Page 22 of By the Flames of Her Fury

“Hold!” Starke shouted. “Hold!”

A wave slammed in the stern and exploded over the railing. Water blinded me. I wiped my eyes with the heel of my hand and lost my footing. My head collided with a post by the wheel, making my vision go gray.

The whirl’s pull eased by a fraction. Not much, but enough. Wind whipped at us again, catching the sails. “Now!” Starke ordered. “Bring her up, Lenny!”

The helmsman yanked the wheel hard toward the wind, and the ship leaped. We tore away from the rim at an angle, still rocking precariously but no longer in the whirl’s clutches.

The White Moonstone groaned. A few lines were gone, some railings and boards broken, but other than that, we were intact. The rain clouds lightened enough to let the nearly-set sun peak through.

Starke moved toward me, gaze fixed on my head. “You’re bleeding.” He reached out a hand, and the pad of his thumb brushed over my wound.

My muscles went rigid. I didn’t usually let people touch me unless it was necessary. Any contact, friendly or not, sent alarms blaring through me, memories of too many rough hands and sharp needles swimming to the surface.

I recoiled and bumped into a pole again, and Starke jerked his hand back. “V, I⁠—”

“I saw something,” I said. “In the water. It wasn’t just a whirlpool, Starke.”

“What are you talking about?”

I shook my head, and the cut at my temple pounded. “I don’t know, but I’ve never seen anything like it. It sounds crazy, but what if there’s something else out there?”

He gave me a knowing look. Too knowing. “It was just a storm.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t know that it wasn’t, and if this is another excuse for you to go running off after some red herring instead of⁠—”

“I’m not making it up⁠—”

“Don’t,” he said, voice sharp and final. “Don’t go searching for it, Vera.”

I averted my gaze. “Why would I go searching for the thing that almost killed us?”

“Because you always go searching.”

I paused, the silence heavy between us, full of things I knew he wanted to say. That I was careless. That my searches were leading us nowhere. That one of these days, I was going to get something worse than a cut to the head.

Instead, I gave him a mock salute and stepped away, pointing to my temple. “I better go take care of this, Captain.”

I made my way below deck. The heat of adrenaline faded with every step, replaced by a cold, bone-deep weariness that yearned for the kind of rest I didn’t think I’d ever find.

9

Everett

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the brave captain himself, reporting for duty.” The familiar, charming drawl met my ears before I saw him. I looked up, my hands still latching the strap of my travel bag, to find Nox and Devora striding toward Kieran and me across the dock. They struck an imposing silhouette against the sun, with his tall, broad frame, and her bright red waves flowing down her back.

I gave him a wry grin. “Tessa has you beat with the captain jokes already. So far, her favorite is Captain One-Eye.” I pointed to the scar over my left eye, which I’d gotten last year in a battle against Scarven’s men.

Nox scoffed as they reached me. “Oh, I can do better than that.”

Devora swept forward to give Kieran a hug, then wrapped me in one. “Fates, I can’t believe you’re actually going to get her.”

I patted her back. “I know. It’ll be dangerous, but I⁠—”

“No, not that.” She pulled away. “I’m just glad you had the balls to say yes.”

I snapped my mouth shut and shook my head with a chuckle. She fit in perfectly with Tessa and Arowyn ever since she joined the Ashen Order a little over a year ago.