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“I’m no pirate.” He hissed.
I turned the wheel once more and sent him flying back around on the boom. He dropped to the deck floor immediately as it swung around. My shadow loomed over him as I stepped over to where he fumbled to get to his feet.
“Deny it all you want,” I said, “but you’re a pirate now, and you’ll never change that.”
I turned away, leaving him there on the deck floor. Little did I know, the next time I tried to teach that kid to fight, he’d prove himself an opponent more skilled and gritty than I could have imagined. And one day years from now he’d beat me at my father’s favorite swordsmanship challenge as my father sat back and watched. And he’d do it again on the shores of St. Augustine, fighting over a necklace and the girl who wore it.
Back on the Calamari, the tiny sailboat dipped side to side as we dueled. I no longer noticed the cool air on my skin as sweat beaded on my forehead. Milo was efficient with a blade, and a hell of a lot faster than I remembered, but I definitely had the upper hand on footwork and maneuvering. My blade met his as he taunted me through a boyish grin.
“I’d say this is hardly fair,” I spat. “You’ve had much more practice recently than I have.”
“Is that a problem?” Milo joked. “I’m older, too. We’re almost the same age now. Makes it a fair fight.” He jabbed his sword at me, and I parried it with ease, backing up just enough to dodge the hit, then I leapt forward and to the side.
“No pirate fights fair. And you’re somehow good at finding loopholes in reality.” I whipped my sword across his knee, with just enough contact to tear through the fabric of his pants. “But it makes no difference here.”
Milo looked up at me through a disheveled mess of hair. “I don’t need loopholes to beat you.”
Hopping up on the hull, I swung around the ropes attached to the sails to take another swing. Milo pulled on the rigging, climbing it to reach me as our blades clashed. At this point, our fight was a game of chase, and I had to hold back a laugh a couple of times at the absurdity of it. Milo grazed my shoulder with the edge of his sword, ripping through my shirt.
“I’ll be taking that title of captain now,” he grinned.
I glanced at my shoulder in absolute surprise. “Over that? Bloody hell, that wasn’t enough to even disarm me! What about when I could’ve taken out your knee?”
“A shoulder blow is more detrimental.” He argued.
I tilted my jaw and pressed my eyebrows together. “In what world? I could’ve crippled you!” As I stood there, I noticed the loose grip Milo held on his sword, and I took full advantage of the moment to whip my sword at it, knocking it from his hand and into the ocean with a plop.
“Looks like you’re the first mate, mate.” I smirked, watching his shocked expression as he looked overboard.
“That doesn’t count.” Milo grumbled.
“Like I said, no pirate fights fair.” I crossed my arms with a wink.
Milo rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Fine. Take your prized ship. If it makes you feel better.”
With a laugh, I turned away, stopped only by Milo adding one more jab. “My ship would’ve easily outrun yours back in the day. Just know that.”
I didn’t immediately answer, but stepped up to the helm of the sailboat. “We’ll never really know, will we, mate? But for now, I’m the only one here with a ship. Even if it is shite.” I looked out at the horizon. “Now go make yourself useful on deck.”
With one last drop of his shoulders, Milo sauntered away to do whatever he planned next, playfully muttering under his breath as the sun above gleamed down on us both. “Whatever you say, ‘Captain’ Calamari.”
With my hand on the wheel and full sail ahead, I turned my back to Milo and the sun above. And for a moment I forgot the dark troubles that awaited us and the piercing anxiety I felt about returning to Bastian. And I smiled.
42
Sailing Through Fog
Katrina
Serena and I arrived at the coasts of Puerto Rico before Bellamy and Milo, so we waited on the rocks by the shore, staying hidden until it was time to go after Bastian. I stared, my mind heavy trying to figure out exactly how I was going to get my mom away from him and keep everyone safe. I really wasn’t so sure there was a way to do both.
“Think of this paradise. Spending all day basking in the Caribbean sun on the rocks. How can you be ungrateful for this?” Serena asked, breaking my concentration as she dipped her tail in the crystal waters and splashed.
I leaned back on my hands, stretching out to feel the warmth of the sunshine. “I’m not ungrateful,” I sighed. “I’ll admit this is one of the better perks of being a mermaid. But the ratio of battling sea monsters or facing certain death to basking on rocks so far is like 100:1.”
Serena chuckled. I suddenly remembered Russell and Mrs. Gutierrez describing her and the way she laughed. I wondered if she at all missed them.
“What would you say to Russell if you could see him again?” I asked. Serena paused, her laugh quickly fading, and her brown eyes fell on me, fixated.
