Page 49 of Cursebreaker

Titus’s jaw goes slack. My stomach dips.

“Will took it from you while you slept.” Owen turns to me, his expression sympathetic. “Father’s compass is the Elysian Instrument.”

The sun doesn’t sink below the horizon. It falls, tumbling out of the sky, plunging us into the dark. And in the darkness, it’s as if I see Will’s red eyes staring at me from every shadowy corner of the Starchaser, from the starless sky, from the depths of the ocean itself.

Panic blurs my vision, my heart hammering in my chest.

The warbled voices of my friends and family reach me as if I were somewhere beneath the waves that toss the Starchaser to and fro. I kick and kick, trying to break the surface, but fear grabs hold of me, stealing my control. My choice.

I can’t breathe.

Think, Aster. Say something.

Help.

Ask for help.

“Az?” My ears pop at the sound of my brother’s voice. Owen touches my arm, his brows drawn with concern. “Do you need a minute?”

I take a deep, shuddering breath, my cheeks heating at the realization that everyone is now staring at me. Waiting. Waiting for me to fall apart, I think.

And worse, Titus stands closer to me than he did a moment ago. He seems to notice this at the same moment I do, because he takes a deliberate step away, putting distance between us once more. I’m glad.

I’m breaking.

“I’m fine.” The lie tastes bitter, but I force myself to lift my chin, straighten my shoulders, and ask, even though my voice shakes, “How are we going to get the compass back? And how are we supposed to find the map?”

Owen’s lips curve then. Mischief sparkles in his eyes. “This compass?” He withdraws the small golden disc from his pocket, dangling from the chain wrapped around his fingers. “He stole it from you.…” He lifts his shoulder, flashes his teeth in a roguish smile. “I stole it back.”

Henry chuckles under his breath, shaking his head. “Rotten pirates.”

Owen winks at Henry, passing the compass to me. “Hang on to this, would you?”

The metal seems to heat at my touch, and it could be the warm flicker of the lantern light, but the compass seems to glow as I wrap my hand around it and hold it close to my chest.

Will had stolen so much from me. My time. My feelings. My choices. But this compass—he doesn’t get to take this. And just like Owen recovered the Instrument, I will keep taking back what Will stole from me, until there is nothing left to take. Until he is nothing.

My fist clenches around the compass.

“We have the Instrument,” I say. “But what about the map? You said it was passed down, too. Where is it now?”

Titus jolts, as if he had been struck by lightning, and I can’t help but look to him along with the others. But he’s gazing at the sky, his mouth twitching, the makings of a smirk. “I think I have an idea.” Without another word, he takes off, sprinting toward the captain’s quarters. He throws open the doors and disappears inside.

Owen and I both look at Diana and Rook, who just shrug, appearing as clueless as I feel.

“Here!” Titus pants, bursting through the doors and out onto the deck. He holds up a roll of parchment, his face flushed. “It was—” He pauses, his throat bobbing as he casts a hesitant glance at Margaret. “This belonged to Captain Shade.”

I can see the memory of what Father told us on the Red Island sparking to life in Lewis’s and Charlie’s eyes, but I remember then that Margaret wasn’t present when Father revealed that he’d passed the mantle of Captain Shade on to Titus. And from the confused expression pulling the lines of her mouth taut, it doesn’t seem like anyone ever filled her in—or Jack and Henry, by the looks of it—on that detail. For all she knows, whomever Father had chosen for his successor had truly died the day we faked Shade’s death.

And despite the flair with which he revealed his identity to me, now Titus actually seems… embarrassed. His mouth works, as if he were trying to sort out the proper way to pass the information along, but apparently coming up short. I can’t help but wonder if his sudden reticence has anything to do with his knowledge of Margaret’s beliefs concerning Captain Shade’s fabled appearance.

Owen clears his throat, casting Titus a knowing glance. “Well? Are you going to show us what you’ve found or—”

“Yes,” Titus says quickly, spreading the parchment out on a barrel.

We all gather around as Jack takes a lantern from its hook and holds it over the barrel, illuminating the—

“The Elysian Map,” Owen breathes, his eyes wide, tone reverent. He looks up at Titus, smiling in disbelief. “All this time, it’s been aboard the Starchaser?”