“Vaskel?” Maybe Rog had told the hellkin, even though he assured her he would let her tell their crew.
“Not about you,” Bonnie said. “But it’s as clear as the stripes on your face that you’re looking for something you’ve yet to find. Fair warning, though, there’s no treasure map for finding yourself.”
Cali sat in silence as the cart ambled along, passing more fields and approaching a farmhouse set back from the road. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Even if they caught Marina and Cali made up for her foolishness in a small way, she doubted it would soothe her restlessness. The odds of finding Adelaide on a pirate ship seemed improbable, so this quest would bring Cali no closer to her. At the end, she’d be right where she’d been--decidingbetween leaving Wayside and returning to crewing or staying in the village with her friends as the relentless drumbeat pressed her to keep moving, keep looking, keep going.
Cali reached one hand over her shoulder and feathered a claw over the flocking of her arrows. “Does this mean you have a ship full of women who’re lost or looking for what’s missing in their lives?”
Bonnie took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Not a shipful, but there are some of us.”
Cali swung her head to the pirate, curious if she’d meant to include herself. But before she could ask the woman, Thrain bolted upright in the back of the cart. The paper bags filled with baked goods rolled off him as he swiveled his head, his eyes wild.
“Where’m I?”
“On the road to Eldu,” Cali reminded him, twisting to pat a paw on his back. “We’re going to join the pirate ship, remember?”
“Pirates?” the dwarf muttered. “Always wanted to meet a pirate.”
Then he fell back onto his pack and rolled over to one side, crushing one of the paper bags. Cali winced, hoping Thrain wouldn’t be covered with oozing berry filling by the time they arrived.
She snagged one of the other bags and opened it, glad to see that the teacakes were still intact. She pulled one out and offered it to the woman next to her. “Lemon blueberry teacake?”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Bonnie took the fruit-studded treat with one hand and held the reins with the other. “Our cook on the ship is good, but she doesn’t do pastry.”
Cali replaced the bag and reached for another, hoping to rescue some of the hand pies from being flattened by Thrain. When her hand landed on something furry, she froze.
Thrain’s beard was wiry, not fluffy. She turned slowly, her jaw dropping when she saw the masked face poking from the top of the largest bakery bag.
“When did you stow aboard?” she asked Bramble.
Nine
“You’re tellingme that the raccoon is a friend of yours?” Bonnie narrowed her one eye at Cali as she brought the cart to a slow stop. Even Seraphina had turned to appraise the stowaway, her head tilted.
Bramble had woken, stretched his small arms wide, and repositioned himself in Thrain’s beard. The dwarf didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he didn’t seem to mind.
“Friend might be an exaggeration, but he’s one of Lira’s cooking assistants at the tavern.”
The pirate glanced at the sleeping raccoon. “He helps in the kitchen?”
Cali had grown accustomed to a winged stoat who could make chai and scones, so it hadn’t struck her as odd that the raccoon also had kitchen skills. Since she didn’t know Bonnie’s thoughts on magic, she decided not to mention Crumpet—or Iris’s enchanted bookwyrms.
“He’s good at gathering berries,” the pantheri said, hoping that answer would satisfy the pirate’s curiosity.
Bonnie scrunched her lips to one side. “I’ve never had creatures on board The Cruel Mistress.”
“Not even a parrot?” Cali asked before she could think better of it.
Her lips flattened. “Not all pirates have parrots, you know.”
Despite her fondness for pirate romances, Cali had never encountered an actual pirate. Most of her quests had taken place on dry land, and her few journeys onto the water had been pirate-free. So far, Bonnie One-Eye, with her eye patch and red sash, wasn’t doing much to disabuse her of her preconceived ideas.
“You’re the first pirate I’ve met,” Cali admitted.
“Am I?” This seemed to please the woman. She held Cali’s gaze for a beat. “I suppose you’re the first pantheri archer I’ve met.”
Cali hiked a thumb in Thrain’s direction. “And the first man you’re allowing on your ship.”
“You’re right. Lots of firsts.” Bonnie slid her gaze to the raccoon again, sighed, and flicked the reins to urge the donkey forward. “Suppose one more won’t matter.”
