“Shut up, Ren!” Esmyra and Jenli yelled together before letting out a few quiet chuckles.
“Well, I think you’re going to fit right in.”
This was more than Esmyra had hoped for, and now she could only hope it was enough.
CHAPTER 56
Esmyra
The morning sun spilled gold acrossValor’sdeck as the crew sprang into motion to get her ready for the voyage. Lines were coiled and tossed, sails unfurled, and the deep creak of the ship’s timbers joined the rush of the wind. From her place near the quarterdeck, Esmyra watched them all fall into their rhythm.
“Hoist that sail, you lazy bastards, before I toss you overboard!” Jak barked.
“Oh, piss off, Jak,” Ren shouted back as he and Riven moved to do as they were told.
Esmyra found herself smiling despite the weight of everything she knew loomed ahead of them.
The crew had come alive in that particular way they always were when sailing toward trouble—loud, cocky, and reckless.
She looked at the unmanned wheel and imagined her father there. But instead of the ache she thought the sight would bring, it instead made her feel a rush of pride. “I hope I’m making you proud,” she whispered.
“Captain!” Jak shouted from the crow’s nest. “Winds are in our favor today.”
Esmyra nodded, shading her eyes from the sun as she glanced up. “Then keep her sharp, or I’ll have you scrub barnacles off the hull,” she teased.
Laughter rolled across the deck.
Even Jenli, leaning idly against the mainmast with her hood pushed back, joined in the heckling.
That was when Ren shot a look toward her. “Well now,” he drawled, “I’m still a bit confused on why we’re suddenly letting strays aboard again.”
“Oh?” Esmyra turned sharply. “Like we did you?”
Ren’s grin faltered just as Jenli turned her attention toward him. She didn’t say a word as her green eyes glinted. A heartbeat later, vines snaked up the deck from nowhere, curling around Ren’s body like snakes until they reached his mouth, gagging him with a muffled grunt.
“Looks better already,” Esmyra said, strolling past with a satisfied arch of her brow.
Suddenly, a wave of fog crept up from the floorboards beneath Jenli’s feet, wrapping around her just as her vines did to Ren. The two woodlands were now staring one another down.
Esmyra knew she should put an end to it, but she was far too amused.
“Ren, you knowthisis exactly what got us into trouble in the first place,” Jenli taunted.
Esmyra nearly choked at the words as Ren’s mist evaporated, dissipating into the morning air.
“Cut the shit, both of you!” Jak yelled from above, rubbing his temples.
At least I’m not the one he’s most concerned with now.Esmyra snorted as she crossed her arms.
Then a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, right before she was enveloped in the scent of cedarwood and sun-warmed leather. The early light caught the sharp cut of Draevyn’s jaw as the wind tugged playfully at the dark hair beneath his bandana.
“They’re quite a handful,” he said as he nodded toward the ongoing banter. “Good thing you’re here now to keep them in line.”
She raised a brow, catching his faint smirk as he leaned a little closer. “Not that you’re much better,” he whispered in her ear. “If anything, you’re a bit worse.”
Then, before she could come up with a sharp retort, he plucked the captain’s hat from where it hung at his side and set it atop her head. “Captain,” he finished with a wink.
The brim cast a shadow over her eyes, but her grin was sharp. It wasn’t just the thrill of where she found herself again…it was the fact thatDraevynhad given it to her without hesitation when he had always been a captain himself. There was no challenge, no doubt in his voice. He just handed her the reins as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
