Chapter Twenty-Four
The ship sat secured at the port, masts cutting against a pale sky, sails unfurled and waiting. It looked exactly like something out of Nam’s stories. Hope stopped dead at the edge of the dock, her hand tightening around mine.
“That’s a ship,” she whispered, her eyes growing bigger.
“It is.” I knelt so we were eye level. “Nobody on that ship is going to hurt you. Not ever again.”
She hugged me tight and released a long breath. My heart ached for what she had endured. For all of them.
Faith and Sunny crowded in behind her, necks craned back so far they nearly toppled.
Their jaws dropped. I remembered that feeling—first time I’d seen a pirate ship, awed by the size, the different levels of deck stacked like a floating house on the sea.
Though I was in awe, I was also scared because of Resse treating us cruelly.
Theron crouched until he was eye level with the children, his dark coat pooling around his boots, his shoulder-length hair flapping behind him like wings.
“Two rules,” he said, holding up a finger. “One—you listen to Fraya and Jimin if I’m not around. Two—nobody goes near the rail without an adult.” He paused, waiting until all the children nodded. “Follow those, and I’ll let you take a turn steering her from the bow.”
Hope bounced on the balls of her feet. “Steer the whole ship?”
“The whole ship.” Theron chuckled. “Captain’s orders.”
Hope grabbed my arm. “Star, did you hear that? I’m going to steer a ship.”
“I heard.” I squeezed her hand. “Don’t sink us.”
That earned a bright and unguarded laugh out of the children, and my heart swelled.
“Time to get on board.” Theron led the way, the children falling in line behind him like ducklings.
We crossed the gangplank, the children clutching the rail with both hands, wide-eyed at the drop to the water below.
Theron caught my arm gently before I could follow them across the deck. “Did you find the pure stones?”
I hesitated, then reached into the fold of cloth at my waist and drew one out, holding it flat on my palm rather than handing it over. He didn’t reach for it. He just waited, like the choice belonged to me. So I gave it to him.
The moment it touched his palm, his whole body went rigid, just for a breath, so fast I might have imagined it if I hadn’t been watching him. His jaw tightened. His eyes flicked to mine, sharp, searching, before he held the stone up to the light like he was admiring it.
Somewhere above the mast, thunder rolled once through a cloudless sky, low and distant, gone before anyone else seemed to notice it. Strange, but I dismissed it.
“So small.” He turned it once between his fingers. “Insignificant, really, for something the queen wants so badly.” He handed it back to me.
I closed my fingers around it, the cool weight settling. Insignificant. He didn’t believe that any more than I did. I said nothing. But I made a mental note to ask Minha, Jina, Ranis if they’d heard the same humming.
Maybe they’d heard it too and said nothing, the same as I had. Maybe none of us wanted to be the first to admit we’d heard a stone whisper.
On the upper deck, Jimin lifted a hand in greeting, dark braid swinging loose over one shoulder, the scar along his jaw catching what light remained.
I waved back, glad to see a familiar friendly face.
“Reel in that rope!” he barked at someone behind him, back to business before I’d even lowered my hand.
Fraya was waiting near the mast, arms already spread before we’d even crossed the deck, reddish hair loose around her shoulders, a grin splitting her face wide.
“Welcome to Yeri!” Fraya pulled Hope into a hug before the girl could even introduce herself.
It dawned on me after all this time that Theron had named his ship after the goddess. So he did believe she existed.
Then Fraya embraced Faith, Sunny, and the others, sweeping each of them up like long lost friends. Hellena and the rest of the elders got the same treatment, along with Jina and Ranis. Minha pushed back with the look she gave Fraya that dared her to try it.
Then Fraya turned to me, and her smile went soft. “There you are.” She pulled me in close, tight enough that I felt it in my ribs. “I’ve missed you, Star.”
“I missed you too, Fraya.” Though I hadn’t known her long as I had Jina and Minha, I considered her my friend. She had been kind to me.
Fraya pulled back, hands still on my shoulders, and her grin turned wicked. “Theron’s told me all about your fun time with the Seelie queen.” She rolled her eyes. “Sounds like quite the adventure you two had.”
Heat crawled up my neck. “Oh, I loved every minute,” I said flatly. “Nearly strangled by magic, gored by a boarox. Truly the vacation of a lifetime.”
She offered a somber smile. “I’m glad you’re back with us. Come on. Let’s get these little pirates fed before they fall over.”
Fraya had the crew lay out meals—warm bread, a stew thick with meat and vegetables, dried fruit the children had never tasted. Everyone sat around the middle deck as if having a picnic, the ship rocking gently as it pulled away from shore.
“Can we have more?” Sunny licked her lips.
“Of course you can,” Fraya’s voice squeaked and asked Jimin to tell the cooking crew.
Hope ate two bowls and so did the other girls. Seeing their stomachs filled made me so happy I teared up.
For the rest of the daylight, the children ran the length of the deck, shrieking, chased by a patient Ranis and Jimin, who let themselves get caught again and again.
True to his word, Theron let Hope stand at the bow with small hands on the wheel beside his.
She beamed so hard I thought her face might crack. Then all the children got their turn.
This wasn’t the man who’d snapped Barron’s neck without blinking. Or maybe it was exactly that man—just a side of him I hadn’t been allowed to see until now.
By the time the sun went down, the children were worn out. Hellena and Fraya herded the girls below to the cabins on the lower deck, where they’d all sleep together.
While Jina and Ranis sat on the barriers with the other crew members, I stayed up on top.
The sky had gone dark, no moon, but a few scattered stars, less of them than there were from the last time I was out at sea. The water moved black and glassy beneath the hull, the wake trailing silver behind us.
I peered up to the upper deck when I heard the sudden scuffling of boots. Theron was leaning against the rail, staring down at me.
“Do you like what you see?” I ground out. I disliked him looking at me, like I was a mystery he needed to solve.
“I like seeing beautiful things.”
My face turned red. Did he just give me a compliment? But then he opened his mouth. “You should move out of the way. You’re blocking my view.”
My face burned hotter. I scoffed. “View of the darkness? You have strange taste.”
“Perhaps.” A low sound rumbled in his chest. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“No. I have too many questions.”
“Same here,” Theron said and vaulted over and landed with a thump beside me, the ship rocking gently.
I brushed the old wood of the ship’s edge with my finger, tracing the worn lines. “Why did you name your ship Yeri after the goddess?”
“Who told you?” He didn’t sound pleased.
Why did it matter if I knew?
“I overheard the crew.” I glanced up at the stars.
“Did you now?” He leaned closer, close enough his shoulder nearly touched mine. “You know… you’re not a good liar. You shouldn’t do it again.”
“I-I-didn’t—” I glowered at him. “And you should stop being insufferable.”
“Insufferable,” he said it like he was testing the weight of it. “I’ve been called worse.”
“I’m sure you have. By many women.” I thought of Selene, the blond woman he took to bed, and wondered if she’d thought the same of him. Probably not, if she was letting him do things to her that I wished... Don’t finish that thought.
He leaned until his lips brushed the shell of my ear. “No, not by many. Just you.”
The unwanted heated feeling crept down my neck and much lower to places it shouldn’t. “Only because you’ve earned it.” I crossed my arms. After a thought I said, meeting his gaze to prove a point, “Repeatedly.”
“Mmmm,” he huffed, almost a laugh. “And yet you’re still in my presence. I think I’m growing on you.”
More than he knew, but I would never admit it.
“I’d rather face the Seelie queen. What does that tell you?” The railing suddenly became something I had to touch.
He chuckled lightly. He didn’t believe me.
A gust pulled at my hair, on the other side the crew stirred.
“Where are we headed?” I asked to get that smirk off his face that was doing funny things to my heart.
“We’re headed to the Yellow Sea, the Kingdom called Auris. I have someone I trust who will keep everyone safe. You and your friend should think about staying there too.”
He had forgotten about my personal mission, to rescue my family from the horrible cavern. But I didn’t remind him.
“Why there?” Though I had no idea where they would be safe. “The queen will search for us, won’t she?”
He shrugged. “Or find more humans to mine Mount Kael. But do not fear, I’ve got the mountain all in control.”
“How? What are you going to do?”
“Again…” he tsked. “So curious.”
I let it go since he wouldn’t tell me, no matter how much I pushed. And the more we stood here talking, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he did to that blond woman.
For a while neither of us said anything, just staring out into the darkness of the ocean, the swaying from the water.
“You did a good thing, Little Star,” he said, breaking the silence.
“You didn’t arrive at Mount Kael by luck.” I studied his face, waiting for the lie. “You knew we were going there. Didn’t you?”
He didn’t answer right away. The wind pulled at his hair, and for a moment he just looked at the stars while the ship rocked gently.
“Yes,” he said finally. “I found out you were sent to Mount Kael.”
“How?”
“Does it matter? I found you. That’s all that should matter tonight.
” His expression hardened. “One day I’ll tell you everything.
Tonight, let it be enough that you’re safe.
That they’re safe.” He nodded toward the lower deck, toward where Hope, Faith, Sunny, and the rest of the children were asleep. “That’s not a small thing, Star.”
Him complimenting me did funny things in my belly.
“Whatever the reason, I thank you.” I dipped my head. “Well, enjoy your sleep.” Then I murmured for only my ears, “With Selene.”
I took a step to leave but his fingers wrapped around my wrist, halting me. A sudden dip of the wave caused me to stumble forward and I smacked into his chest, all soft parts of me against the hard planes of his body.
He smelled like pine and honey. This close, the faint scar cutting through one dark eyebrow was impossible to miss, the sharp line of his jaw shadowed with a day’s stubble, the way his mouth, even set in that infuriating almost-smile, looked like it had been carved by someone who’d taken their time.
Suddenly there wasn’t enough cold air to cool me down.
His arms around me tightened, his blue eyes darkening. “You know her name?”
“What name?” I swallowed. “I don’t—”
“Like I said, Little Star…” His gaze lowered to my mouth then to my eyes, his thumb tracing a slow, idle circle on my back. “You’re not a good liar. Besides, you should know that my kind have great hearing.”
His kind? If not a Seelie, then what was he? No, not a Seelie, his mother nor he had pointy ears.
“What is your kind?” I hated how much I liked his caresses.
He flinched like he’d made a mistake, like he’d said something he shouldn’t have. He narrowed his eyes. “The kind you should stay away from.”
His eyes had gone fully dark, no blue left at all, and his mouth lowered toward mine, closer, closer, my blood roaring loud enough to drown out everything else. I pushed back and ran.
I didn’t stop until I hit the wall at his blind spot, out of his line of sight, my palm pressed flat against my chest like I could hold my heart in place. Breath after breath, my chest rising and falling too fast for me to keep up with it.
I closed my eyes and counted to ten, like how Jina did when her anxiety took her over. Counting worked. My pulse finally slowed to normal. But when I took a peek out at him, he was nowhere in sight.
He hadn’t come toward the lower deck. I would have seen him. I checked the upper deck by the wheel. Empty too. No sound, no Theron under the moonlight. Just a crew member steering the wheel, the creak of the hull, and the wind pulling at my hair.
Where had he gone?
I inhaled a deep, cool breath and turned to head below. That was when something dark crossed the scatter of stars, blotting them out as it passed. Too large for a bird, wings beating slow and heavy against the night.
I went still.
Theron? No—it couldn’t be. The carving in the mountain had shown every winged person stripped of their wings. Unless the queen had spared some. Unless some of them still served her.
Then the memory surfaced. Theron’s voice, hoarse and defeated, as he spoke to his mother. I don’t know where to look for our people.
And Nira’s answer, soft as a prayer. In the sky, son. Where else?
My stomach dropped.
There was more, wasn’t there? A detail about a sister, a fragment of what Nira had said in my fevered blur.
I wanted to ask him if what I’d heard was correct.
If so, I wanted to know her name, what had happened to her, whether he’d demanded answers from Prince Pierre about his sister’s whereabouts, or what he’d done to her.
But some things weren’t mine to ask. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Was the creature with wings I’d seen once before the same one? Did Theron already know it was out there? Maybe it was Selene, the one who came and went and never talked to anyone.
I shook my head, hard, like that might dislodge the thought. I was exhausted, half-convinced I was imagining things that weren’t there.
Go to sleep. Stop thinking.
But I already knew I wouldn’t do either. Not until I knew exactly what, or who, was flying over this ship. Just as I headed to Jina and Minha, a shape dropped quietly onto the upper deck, somewhere in the darkness behind me. Not one, but two.