Chapter 21
Twenty-One
Shades of orange stained the horizon as the sun sank deeper into the sea, and its golden light gilded the waves. From high in the crow’s nest, Cali took a long breath as her heartbeat slowed and her tail stilled. Her hair was tied back, as the breeze at the highest point of the ship was mercurial.
It had been a while since she’d spotted anything but water, but she didn’t expect to see land. According to Gert, they were still a day’s sail from Claw Island, even if they pushed the ship as fast as she could go.
That was fine by Cali. She was in no rush to encounter sirens or discover Bonnie’s plan for Thrain. She suspected the dwarf wouldn’t be either, if he had any idea what was coming.
She peeked over the edge of the crow’s nest to where Thrain had been working on deck, but he wasn’t there.
Actually, few of the crew remained on deck as they sailed steadily toward the setting sun.
The nagine walked along the port side railing with her long, black cloak slithering behind her, as if her pacing might ward off the appearance of more uninvited sea creatures.
The ship had been relatively quiet since the mermaids had broken off and abandoned the chase, with only the rhythmic creak of the wood and the rasp of the waves as they licked the hull.
The few crew on deck weren’t even humming sea shanties like they usually did, as if even a merry tune might summon unwanted creatures.
Cali reached back and patted the mast, the wood worn smooth and the green and blue swirls faded from salt and wind. “You really didn’t like those mermaids, did you, Tris?”
The ship rocked to one side, the creaks of her hull echoing like a deep-throated groan, as the wood beneath Cali’s paws flushed red, as if the burst of color reflected her opinions.
“Me neither,” she whispered. “But at least they pointed us toward Jolli.”
Another moan as the mast shifted, and the red shifted back to green and blue.
“I know you’re worried, but it sounds like your friend is putting up a fight and making it as hard as possible for the hellkins.” Cali chuckled as she thought about the boat using its own oars to beat the hellkins who’d taken her. “You should be proud she’s so feisty.”
The rigging clattered against itself, the sound almost like clapping. Cali didn’t know if the jolly boat was more of a friend to Tris, a child, or a partner, but she supposed it didn’t matter how the love took shape. She understood that better than most.
She leaned down to rest her forearms on the crow’s nest edge, dropping her voice even though she was too high for anyone to hear her. “I know what it’s like to search for someone you love and worry they’re okay.”
The ship’s creaks took on a questioning lilt. Was Tris asking her about her lost love?
“I haven’t found the person I lost, but I haven’t stopped looking.” She patted the wood. “And I know Bonnie won’t stop looking until we find Jolli.”
A hum buzzed through the wood, warming it under her fur. Having a conversation with a ship wasn’t as strange as she would have expected. The sails went slack for a moment, and the wind whistled through them, as if Tris was sounding an alarm.
Cali remembered her job and jerked to attention, her ears flattening and her tail slashing behind her.
She scanned the waters, her gaze scouring the swells for the telltale flap of a fin.
Sirens had fins, didn’t they? She realized she wasn’t entirely sure what the creatures were supposed to look like, aside from being strikingly beautiful.
When she spotted nothing, she released a breath. “No mermaids or sirens that I can see.”
Even Tris fluttered out a breath of relief through the sails. Cali’s tail sagged. “I’m not in any rush to encounter mermaids again, either.”
Even if she hadn’t seen the glinting teeth of the mermaids and hadn’t heard their malevolent laughter, the thought of creatures who dwelled at the coldest depths of the sea sent a shiver snaking down her spine.
The idea of them dragging humans down into the darkness with them made her throat constrict.
Even if she found Arabella’s lost love, she would never bring him back to her.
Not if the man had successfully hidden from her all this time.
No, the mermaid princess would have to be content with a story.
Cali stared at the colorful linen sails plumped fat by the wind as she concocted the tale she would tell Arabella of a handsome sailor who died in his desperate attempts to reunite with her.
She imagined all the heroes she’d read about in books—honorable and true and always strikingly good-looking—and created the mermaid’s lost love in her mind.
Even if the truth was cruel and cowardly, Cali would recreate it and him into someone worth the heartbreak.
Once she’d come up with a robust backstory with a few intriguing plot twists, she laughed to herself. “Who says reading romance isn’t practical?”
Another soft creak from the ship. Maybe Tris was a romantic, too. It would be hard to be a pirate ship for a beautiful pirate captain without having a flair for the romantic.
Cali twisted to take in the quarterdeck, her breath catching when she spotted Bonnie at the wheel. The breeze blew the woman’s hair off her face while the glow of the sun kissed her cheeks. Somehow this made her look both beautiful and fierce as she gripped the wheel and studied the horizon.
Then, as if she could sense she was being watched, she peered up.
Cali didn’t have time to look away, and even if she had, she wouldn’t have wanted to.
The captain smiled and raised two fingers to her brow in salute before winking.
The pantheri didn’t know whether she should return the salute or the wink or both.
“Come on down,” Bonnie called, beckoning her with one arm.
Cali didn’t see Pinkie, who usually relieved her, but maybe they didn’t need a lookout since the seas were so smooth, and Seraphina was patrolling the deck.
She took a last look at the flaming orb dousing its fire in the sea before she climbed over the lip of the crow’s nest, sank her claws into the salt-soaked wood, and scampered down the mast.
“Smooth seas ahead?” Bonnie asked as Cali crossed the deck toward her.
The nagine and Cali spoke at the same time. “Yes.”
Bonnie grinned at this, although Seraphina didn’t seem to notice that the captain had been addressing the pantheri. That was probably for the best since Cali had always felt that the nagine wasn’t her biggest fan.
“Take the wheel, Ser?” Bonnie called as she jogged down the stairs from the quarterdeck.
Seraphina nodded and moved past the captain, the delicate scaling of her skin catching the fading sunlight and flashing iridescent blue within the black, as the sinewy train of her cloak trailed after her.
When the captain joined Cali, the pantheri motioned to the crow’s nest. “Should I worry that it’s unattended?”
Bonnie shook her head. “Pink will take a shift soon, but Tris will let us know if there’s any danger ahead.”
As the pirate led her toward the stairs leading down, Cali asked a question that had been buzzing in the back of her brain.
“If your ship can warn you of danger and steer you in the right direction, why bother with a crew? Why have everyone carry out their usual tasks if the ship has a mind of its own?”
Bonnie gave her a sly grin. “A good question, but I have one for you. What do you think other crews would say about a ship that captained itself? What do you think would happen if word got out that The Cruel Mistress was an enchanted ship?”
“Everyone would be after her,” Cali said, as she followed the captain down the painted stairs.
Bonnie put a hand on the pantheri’s shoulder. “Better that the other pirates and sailors see nothing but an oddly painted ship they could never imagine themselves sailing.”
“And no one has ever spilled the secret?”
“You mean have the women who wouldn’t be accepted on any other crew ruined the best gig they’ve ever had?” She leaned closer, and her voice was a hush. “Would you?”
Cali didn’t even have to think hard. “Never.”
Bonnie gave her an appreciative smile, and for the first time, Cali felt that being a part of the pirate crew might not be such a bad life after all—even if it meant being surrounded by water.