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“Admiring the view, are we, Captain?” a voice asks. Lotiya and Deshel, sisters I picked up from the island of Jinda two years ago, take up position on either side of me. “He looks delicious,” Deshel adds.
“From behind, anyway,” Lotiya says. “Can’t judge the man properly until we see the front.”
“Not to mentionnaked.”
Giggling ensues.
Riden looks over his shoulders, partly amused yet a little uncomfortable. He heard them. I’m certainly glad I’m not proneto blushing. For I’ve seen Riden’s front. And him naked. The sisters’ talk immediately brings the image to the surface of my mind.
I glare at the two of them. “We have a new recruit,” I shout for the whole crew to hear. “Meet Riden.”
Many of the girls look up from their tasks. A couple drop down out of the rigging now that the ship is under way. I see a lot of curiosity in their faces. And some interest in others.
“Riden!” I shout, remembering something. He looks up again. “Go below and shave. You look haggard.”
He raises a brow, but doesn’t dare to disobey the first order I give him after our deal. He treads belowdecks. Lotiya and Deshel try to follow.
“Get back to your posts,” I shout at them. They sigh in resignation and scatter.
“Haggard?” Niridia asks. She’s at the helm. Kearan, it would seem, hasn’t arrived yet. I join her. “That man is handsome as hell.”
“Troublesome as hell is more like it,” I say. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with him.”
“I could tell you what I’d like to do with him.”
“Niridia,” I warn.
“A jest, Captain.”
I know. Niridia hasn’t been able to stomach the touch of a man after what she went through before I found her, but that doesn’t keep her from teasing. As my best friend, it’s her job. She’s able to jump back and forth between the roles of friend andfirst mate effortlessly, knowing when each is appropriate. I love her for it.
“We’re keeping him, then?” she asks.
“Yes.”
“Hmm” is all she says. She’s the overly cautious type, the most responsible out of everyone on the ship. She always has something to say.
“What?”
“Just remember he’s Jeskor’s son. Your families are rivals. Have you wondered if being on this ship is exactly where he wants to be?”
“Just like when I was a ‘prisoner’ on his ship?” I intended to get captured—all because I had a map to find on Riden’s brother’s ship.
“Exactly.”
“Riden’s not like that. He doesn’t have his own ambitions. The only thing that drives him is his brother.”
Niridia blows a golden wisp of hair out of her blue eyes. “I wouldn’t say it’s theonlything, Captain.” She looks at me pointedly.
To change the subject, I ask, “Where is Kearan?”
Niridia waves toward the bow, and I’m surprised now that I didn’t spot him sooner. Kearan is massive. His bulk is tucked into his usual dark coat, a jacket full of pockets where he houses all his flasks. The man drinks like a parched fish.
But now it looks as though he’s had a few too many. He’s pressed against the starboard side, the contents of his stomach depositing into the sea below.
I’m trying to think of a suitable punishment for him when Niridia and I spot Sorinda materializing out of the shadows near the foremast. Her raven-colored hair is just a shade darker than her skin. It’s held up with a band, the ends reaching just past her shoulders. Sorinda never bothers with a tricorne. She spends most of her time in the dark and has no need to keep the sun out of her eyes. Instead of a cutlass, she carries a rapier at her side, favoring speed to strength.
Right now, however, she holds the end of a rope.
