Page 110 of Tempest

“It is not the height of the fall, but how sudden the stop,” Cat replied, raising a hand to her neck for good measure. Her fingers curled and for a moment she felt rope instead of her skin. “Don’t pretend we’re even, Captain Fell. I don’t care what class you were born to. You are still a man in this world. And I still have a noose around my neck.”

The torchlight turned his silver eyes to hellish red.

“Let us hope you found something to loosen it,” he said, leaning closer. Between the folds of his shirt, his chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. “What did you learn tonight?”

Cat did not flinch. Neither moved, each staring at the other, the city beyond little more than shadows. In the silence, Cat weighed her options, counting the islands of the Lyrian Sea. She could say any name, choose any point on the map. Drag Fell deeper and deeper, farther and farther. Push him until he could be pushed no more. Let him chase his own tail, keeping him as far from Valerian as the sea allowed.

But his eyes gleamed, what care he carried for her eclipsed by a desperation Cat knew all too well.

The need to survive.

The balance, if there ever was one, threatened to tip.

Her lips parted and she chose the truth, even though it tasted like blood.

“Our heading,” Cat finally said. “Arcayo.”

Chapter Twenty Before

SMOKE ROSE IN a steady trail, the smell of tobacco and rum heavy over the card table. Cat could almost feel it on her skin, warm and light as the touch of a hand.

Captain Kane held a cigar between two fingers, a cloud of white curling through his teeth as he studied his cards. Cat studied him in turn, looking for tells. Or so she told herself, eyes skittering from his long fingers to the way his pulse thrummed in his neck.

He was thoughtful in his gameplay, never rushed, not like the other pirates, who slapped down their discards eagerly, as if Red River depended on speed above all. Cat surmised that no one would rush Valerian Kane. Not aboard his own ship, at least. He was smart, patient, strategic. He let others move first so he could move better. When Garedo and Brimley found themselves trading back and forth, their cards a furious storm, their captain made quiet moves, using the pair as a distraction. It all made for a far more challenging opponent, and Cat had to stay on her toes, focusing on the card counts as best she could.

The clouds of smoke made it more difficult, drawing her eyes away from the cards to the disconcerting curve of the captain’s mouth, forever fixed in a crooked smirk.

Slowly, he laid down three diamonds, and Cat forced herself back to the task at hand.

Sixteen diamonds played—

“Where did a Meridian lady learn Red River?”

Kane’s voice shattered her thoughts, and Cat pursed her lips, annoyed by the endless distraction of him.

“If you knew any Meridian ladies, you would know that is a stupid question,” she said pertly, looking down to her cards. Smirking, she passed two cards to Garedo on her left. He took them with a grumble.

“Almost every salon or party I’ve ever attended ends in a card game. For those who are still awake, at least. I spent many an early morning playing while waiting for my husband to come to his senses,” she added, letting Garedo wallow. “And my sisters loved cards. Crossed Swords, Skulls, Red River, Jolly, Whistling Jane. We used to play them all, before I left.”

Kane raised a golden eyebrow, the small scar above it pulling white. “To marry Lord Rose?”

“That is the reason most girls leave home,” Cat replied. Then she remembered herself and the place where she sat. With nothing but sails and stars overhead. “At least, that’s how it is back in Meridia. I assume it is not so for your Ana, or the other ladies of the crew.”

“You may be surprised how many women trade marriage for the main deck,” Kane chuckled, his laugh rolling down Cat’s spine. “Tell me about these sisters. Were they as lucky in their unions as you?”

Cat shifted on her stool, surprised by the odd line of questioning. Judging by the faces of the other pirates, she surmised they were too. But it was not difficult to guess after Kane’s motive.

He is losing the hand and wants to set me off-kilter.

Her toes curled in her shoes.

I can do that too.

“I hope not,” she answered, heaving a wistful sigh. “Helena was engaged when I left, and the others were far too young to be out in society yet. It is difficult to get news of home here. Personal news, I mean.” At that, she leaned into Brimley, who now stood at her shoulder to watch the game. “Again, I am sorry to have brought you word of Allisport.”

Across the table, Kane’s eyes narrowed. Slowly, he dragged from the cigar and blew a cloud of fragrant smoke across the table.

“What of it?” he said tightly.