Page 65 of Tempest

His eyes trailed, running her over, his gaze heavy as roving hands.

“I would not recommend that course of action,” he said, repeating words spoken six months ago on a different ship under similar circumstances.

This time, Cat did not bother denying her thoughts. There was no use to it. Valerian seemed to read her with such ease. And no other words came to her, not even to beg. But her shoulders squared, her spine drawing up tall.

There was no use playing the maid anymore.

Valerian tipped his head to the side, inspecting her. The white shift left little to the imagination and Cat’s skin prickled beneath the thin cotton. His eyes seemed to leave a trail, just like the seawater rolling down her body to pool at her feet. A smirk spread across his lips, but the pirate said nothing. Not her name, not her station. Cat braced, waiting for the blow of both.

But silence stretched, both excruciating and encouraging. In spite of her predicament, Cat dared to hope.

He has forgotten my name.

Sharpness twinged, and Cat realized she was biting down on her lip, near enough to draw blood again. She loosed her teeth, forcing a shaky breath, her chest rising and falling beneath the shift.

She held his gaze, letting all her hope well up in her eyes. It felt like dancing naked in front of him, and somehow so much worse. Valerian only stared back, his gaze unreadable but impossible to look away from.

Please forget my name.

Then Valerian’s smirk turned into a predator’s smile.

“Your fortunes have changed since last we met,” he said, dipping into a mocking bow. “Lady Rose.”

Cat’s eyes fluttered shut as a wave of noise broke over her. The crew cheered, their despair shifting to excitement.

On the ground, Fell’s face dropped in defeat.

Cat expected to feel the same. But surrender would not come. Instead, she snapped her eyes open, her glare fixed on Valerian Kane. Without thinking, she took a step forwards, towards him and the terrifying crew. Somehow his smirk made her bolder, angrier. And ready to fight.

“I will treat with your captain,” she snapped, trying to sound strong. She thought of Captain Quine and his stern, self-assured manner.

For all the good it did him.

She expected the pirate with the green coat to emerge, sweeping forwards with a flourish. Morovant, Cat remembered, the name echoing in her head. He was charming and dangerous, but ultimately fair, leaving the Credence to sail on, lighter a little cargo.

To her dismay, a chuckle ran through the crew, the she-pirate laughing loudest. And Valerian not at all.

Her stomach turned, her eyes raking the deck again.

This is not the same ship.

It was smaller, less ornate. Not at all like Morovant’s great vessel.

Slowly, she turned back to Valerian and his damned smirk.

This time, Cat studied him as he studied her, looking for any change. There were no uniforms amongst pirates, no medals to mark rank. Valerian looked as she remembered, for the most part. It was only a few moments six months ago, but she had turned the memory over in her mind many times since then.

He wore the same gold chain around his wrist, had the same scars on his hands. The same tattoos, one mangled, the other proudly displayed at the open collar of his shirt. Her cheeks burned as she eyed the triple lines woven together in a haunting circle. Her finger swirled, inadvertently tracing the same shape as his tattoo. Valerian even wore the same weapons, his knives at one hip. The only difference she could see was another chain dangling from his neck, most of it tucked beneath his clothes.

But there was a weight to his shoulders, a heaviness she had not noticed before. Like the ship itself hung from his neck.

I suppose it does, she mused, noting the crew. The way they ringed around him, every man and woman angled, as if Valerian was the sun, and the rest of them orbiting planets.

“You are the captain,” Cat murmured weakly.

His smirk spread, burning into a true grin. It fell upon her like a shot from a cannon, shuddering Cat to her core.

“So they tell me,” Valerian answered. “Welcome aboard the Covenant, Lady Rose.”