Chapter Twelve
Jina and I shared the mattress while Ranis took the floor. A blanket was folded beneath him and another draped over. Within minutes both of them were asleep, except for me.
I lay there staring at the ceiling, listening to the creak of the hull and the endless hush of the ocean. My mind wouldn’t quiet.
Why did I bleed blue? Why had the oclego bled the same? Where was Theron taking us? To sell us the way Resse had? He’d get a fortune for two Seaborn who could pry oysters, maybe that was the whole reason he’d helped me out of that tavern in the first place.
And that word. Seaborn. Everyone said it like it was supposed to mean something to me. And every time I almost asked, interruption got in the way. I needed answers.
I gave up trying to sleep and slipped out from under the blanket, careful not to wake Jina.
The passage was dark and empty, lit only by the occasional lantern swinging gently with the ship’s motion. I made my way up until I reached the topmost level, the one Theron had stood on earlier looking down at us.
The wind hit harder and colder up here. I wrapped my arms around myself and stared out at the black water stretching in every direction. No land. No lights. Just darkness, the stars, moon, and the sails flapping with the rhythm of the ship’s speed.
I thought of Nam. Of Bora, Sohee, and all the others still in that cavern, prying shells while I stood here under an open sky. Were they all right?
And Minha. Wherever she was, I hoped she’d found a way to make it bearable. Knowing her, she’d probably already made an enemy of whoever bought her and a friend of someone twice as dangerous.
I rubbed my arms harder. So cold. But I was distracted by movement against the stars.
I froze, squinting.
Dark wings spread wide against the night, too big to be any bird, too smooth in its movement to be anything natural. I couldn’t make out more than its shape, black against black, but the size of it sent ice down my back.
A monster. It had to be.
If there were creatures in the sea and land, why not in the air?
I didn’t wait to see what it did next. I turned and hurried back toward the stairs, my bare feet silent on the cold wood, heart hammering all over again for a different reason than it had earlier that night.
I was nearly at my chamber door when I heard a low, rhythmic banging from somewhere below, like someone hitting their head against wood.
I should have kept going. I should have gone straight to bed, pulled the blanket over my head, and pretended I hadn’t seen anything in the sky or heard anything below deck. But I followed the sound instead.
Curiosity always won.
Down one level, then another, the banging grew louder the farther I went, until I reached the dim and cramped lowest deck smelling of salt and old wood. One lamp hung at the back corner. And there, tucked against the far wall sat a crate.
Not just any crate. It was massive, twice my height and long. Thick chains wrapped around it horizontally, vertically, crisscrossed, the wood weathered and dark, like it had traveled a very long way to get here. Whatever was inside, they didn’t want it out. Or perhaps, like me, it was a prisoner.
The noise had gone quiet.
“Hello?” I whispered.
Nothing.
Perhaps what or whoever was inside needed rescuing from Theron. Theron sounded noble and respected by his crew, but no one really knew a person and their true intentions.
I inched closer, raising my voice slightly. “Hello?”
The crate rattled. Perhaps this person couldn’t speak.
I gripped the chain to test its strength. A jolt of dull and deep pain shot through my arm, like a tiny lightning strike. I yanked my hand back and rubbed it to ease the ache. Surely that was a one-time thing.
Curiosity got the better of me and I reached for it again. The same result.
Lesson learned.
I knocked. “Hello.”
It growled. A low, guttural sound, deep enough that I felt it in my chest. The crate shifted slightly, the chain groaning under whatever was inside. Then to my horror, a thin stream of blue blood seeped out through the crack at the bottom.
My heart slammed against my ribs, and I scrambled backward, still facing the crate, afraid if I looked away something might fly at me. But I collided into a hard body. Arms caught me before I hit the floor, then released me.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” Theron drawled, one shoulder leaning against the doorframe.
“A creature is in there.” I shoved back from him, breathless. “It growled.”
“I told you not to be curious.”
“What is it?”
“Something I need to deliver.” His voice was infuriatingly calm, like I’d asked him about the weather.
“Deliver where? To whom?” I planted a hand on the wall as the ship swayed.
He didn’t answer.
“Is it a land creature?” I glanced back at the crate. “Your crew mentioned there were such things.”
He shrugged. “It growled. It must be a human.”
“Ugh! You’re infuriating.”
“And you’re impossible.”
My face burned. “Me?”
“Would you like to sleep next to it? You seemed to be enthralled with it,” he asked instead, the corner of his mouth twitching. “I’m sure it would enjoy the company.”
“Fine. Keep your secrets.” I straightened, my heart still racing from more than just the thing inside the container. “There’s a creature in the sky. It’s big with wings. I saw it from the upper deck.”
He stiffened.
His easy mockery gone, replaced by something sharper, more alert. His eyes moved past me toward the door, then back to my face.
“What did it look like?”
“I don’t know. I only saw it for a second before I ran.”
He was quiet for a long moment, jaw tight, and for the first time since I’d met him he looked like he didn’t have an answer. Then he scrubbed a hand down his face and let out a long breath.
“Not only do you not listen, but now you’re seeing things in the sky.” He shook his head. “Should I fetch you water? Perhaps you’ve had more ale than I realized.”
“I know what I saw.” I crossed my arms.
“I’m sure you do.” But he didn’t sound like he believed me. He sounded like a man buying time to think.
“Theron—”
“Go to bed, Little Star.”
My stomach flipped. That damn nickname. The way he said it produced heat low in my belly. I should have insisted everyone call me Sis.
He yawned and said, “We’ll be at port by morning. Everything will look less frightening in the daylight. Now, go to bed. Unless… unless you’d rather sleep in my chamber.”
My face went up in flames. He knew. He’d known I was there the night he was in bed with the blonde. Oh gods alive. I wanted the waves to wash me off this boat.
I had to fix this.
I marched toward the container and pointed at the blue stain pooling beneath it. “Why does it bleed blue? The oclego bled the same color. Are they related?”
He sighed, like the question bored him. “I’m going to bed.”
He turned and disappeared down the passage.
Fine. Don’t answer my questions.
I stared at the blue stain after Theron’s footsteps faded. The crate. The oclego. My blood. They were connected. I felt it in my bones. I just couldn’t see how yet.
I never heard him coming. A blade found my throat and a thick arm clamped around my waist, pinning me against a chest.
“Don’t scream, or that’ll be the end of you.”
I knew that voice. Barron. Why? Too much ale?
“What is the matter with—” Theron’s voice cut off, halting mid-step. “What are you doing, Barron?” he snarled.
“Open the crate.” Barron’s grip tightened, the blade pressing harder. “Or the Seaborn dies.”
Theron examined his nails. “Fine by me.”
“What?” Barron’s arm jerked, the blade biting closer.
If he pressed any harder, I was going to bleed. I couldn’t let anyone see the color of my blood.
“Theron.” My voice came out strangled. “Theron!”
He didn’t even look at me. He looked bored. Like this was an inconvenience before bed.
“You think I care what happens to some girl I picked up off a dock? Save us both the trouble and kill her. Then I’ll snap your neck and we can all move on with our night.”
Barron hesitated. I felt it, the slightest loosening of his arm, a fraction of doubt.
That was all I needed.
I drove my elbow back into his ribs as hard as I could, twisting free of his grip. The blade scraped my collarbone—a thin line of fire—but I was already yanking my dagger free from where it sat hidden in my secret pants pocket.
Barron’s eyes dropped to my cut and went wild. His grip slackened for a second from the shock, or maybe fear, and in that half second the cut sealed itself like it had never been opened.
Barron lunged after me, cursing. I ducked under his swing and spun to face him, dagger raised. The movement came easy. Like my body already knew how to defend and attack, like I’d done it a hundred times before in some life I couldn’t recall.
“Touch me again,” I said, “and you’ll bleed worse than I will.”
Barron laughed, short, ugly, and swung the blade toward me. I ducked under it, the way I’d watched Theron move in that tavern, but a boot connected with the back of my knees and I went down hard, Barron’s weight crashing on top of me, his good hand closing around my throat.
My grip on the dagger held. I drove it toward him, but his other hand caught my wrist, slamming it against the floor. The dagger skittered free, just out of reach.
“Little bitch—”
The crate rattled violently behind us, the chain groaning. Whatever was inside could sense the violence and wanted out.
“Actually, her name is Little Star. But only I can call her that.”
One moment Barron was on top of me, the next he was gone, hauled off and slammed against the wall hard enough to splinter the wood. Theron’s forearm pressed into his throat, pinning him.
“Who sent you?”
Barron’s eyes darted to me, then back to Theron, his face reddening as the pressure increased. He said nothing.
“Who. Sent. You.” Theron’s voice dropped lower with each word.
“Nobody—” Barron gasped for air. “The bounty on Seaborns. I could’ve sold her myself, made more than you’d ever—”
Theron’s eyes had gone fully dark, no blue left at all. “After I saved your ass, this is how you thank me?”
Barron’s hand scrabbled uselessly at Theron’s arm. “I didn’t—wait—”
“I told you and the crew. Nobody touches what belongs to me. The sea doesn’t forgive. Neither do I. Choose your next words carefully.”
Barron’s throat worked. “I-I—”
Thunder cracked somewhere above deck, sharp and sudden. I flinched. The sound rolled through the hull, a storm coming in, maybe. My heart pounded too hard to think about anything but what was about to happen.
“Wrong answer.” Theron snapped Barron’s neck.
His body thumped against the floor.
Barron’s eyes were opened, his neck twisted at an angle that proved he was dead. Who was he? Had he always seen me as a target, even while toasting to my name?
My stomach turned, but I didn’t look away. I’d seen death before. This wasn’t the part that scared me. What scared me was how easily Theron had snapped his neck. No hesitation.
What scared me even more was some small, ugly part of me was glad he was dead. What would Fraya and Jimin think of Barron? Or were they in on it too?
I rose, careful not to touch the blue blood. Whatever was inside the crate had finally gone still.
“Is Barron working alone?” I picked up my dagger and placed it back.
“I don’t know,” he said, voice flat. “Don’t speak a word of this to anyone.” He sighed, raking his hair back. “Can you at least do that?”
I nodded.
“You shouldn’t have come down here.” He turned, giving me his back.
“Can you at least check if he was working alone? Ask the crew.” My voice came out steadier than I felt.
He glanced back at me. He hadn’t asked how I knew to fight. Hadn’t asked for the dagger, or the blood that had sealed itself shut on my collarbone unless he didn’t notice.
“I’ll handle it,” he said and walked away, exhaustion weighing on him, the kind that came from betrayal and not sleep.
This is not your fault. But why did I feel guilty?
I would keep tonight to myself. Jina and Ranis didn’t need this weight added to everything else they were already carrying. And Theron would speak to his crew in the morning.
A low growl came from the crate, then a whimper.
“I’m sorry,” I said, even knowing it couldn’t understand me. “You’re dangerous to us all.”
A mournful sound came again. Then silence.
I must be out of my mind, thinking it had answered me. I needed sleep, but how could I after everything that had just happened? I turned and made my way back through the passage, leaving the crate and its secrets behind in the dark.