Chapter Eleven
I made my way down to the lower deck toward the spare room I shared with Jina and Ranis. But I took a wrong turn on purpose when I heard sounds. Low and rhythmic, coming from behind a door barely ajar.
My instinct told me to leave. Mind your own business. Keep walking. But I peered through the crack anyway.
The blond woman lay on the mattress, naked, her head tilted back, arms planted behind her, fingers twisting into the sheet. I had heard pain sounds my entire life. That noise from her throat was not it. This was something that made me hot and bothered, curling low in my stomach.
Theron had no shirt, just his pants riding low on his hips. I had seen the size of him, but his tunic had hidden the hard planes of his chest, the muscle across his stomach, the kind of body that came from years of hauling rope and swinging a sword.
He had his mouth between her legs, and I forgot how to breathe.
My face went hot.
I should leave.
What was he doing to her? I couldn’t even form thoughts.
“Oh, Theron.” Her voice came out raspy.
I pressed my back flat against the wall beside the door, out of sight, heart hammering.
I had no frame of reference for any of this. None. The cavern had given me oysters, cold floors, Agusto’s whip. Nam had never once mentioned what a man and woman did together behind a closed door. None of them had. Perhaps they didn’t know either.
I peeled myself off the wall and peeked in again.
Theron was on top of her now, his hands gripping her hips, her body moving with his like the rhythm of the waves beneath this ship.
“You feel so damn good, Theron,” she cooed, her fingers trailing up his thick arms, then to his hair. “I’m going to make you forget you ever loved another.”
“I’ll make you feel even better.” His voice came out low and rough in a way that sent a jolt through my stomach.
He rocked into her faster, his mouth closing over her breast, and the woman screamed his name.
My face burned and a low throb built between my legs. It was as if I could feel everything, as if somehow he was—No. Absolutely not. I was not finishing that thought.
I pulled away from the door and walked quickly down the passage, panting, that image now branded in my mind, one I was never going to be able to forget. I shouldn’t have watched. But I did anyway. My curiosity would get me in trouble one day.
“Lady?”
I spun, my face burning even hotter. Had she been following me? If she had witnessed me peering through that crack like some kind of—I didn’t even want to finish that thought either.
“Oh, Fraya. Um… I’m lost. Jina and Ranis—”
“They’re on the deck waiting for you.” She gave nothing away in her expression if she knew I’d been spying on Theron. “I’ll take you to them.”
I felt grateful she hadn’t said anything. Or maybe she had seen me and was too polite to say so. Either way I was never going to be able to look at Theron or the blonde again without my face catching fire.
I followed Fraya down the passage, her reddish hair catching the torchlight like embers, green eyes sharp and calm. Two daggers sat at her hips as she swaggered across the deck like she owned every plank. Confident. Unapologetic. I wished I could be like her.
The deck was alive with the low murmur of the crew, some gathered around other tables, talking among themselves, cups in hand, paying us no mind. I spotted Jina and rushed toward her.
“Where have you been?” Jina sounded exactly like Nam when she scolded me.
“I—um—”
“I was showing her around.” Fraya winked at me, then pulled up a barrel and dropped next to a man with a scar across his chin.
Oh for goodness’ sake. She knew. She absolutely knew.
I dropped onto a barrel between Jina and Ranis, willing my face to return to its normal color.
“Why are your cheeks so flushed?” Jina patted my hand. “Try this.”
I grabbed it and drank without asking what it was. I assumed it was water.
The bitter liquid hit the back of my throat like fire, and I nearly choked, slamming the cup down as I bent forward.
I sputtered, coughing, eyes watering, half my drink spilling by my feet. “What—what is that?”
The table erupted in laughter, and someone refilled my cup before I could object.
“Ale.” Ranis patted my back, grinning. “You’ve never had ale before?”
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “I’ve never had anything before. We drank water in the cavern.” I looked down at the cup with deep suspicion. “That isn’t water.”
Fraya snorted, smacking the bearded man on the arm. “Barron, I told you to add water.”
Barron leaned back, broad through the chest with a dark beard. Thick forearms planted on the table, hazel eyes bright with too much drink.
“She’ll get her sea legs.” Barron raised his cup toward me. “First time drinking ale. Tonight is a good night, lady. You’ll get used to the taste.”
“Your name?” A lean man with a scar along his jaw, dark hair pulled back in a rough braid, sharp dark eyes shifted toward me. “We know your friends but not you. Jina calls you Sis. Is that your true name?”
“Jimin.” Fraya shook her head. “Maybe not the best time—”
“It’s all right.” I wrapped both hands around my cup. “I named my friend Jina because it sounded pretty and delicate. Just like her.”
Jina leaned her head against my shoulder, her cheeks going pink.
“Perfect for her.” Ranis grinned, raising his drink toward her.
“And what do we call you?” Jimin leaned closer from across the table, the scar along his jaw catching the moonlight.
I was quiet for a moment, peering up at the stars scattered thick and white across the dark sky. This moment. These people, this strange warmth spreading through my chest, I wanted to hold on to it.
“Call me Star.”
Jimin nodded as if he approved. Barron raised his cup toward me. Fraya smiled.
“Star.” Jina dragged the word out. “I like it.”
I took a smaller sip this time. Still terrible. Still burning. But peace found me, and it had nothing to do with the ale.
“Well, look at this princess.” Fraya smiled.
“I am no princess.” I gave her a flat look over the rim of my cup. “Jina acts more like one than I do.”
“Sometimes…” Jina raised a finger, her words coming out slightly slurred. “I want to be naughty.”
We shared a laugh, the kind that came easy when you’re safe and among friends. This was what a safe space felt like. This was what home felt like.
The ship rolled longer and deeper than before.
I grabbed the edge of the table. Jina did the same.
Cups slid on across the surface. Barron caught his without looking.
Jimin and Fraya braced against their barrel with one hand while drinking.
They’d been on the sea for a long time so weren’t surprised or anxious when a sudden wave hit them.
“Captain Theron says he found you screaming in a tavern and rescued you from Russo.” Jimin pounded his cup on the table with satisfaction. “Glad that bastard’s out of the picture.”
Barron downed his drink and said, “The crew members at the other table muttered the same.”
I opened my mouth to object, but Theron’s words came back to me—if people asked, I killed the captain. Do you understand?
“What would have happened if they thought I’d killed Russo?” The words came out slower, my face warmer, despite the cool breeze passing through.
“You’d be put on trial,” Barron said, filling his cup.
“But what if it was self-defense?” Jina’s voice was barely audible, her head leaning against my shoulder.
“Doesn’t matter.” Fraya clenched her teeth, eyes narrowing. “The law doesn’t protect women. Theron did you a favor. He made sure the rumor spread that he was responsible for Russo’s death.”
I didn’t know the law. I’d thought he cared about no one but himself. But listening to his crew speak about him with respect, I saw him in a new light.
He could have left me in that tavern. Could have taken the dagger and walked away. Instead, he’d carried me out, fought men without breaking a sweat, and then made sure no one would come after me for it.
Why? What did he want from me? People didn’t do things without a reason. The king hadn’t. Resse hadn’t. Russo hadn’t. I’d learned nobody did anything for nothing.
So what was Theron’s price?
“Will he be put to trial?” My eyes grew heavy, muscles easing. Must be from drinking ale.
“No, but there’s a bounty on his head now from Russo’s crew.”
“Bounty?” Jina managed, yawning.
Ranis spun his cup on the table. “Not only Russo’s men. Other pirates will be after him too. Whoever brings him in gets the coins.”
The warmth from the ale drained out of me.
A bounty. Because of me. Because he had covered for me and now men with swords would be hunting him across seven seas.
I set my cup down. “I’m sorry. If he hadn’t helped us—”
“Don’t.” Fraya shook her head. “Theron knew what he was doing. He always does. He doesn’t do anything he hasn’t already thought through three steps ahead.”
“Still.” The guilt sat heavy in my chest, heavier than the ale. I hadn’t asked him to protect me. But he had.
I looked out at the dark water and said nothing.
“What was Russo doing in Morvik, anyway?” Jimin shifted on his barrel. “He hardly ever goes to that village.”
“The sea monster with the large legs.” Jina suddenly sat up, eyes wide. The ship lurched and she grabbed my arm. “It almost ate the ship.” Her head went back to my shoulder, eyes closed.
Barron let out a low whistle. “The oclego.”
“You actually saw one?” Jimin almost tipped over his barrel, his braid swinging with the motion.
“Nearly swallowed us whole.” Ranis set his cup down and stretched out his arms. The ship dipped and he planted his foot hard against the floor to keep from pitching sideways. “Eight arms. Each one thick as a mast. It was my first time encountering one and I hope it will be my last.”
The tables around us went quiet and leaned toward us.
“Have you ever seen one before?” I asked.
“No.” Barron’s features scrunched. “They say the oclego doesn’t attack without reason. They say it serves the goddess.”
I thought of the blue blood trailing into the water where the spear had pierced. The same blue as mine. There must be a reason, but I didn’t ask them.
“Serve the goddess?” Fraya downed the rest of her drink. That must have been her fifth cup while I was still working on my second. “There are no gods among us. Besides, Russo liked to travel farther out into the open ocean. He probably got what he deserved. I think he gets a thrill out of it.”
“Are there other creatures out there?” Jina asked, her head still on my shoulder.
“Yes,” Barron said. “On sea and on land.”
“One got me here.” Jimin ran a finger along the scar on his jaw. “And here.” He lifted his shirt to reveal a blackened patch of skin the size of his palm, the edges ragged, a burn rather than a cut. He dropped his shirt and shook his head. “I would have been dead had Theron not intervened.”
Our table went quiet for a moment. Around us, the deck had emptied, the crew turned in for the night. Just us, the sound of the water, and the creak of the hull.
I swallowed thickly. I hoped never to see another creature again.
“Talking about the sea creatures might prick their ears,” a voice I’d rather not hear said.
Theron stood on the upper deck, arms spread on the railing, peering down at us. How long had he been standing there? He moved like a ghost, materializing when he wanted without a sound.
My face went warm despite the temperature dipping lower, recalling his mouth between that woman’s legs, how he’d made her scream with pleasure. Stop thinking. I couldn’t, not when all I could think about was what it would feel like if he did the same to me.
“You all have early duty in the morning. Get some sleep.” His voice was calm but unmistakably a command.
“Aye, Captain.” The three of them rose from their barrels at once.
The ship rolled hard. Fraya stumbled mid-stride and kept going.
A thump behind me, then fingers coiled around my wrist as I made to leave. Theron pulled me close, his breath warm against my ear. “Tame your curiosity, Little Star, or you might find yourself somewhere you don’t want to be.”
Oh gods. Had he known I was watching? And why did the way he said my nickname send strange sensation to my stomach?
No. He couldn’t have seen me. He’d been entirely focused on the woman beneath him. There was no way he’d noticed anything beyond her.
This was about something else. Perhaps things I wasn’t supposed to ask about.
I didn’t know if that was a warning or a promise. I pulled my hand free and hurried after Ranis and Jina.
Ranis had his arm around her, her head resting on his shoulder, half-asleep on her feet. He was practically carrying her down the steps, careful with every motion, like she might break.
My heart swelled. Ranis had shown me his true character again.
I fell into step behind them, glancing back once.
Theron was gone.