“I’m pretty sure she was flirting with you.”
Aster shakes his head. “I didn’t like it.”
He slumps against the wall, looking so damn traumatised, I can’t stop myself linking my fingers with his. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I need a drink. Shall we try to find the others in the pub?”
Aster nods, and for some reason, I don’t let go of his hand as we head through the streets in search of the pub closest to the dock.
Pubs are always the best place to find the big talkers. And that’s another part of today’s mission. It’s partly a fix for any restless legs, partly a supply run, but more than anything, it’s a way of checking in with the outside world. We’ve travelled here today and will go further in the opposite direction in a few day’s time. All of us are watchful, waiting for more names to be added to the arrest list.
We’re all aware that our little sanctuary on the island can’t last forever.
THE INSIDE OF THE PUBis surprisingly full, considering it’s the middle of the afternoon on a Wednesday. A few of the punters look like they’ve been here for hours already, propping their heads up on their hands as though it’ll stop the world from spinning out of control.
It won’t work, I want to tell them. Trust me on that one.
I order a water and a glass of something stronger, sliding into a seat opposite the rest of the crew.
This is the kind of environment I’m used to. Exactly where I thrive, listening to titbits of information and ingratiating myself in conversation. Aster sits down beside me with Dagger on his other side. Dagger’s in the middle of a card game where he seems to be making up the rules as he goes and Aster watches along with a bemused expression. As though he can sense my eyes on him, he glances up with a shy smile, and my chest constricts.
By this point, all of my anger toward him has drained away. Like my feelings have caught up with the things I already knew. How Aster’s not a bad person, he was in survival mode and then he didn’t mean to hurt anyone. He was as much a victim of his overeager magic as the rest of us. Although I’d doubt he’d want me to say that. Not when he spent so much time being a victim of Araminta Stone.
Without my anger, I don’t have a tether to hold onto, and I’m out here feeling lost and tumbling into the ocean without knowing which way is up.
I try to block out Dagger’s loud voice and tune into the mutters of the locals, especially when Bones joins him and they start making bets with each other.
“A sock for a pair of diamonds.”
“My trousers for an ace.”
Oh Mother Ocean, they’re betting on their clothing. Although it sounds a bit like they’re doing everything back-to-front. They’re also garnering more attention than they should be. Weshould have slipped in here, unseen and unheard. Instead, it feels like the entire pub has paused in what they’re doing and is watching the two of them like they’re a great source of entertainment.
Maybe this was a bad idea. If these two start getting naked, then there’s no chance we’ll be able to blend in.
“Might be a good idea to keep your kit on,” I murmur, just loud enough for them to hear. Bones pulls a face, and Dagger opens his mouth as if to argue, but then shuts it again with a salute.
“All right, boss.”
Bones kicks his feet up, taking a swig of his pint and sitting so far back in his chair he’s in danger of slipping right off. He gives me a wide grin. “I got some eggs. This shitty town’s good for something, after all.”
Of course, he says it at full volume. People definitely heard it, considering how the temperature seems to drop a good ten degrees. Bones absolutely couldn’t care less, though, judging by the way he finishes his drink.
“Anyone want another?”
“Not one you’re buying,” I mutter. “I’m fairly sure they’ll spit in it.”
“Ah, angel, it just adds to the flavour.” He winks before striding off to the bar.
“I have no idea what Cookie sees in him,” Dagger mutters.
My eyebrows shoot up. “They’re together?”
My mind goes back to the first attack I experienced on Captain Finch’s ship. The way Cookie practically carried Bones down to the med bay and then could barely take his eyes off him while I tried to fix him up.
Dagger runs his hand through his hair, screwing up his eyes in concentration. “They’ve been together at least ten years, I’dsay. It’s a long time when you can’t escape each other on the ship.”
He continues laying out cards while I take a sip of my drink. Dagger then twists in his chair, crossing one ankle over his knee as he watches Bones being ignored by the barman. As we watch, a man with shoulders broader than Torin’s staggers in from the back room. He’s hefting a huge wooden cask under either arm, struggling to shut the door behind him and then deposit the casks onto the floor.
The barman ignores him entirely, rubbing a grimy rag over the bar top while the big guy slowly sets up each of the casks.
