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“Help,” they call, then press their face against my wet cheek to whisper, “Don’t you dare fall asleep, or I’ll have to fly you somewhere dry to get you warm.”

That sounds so wonderful, though. We could be in a bed by a fire, with thick socks and blankets.

I smile, imagining the heat so vividly that I almost forget where we are and why we can’t just leave.

A slim figure stands over the railing of the ship, pointing us out. Orders are shouted, but the voices sound very distant now. They’re moving away from us.

I close my eyes, dreaming of a nest of furs near a fire. I’d rest so peacefully there, with Zephyr curled up in my hair.

“Cordelia, wake up. Cordelia.” One arm tightens around me, and their knuckles fumble with the laces of their shirt. “That’s it. I’m getting you out of here.”

They stop tugging at their shirt and vest as a loud plunk snaps my eyes open. A rowboat has been lowered into the water, foam splashing around its stern as it slams back down on the surface.

My eyelids drop again, and when voices call for me to blink them open, a tunnel of shadows rings my vision. Darcy’s face is in the center of it, shouting for me to take her hands.

“Reach for me,” she says, but even my blood feels heavy.

Strong, familiar arms heave me up over the gunwales, and I collapse on the bench, coughing. Zephyr climbs up behind me, but they move to another bench as I lift my fingers, reaching weakly for them.

Darcy waves a blanket over my body, blocking my view of my guardian.

“We’re not too far from the northern shore,” she says, bundling me. “Stay with me. We’ll get you warm again.”

But I don’t want to stay with her. I want to stay with Zephyr.

20

CORDELIA

Ifish the last dumpling from my bowl, chewing on the salty dough.

The stew sounded awful an hour ago when I first woke up at the seaside inn, but after forcing a few bites down, the warm dish started tasting quite pleasant. I lift the bowl to my mouth and sip the broth, wishing I had another chunk of crusty bread to dip in it.

Darcy leans an elbow on the sticky bar, watching me while I eat. She hasn’t left my side since we entered the tavern portion of the building.

“Here, take another drink,” she says, tipping her pint toward me.

I take a mouthful and lick the malty foam from my lips. “It’s strong.”

“But it’s making your cheeks all rosy. That has to be a good thing.” She takes my chin and turns my face side to side, studying the corners of my mouth. According to her, my skin was blue and mottled when we first arrived. “I can’t believe you survived that, Dee. We truly have been blessed by the sea.”

“It helps that you came to rescue me. And that Ze—” I catch myself about to make a big mistake. “The professor jumped in to pull me away from the kraken.”

She straightens and takes her pint back, gulping down half of it. “Yes, thank goodness for that.”

I glance at the empty booth where Zephyr is blowing on a spoonful of hot stew, their hood falling over their face as they jot notes on a piece of parchment. “Should we invite them to sit with us?”

“I already spoke to them.” Darcy swipes the condensation on her glass. “They want some alone time to write their notes on the kraken.”

“Ah.” I’d say it’s more likely they wanted an excuse to stay back while some of the crew went out looking for pretty women to dance with.

“I understand you went through something terrifying today.” Darcy fingers my hair. It’s still drying after my nice, hot bath. “But that monster can’t hurt anyone else, thanks to our crew’s bravery. They’ll sing our names for a hundred years.”

I manage a smile even though my eyes are welling. The kraken wasn’t a monster to me. She was desperate after losing everything.

Zephyr’s shoulders are still slumped over their paper.

Do they feel as lost as that poor creature? Is there somewhere else they’d rather be?