An unintentional laugh erupts at his nickname. I’ve never heard it before, but it’s very fitting coming from him. His long, lanky limbs are perfect for climbing the mast, but make me look like a child in comparison.
“Nothing,” I say, gesturing over my shoulder. “Just need to get back to work.”
“Still mad at the captain, I take it.” The lilt in his voice tells me Sig filled him in on what happened, especially with how little we’ve been near each other. How much he knows, though, is still a mystery, and I don’t feel like explaining right now.
“I don’t think I will evernotbe mad at the captain,” I say with a huff, fighting the urge to glance over my shoulder and sneak a glimpse of him.
“Because he’s an asshole,” Jorn says as he drops onto the deck beside me.
“Exactly. See, Jorn, you understand.” I shoot him a sweet and knowing smile.
Jorn lets out a loud laugh, and I feel eyes on my back.
Don’t look, Lennox. He doesn’t deserve the satisfaction of knowing you feel him watching.
“An asshole he may be, but he’s such a kind asshole.” Jorn shoots me a dazzling smile and I can’t help but return it. “Youknow, if it weren’t for our lovely captain over there, I probably would have died twenty times already.”
I quirk an eyebrow at him. “That sounds more like a you problem than anything he’s done.”
He shrugs. “Probably. But he still cares enough to save me over and over again.”
I eye him warily. “Why don’t you just stop doing stupid shit, then?” My mind drifts back to the Oasis, a situation that easily could have been avoided if Jorn hadn’t been so competitive.
“That makes life less fun,” he says with a grin. “Besides, isn’t it nice knowing there’s someone who cares?”
My stomach sinks. For twenty-one years, all I’ve ever truly wanted is to feel like someone cares more than just out of obligation. I thought I found that in Dane, but it turns out I can’t trust anything he says. Just when I think Weston may be someone I can trust, who cares about me for me, not for me the princess, I find out he’s just like everyone else in my life, following my father’s orders and doing their duty to protect me. There may be some slight connection toward me like Edmond, Tila, and Brynne, but in the end, our relationship stems from duty.
Weston may not be my guard, but his position makes him the commander of them all. My protection falls under him, and while there’s no one else around, no Brynne, no second guard, he views it as his personal responsibility.
He doesn’t care, not like what Jorn is talking about, not like he cares about Jorn or Sig or anyone else on this ship.
Suddenly, I get an idea.
“Jorn?” I ask.
“Yes, Little Lennox?”
“Can you teach me to climb the mast?”
His grin grows impossibly wider as he rubs his hands together conspiratorially.
“You up for a little risk?” he says.
“No,” I answer. “I’m up for a little fun.”
And if there’s some risk, I know it will piss Weston off. Even better.
“I like that answer,” he says, and his eyes slide up and down me, assessing. “Do you have a belt?”
Glancing down at my pants, I shake my head. I’ve always carried my dagger in my waistband, and preferred my bow over carrying a sword, so the island never gave me one. We don’t need weapons to climb, so I don’t know what Jorn wants it for, but I know exactly where I can look.
“Give me two minutes,” I say and turn on my heel, heading straight for the stairs. I trudge past Weston and Veck, keeping my gaze forward as I disappear into the darkness below and head to our room.
The hinges of the trunk at the foot of the bed squeak as I lift the lid, the scent of leather mixed with Weston overwhelming my senses. Weston’s things are piled inside of it, and I start digging around, searching for something I hope is hiding. Shifting the items aside, I feel around until my fingers brush a thick, familiar fabric. I pull it out from under the collection of his things to find a cloak, almost exactly the same as mine from home, the one that is still sitting in my bunk back at camp.
I push away the other items, trying to reach where the cloak was hidden at the bottom. My breath hitches when I see it, the clothing that is so familiar, yet feels like I haven’t seen it in a lifetime.
His guard’s uniform.
