep me on my toes.”
Lucianna barely withheld her glare. It would not do for Petals to think they weren’t a true married couple. Even if she could practically taste Finnick’s charm in the air and despised it.
“I suppose sometimes I am in want of companionship, like everyone,” Petals acquiesced.
Finnick’s smirk transformed into a knowing smile.
“Of course, my good man! That is natural.” He pushed off the desk and walked to Lucianna, draping an arm around her. “Now, what if I told you, that this mission of ours would bring you such great renown, that every woman in the Seven Havens would clamor for your attention?”
Petals seemed intrigued, and yet he frowned.
“I do not need every woman, only the right one.”
“Yes, but options help, no?” Finnick countered. “There is also a woman of no attachment who has joined our crew. Perhaps some time working together would develop a beautiful romance.”
This time, Lucianna did shoot her husband a glare. Who was he to speak for Cora? But maybe Petals would resist Finnick’s Gift the way Caldwell had, and this would be of no consequence.
Lucianna looked at Petals once more. His gaze had softened and taken on a far-off look. Tides curse it all, he was buying this nonsense! Lucianna shut her eyes, for she could no longer bear to watch the scene before her.
“All right, I’m interested,” Petals announced after a moment.
Finnick squeezed Lucianna to his side. She fought the urge to push him away.
“Splendid!”