Page 62 of Cursebreaker

She beams. “Aye, Captain!”

Rooster meows.

Owen cheers, sweeping Elsie into another hug and lifting her in the air. Even Henry smiles.

I’m halfway up the steps when I hear Elsie say, “I knew you saw a Hippocampus!”

My foot hovers over the next tread, my chest tight.

Owen once claimed he saw a Hippocampus—a benevolent Myth with the top half of a horse and the bottom half of a fish, so rare that few believe they exist. Legend says they bring good luck to those who catch a glimpse of them.

I understand, instantly, what she means by this. Elsie believes he saw a Hippocampus, and the luck it brought him is that he’s here with us now, rather than dead at the bottom of the ocean.

I can’t help but wonder if the price paid for the luck it brought him wasn’t more costly than the reward.

Still, when Owen says, “Told you!” I hear the laughter in his voice, and I thank the Stars for that Hippocampus, wherever it is, for gifting our brother this moment with Elsie, no matter the cost.

Margaret, Charlie, and Lewis take turns scolding Elsie, but by the time the sun hangs low in the sky, the youngest Oberon child has taken to causing mayhem aboard the Starchaser. And though Gabriel pretends to be annoyed when Rooster curls around his leg, I see right through his scowl.

I think about what Owen said concerning the crew needing a pick-me-up. I suppose nothing raises morale like the hopeful laughter of a child at play.

And then there’s Titus. He lingers near the companionway that leads to the brig, as if he were prepared to dive belowdecks if she were to come too close. When Elsie approaches him cautiously, curiously, his eyes flash with unbridled terror.

Elsie sticks out her hand. He stares at it like she had pointed a dagger at his heart.

“My sister talks about you,” Elsie says flatly. “A lot.”

Titus’s lip twitches. “Oh, really?” He flicks a glance at me, starting toward him and Elsie from across the deck. “Which one?”

“Both of them, actually.”

Titus’s eyes widen, brows shooting up in surprise. “You don’t say.”

“Well, Marge thinks you’re a pompous ass.” Elsie doesn’t miss a beat. “And Az—”

“That’s enough of that!” I cover Elsie’s mouth, picking her up and spinning her around before setting her back on her own two feet. “Don’t you have some chickens to feed?”

Elsie peers around me, her brow quirked as she shares a look with Titus that spells trouble. “Mm-hmm. Chickens.”

As I watch her skip away, I feel Titus’s looming presence at my back.

He hums. “Interesting.”

I turn on my heel, hoping the warmth in my cheeks doesn’t show. “I was trying to spare your feelings. You wouldn’t have liked what she had to say.”

A smirk. “How considerate of you.”

I roll my eyes, attempting to push past him, but he catches my arm. Leans in close.

“You don’t have to talk about me behind my back,” he whispers, his voice rough. The low vibration tickles my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “If you’d like to make a complaint, I’d be happy to hear you out directly.”

I turn toward him, and my nose brushes his, but he doesn’t pull away, and neither do I.

“I wouldn’t want to take up too much of your day,” I say. “I know you have some very important sulking to do.”

Titus’s eyes flare. “For you, I’d make time.”

“How about tonight?”