Page 113 of Tempest

Cat blinked rapidly, caught off guard. She expected more questions about her sisters, her previous life, even her husband and their bank account. Naval intelligence wasn’t exactly her area of expertise, and he knew that. But she collected herself, trying to think, to remember what felt like years ago.

It was only yesterday, she told herself, chiding her memory.

Though it felt like admitting defeat, she broke her gaze and looked down to the table. It was too difficult to try to recall anything with Captain Kane staring at her so intently. She studied the worn woodgrain instead, tracing the whorls in the cheap pine.

“The Paladin,” she finally murmured, the name of the other Meridian vessel swimming up to the front of her mind.

Then it was the captain’s turn to look away, his narrowed eyes shifting to the sailor next to him. His crooked smiles and warmth were both gone, candles snuffed out.

“Brimley?” he said. “What do you know of that ship?”

The drunken mate did his best to uncross his eyes and be useful.

“Commanded by Captain Kent,” he sputtered, wobbling in his seat. “Part of the northern division, patrolling the Stills.”

Kane clapped him on the shoulder in thanks, though his face remained stern, his brow furrowed. “Either Captain Kent was very lost or he was sent south,” he muttered to himself. “Where—”

“You have asked your question already, Captain.”

Against all odds, Cat spoke evenly, her voice level and firm, though her fingers trembled in her lap. It was one thing for Captain Kane to dictate the rules of their escalating game. But another entirely for her to do the same.

And Kane knew it too.

“You are aware, Lady Rose, that I hold you prisoner on this ship?” he said quietly. Somehow it was more terrifying than a shout. “This back and forth is merely a formality. If I want an answer to a question, you must give it.”

It would certainly be easier, she told herself, to answer whatever he asks, to tell him whatever he needs, until I hold no more use. But that felt wrong too, for more reasons than one. She had questions of her own, her only leverage in the cards. And there was her original plan to consider. The wind in the sails was a firm reminder of the clock ticking, the waves pushing them onward to wherever this mercurial captain willed.

And at the end of their voyage—the truth. Lord Rose had no money to ransom them. Cat would need something else to trade. Could it be friendship instead?

She tried to weigh what little she knew of Captain Kane. He was a pirate, a plundering marauder, a criminal who stalked the high seas for prey. A shark in human skin. And yet he bore the same calluses as the crew. He dove through the wreck of the Venerable alongside them. Brimley had willingly defected to a pirate’s command, choosing the unknown prospect of Valerian Kane over the navy. And he seemed better for it, grateful even.

Perhaps the captain was fair as he appeared, willing to hold to the rules of their game, even as he flouted every law of kingdoms and empires.

But what do I truly know of him? she wondered, hands still shaking.

The silence seemed to last all night—and yet only a moment.

The shuffle of cards broke the quiet, Kane’s deft fingers tracing the rough edge of the paper. He flicked through them, never breaking eye contact with her, his gaze like a hammer, and Cat the nail.

Finally, the cards slid across the uneven table, one by one, and he dealt a new hand.

Cat breathed a sigh, relief loosening the tight coil in her chest. But not for long. Kane defeated her almost immediately, the X all but burning her fingers.

“Where was Kent headed?” he said, shuffling once more.

This time, Cat did not have to rack her memory.

“Longdawn.”

A flurry of glances swept around the table. Even Brimley, glazed over like a drunk at a tavern, shot a strange look at the captain. Kane returned it, shuffling longer than he needed, the rhythm of the cards mirroring the muscle jumping in his cheek. Long strands of golden hair fell into his face, putting him half in shadow. But his eyes remained, glowing with the lantern light.

The next hand was not so fast, but just as ferocious. From the start, Cat caught a wave of luck, and she rode it hard, pushing more and more coins into the pot. Kane seemed distracted, and she seized on the opportunity. Another pile of coins, another ring of metal on metal as he matched her ante.

Until there were no more trinkets and pennies left to play, the table empty in front of her, all her winnings thrown to the center in an impressive heap.

It roused Kane from his thoughts, an amused smirk on his lips.

“Shall we make the call,” he said, fluttering his cards like a lady’s fan. “You have nothing left to bet.”