Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
My boots slam into the deck as I jump down from the final crossbeam, Jorn hopping down more gracefully a second after.
The high of being at the top of the ship mixed with the excitement of what is coming with a new Voyager joining the crew has me grinning, forgetting all about the grumpy captain I know I’ll have to calm down now that I’m back on solid ground.
“Captain!” Jorn yells before turning toward me and reaching for my belt.
He steps closer, invading my space and making this feel way more intimate than it should as he grabs hold of the rope that kept me safe during our lesson.
I start to step back when his grip tightens, holding me in place, then sends me a wink before looking back down at his task.
Angry footsteps stomp across the deck us, and I hear Jorn snicker under his breath as his fingers fly over the knot, loosening the loops.
Is he taunting Weston? Does Jorn know something more that I don’t?
If looks could kill, Weston’s face would strike someone dead, but it isn’t me that has to worry since all the fury is directed right at Jorn.
“What?” Weston snaps. He stops a few paces away from us and crosses his arms over his chest, his glare falling to Jorn’s hands at my hips as he finishes untying the rope.
Jorn chuckles softly, so only I can hear it.
“Little Lennox has my stamp of approval for climbing the mast.” His focus remains on his task until the knot falls away, and he pulls the rope out from my belt.
He winks at me again and I can feel tension seeping off of Weston’s body.
“She’ll still need a couple more times with my supervision, of course.
” He reaches out and musses my hair, the gesture completely platonic, but Weston’s jaw looks like it might crack if he clenches it any tighter.
“Is that all?” Weston growls, his anger not seeming to affect Jorn one bit.
“Yes,” Jorn says as he wraps the rope around his hand and elbow into a ring of loops. Weston turns to walk away just before Jorn speaks again. “Oh, and we got a signal.”
Weston turns back to us, rolling his eyes. “Why didn’t you just say so?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Jorn says, his eyes sparkling.
“Go get Sig,” Weston commands. “Tell her to get the collection crew ready.” He turns away again, stomping back toward the entrance below deck without even a glance at me.
I guess I escaped the wrath of the captain.
“What’s the collection crew?” I ask Jorn once we are alone.
“The aggressors,” he says. He starts off toward the stairs and I follow. “It’s pretty much the oldest and strongest crew. We never know if the greenhorn is going to put up a fight.”
We descend the steps to the second deck, and Jorn calls out, “Sig! Collection crew!”
“Really? Already?” Stassia says as she sits up in one of the chairs in the lounge. “How are there so many coming so close together?”
I shrug. “I didn’t tell anyone my methods. Maybe it’s the island?”
“Could be,” she says. “Maybe it wants things to change around here.”
I feel a small twinkle of hope within me as my mind drifts back to my thoughts in the crow’s nest. Maybe the island does want things to change. Now that I know Dane has been lying, I agree with it, and something more needs to be done.
I need to talk to Sig, but now, with all the commotion and excitement, it isn’t the right time. We need to come up with a way to convince Weston to let me go back, and that is going to take some planning time that we don’t have.
“You’re coming, right?” Stassia asks. She lounges back down, not looking at all like she’s about to leave to fetch a new Voyager.
“Yes, she’s coming,” Sig says as she strolls down the stairs toward the mess. “Collection crew! Get prepped!” she yells into the room, followed by various forms of acknowledgment.
“I’m not allowed to leave the ship, remember?” I say. I haven’t left since Weston forbade it, after I returned covered in blood from Mara’s knife.
“I’ll handle Cap. If he doesn’t agree, I will convince him.” Sig plops down into a chair next to Stassia and I take one as well. “If the Voyager is hostile, you might be the best person to get through to them. Having you there will be more helpful than hurtful.”
“Unless it’s Mara,” I say with a wince. My arm is fully healed, thanks to the magical salve, but the memory is still too fresh.
I don’t know what it would be like if she steps out of that portal.
The hatred inside her is already too fierce, so she might take longer to break than I did.
Part of me hopes it isn’t her, so we don’t have to deal with that while also convincing Weston to send me back for the dust.
“That would be unfortunate,” Sig says.
“Don’t we need to get to the beach?” I ask, looking around at everyone and their lack of movement. “Why aren’t we getting ready?”
“Oh, we have time,” Stassia says.
“The mountain takes all day. No one comes out before nightfall, so we have time to get into position,” Sig says. “You can do whatever you need to do, just like before a shift, but make sure you’re ready. We don’t know what to expect when we get down there.”
I finish the rest of my chore that I abandoned to climb with Jorn just before Stassia comes to find me to prepare for tonight. The mess is full, commotion and laughter ringing through the space while we eat when Sig drops into the chair across from me.
“Cap’s all taken care of. You’re clear to come tonight,” she says and takes a bite of her food.
“What’d you have to trade to make that happen?” I ask.
After the way he glared at Jorn and me today, and as angry as he was when he took away my shift, I figured he wouldn’t agree to let me come, no matter what Sig tried.
She shrugs. “Nothing. He didn’t put up a fight at all. Just agreed.”
“Are you still not talking?” Stassia asks.
“Nope,” I say and stab a roasted vegetable before popping it into my mouth.
“Are you ever going to tell us what happened?” she asks. Sig looks down at the table, just as Auralie walks up with her plate and sits down in the last empty seat.
“What happened with what?” Auralie asks innocently, glancing between us.
“Why Weston and I aren’t speaking,” I answer.
“Oh, Weston. It’s Weston now?” Stassia teases.
I roll my eyes at her and take a bite of another vegetable. I’m not sure it really matters if I tell them or not. None of it is a lie, and he didn’t say any of it needed to be kept between us. What do I have to hide?
“He kissed me, then told me it will never happen again, all before I found out he’s been hiding the truth from me about who he is, and that’s why he’s been acting the way he has.
” The words string together as I try to get everything out before my courage disappears.
It seems to have the expected effect, because Stassia audibly gasps and Auralie stares blankly.
Even Sig looked up when I mentioned the kiss, a slight look of shock on her face.
I guess Sig didn’t know everything.
Silence falls over our table, and I look down at my plate, continuing to eat as they digest my statement.
“What is wrong with him?” Stassia finally says, and I can’t stop the giggle that erupts. It feels good to finally talk about it, and have someone who understands my feelings.
“A lot of things, it would seem,” I say.
“He needs to figure out what’s going on in that beautiful head of his, because he is not thinking clearly,” she says.
“It’s fine,” I say, then blow out a sigh. “I thought we were starting to become friends, but I don’t think friends keep something like that from each other.”
“I don’t blame you,” Auralie says.
My gaze falls to Sig. “I’m not talking about you. I know he ordered you not to say anything.”
Her face softens and my chest squeezes. Has Sig been worried that I’m upset with her, too? If anything, Sig has helped me get through this, making me feel like I am not alone, and giving me perspective on life. I don’t know how I’m going to return to the real world without her.
“I’m too mad at him to even ask how the kiss was,” Stassia says. My cheeks heat and I clear my throat, hoping no one else sees how just the thought of it has me rattled.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that kiss since it happened, no matter how mad at him I’ve been. If Stassia got wind of that, or the way he held me in bed the morning after, she’d never let me hear the end of it.
That kiss all but erased every single one of Dane’s, and after I found out about his deception the next morning, it was as if Dane didn’t exist anymore. If anyone made a mistake, it’s me.
I know how Weston feels, but that doesn’t stop my stomach from tumbling every time I find myself thinking about it, knowing that deep down I want it to happen again.
“Leave her alone, Stass,” Auralie whispers. “Not everyone is as open as you.”
“I’m alright,” I say. “It doesn’t matter how it was, his feelings about it are clear.”
Stassia and Sig exchange a look, but no one says another word.
We finish our meals quickly and stop at the armory before meeting everyone on deck.
The suns have set, the cloud cover from the day casting a deeper darkness over the island, but it doesn’t cause any hesitation.
Excitement still buzzes amongst the crew as we wait for the next direction.
Weston is already there, standing in front of the gangway, weapons strapped to him just like for his shifts. His eyes scan the gathering group until they fall on mine, but I look away quickly. He may have agreed to let me come tonight, but that doesn’t change anything between us.
“Listen up everyone!” he calls out, and the voices quiet as all eyes look toward him. “We all know how this goes. Everyone stay alert and look after each other. Pay attention to your surroundings, and move with a purpose. If things go badly, let me handle it, understood?”