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“He’s not in charge of mine either.” His smile turns a bit more genuine. “You really can just call me Rian.”
He says it so equably that it eases some of my anger. “Oh,” I say. “Forgive me.” I hesitate. “Rian.”
I expect him to call meTessa, but he doesn’t. “Why are you awake so early?” he says. “I usually have the deck to myself at this hour.”
“Oh—I’m an early riser.” After his comment about Corrick, it feels dangerous to say anything about the doubts that kept me awake for many hours last night.
Rian smiles. “I’ll look forward to your company, then.” He glances down to see no drink in front of me. “No coffee?”
He says it so casually that it almost startles a laugh out of me. “Coffee isquitethe delicacy in Kandala, so I couldn’t quite tell if you were being serious.”
He blinks as if he’s appalled. “I never joke about coffee.” He moves away to take two heavy ceramic cups from a low cabinet. “And it’s not a delicacy in Ostriary. I have barrels of it.” He takes a small cloth and lifts the cast-iron pot from the stove, then pours. “Here.” He extends the first to me.
I take it, inhaling the steam. Itdoessmell a bit like dirt, but in an earthy way. It’s not a bad scent. The color is a deep brown, darker than any tea I’ve ever seen.
I venture a sip, then make a face before I can help myself. “Ah—forgive me.”
Rian notices, and he smiles. “It’s definitely an acquired taste by itself.” He finds a few stoppered bottles. “Here. Cream is a bit hard to come by on a ship, and we usually make do with powdered milk. But we do have sugar.” He gives me a wry glance. “Gwyn was able to stock the galley when we weren’t being interrogated by the Crown.”
I wince and take the bottles he offers. “You have to admit—you did show up with quite the story.”
“I knew we would be doubted,” he says. “I’m sure we still are.”
That sounds like a prompt. I stir the milk and sugar into my coffee, and I keep my eyes on the cup. “I won’t be a source of gossip about the royal family,” I say.
“I don’t expect you to be. I don’tneedyou to be. Secrets never last long on a ship. You don’t think I noticed the way that manLochlan was looming over you in the hallway? The way he faltered once the prince arrived?”
He’s so forthright that I forget that I don’t have to look for prompts and hints, the way I would with anyone in the palace. Heat rises to my cheeks, but I say nothing.
Rian speaks into my silence. “When I asked His Highness if his people were going to be a problem, he immediately said it wasn’thispeople who were causing trouble. That’s very telling.”
“Why?”
“Because Lochlanisone of his people, is he not?”
I frown. He’s not wrong. It makes me think of everything Lochlan said last night. He might be boorish and aggressive, but the rebel leader showed hints of kindness, too.Tell Karri I loved her.
When I asked Corrick about whether he intended for Lochlan to fall overboard, he said,I wouldn’t shed a tear if it happened.
Right this instant, they’re both being so pigheaded that I don’t feel compelled to defend either of them. But it still stings a bit to hear the captain’s criticism of my countrymen.
I’ve been silent too long. The room is warm, and while the windows don’t make the space seem small, there’s a bit of intimacy here that I didn’t expect.
Rian is studying me. “Have I made you uncomfortable?”
“Oh. No.” I take a hurried sip of coffee, prepared for it to be terrible.
Heavy warmth swells over my tongue, and my eyebrows go up. It’s not like dirt at all. It’s a rich, milky sweetness with hints of cinnamon. I think I like it better than the chocolate creams I used to share with Karri.
Rian smiles at my reaction. “What do you think?”
“I think you’ve spoiled me for tea forever,” I say.
“I’m glad to hear it.” He takes a sip of his own. “I have to check the rest of the rigging if you’d like to walk with me. But you’re welcome to stay out of the wind if you’d rather.”
I imagine all the ways Corrick would spin this into a trick or a trap or a manipulation, the way he brushed off Laurel Pepperleaf’s praise of my skills.
But then I consider the way the captain sent me into his stateroom without hesitation. The way he talked about wanting Ostriary to rebuild, or the way he wants to make sure Kandala gets the medicine we so desperately need. The way he so openly professes a desire to help everyone—not just whoever might line his pockets.
