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She’s not going to like this. “I need you to stay here.”
“Absolutely fucking not.” She yanks her hand out of mine. “I’m not going to sit around and hide while you put yourself in danger.”
“That is exactly what I expect you to do.” I take her shoulders and wait for her to meet my gaze. “Danger is what I do, Jules. I’m more equipped to deal with it than anyone. Let me secure this exit spell for our ship, and then we’ll sail out of here and never look back. He’ll have no reason to come after you if we drop that piece of eight into his pocket and return to our realm.”
“Maura.” Her eyes shine a little strangely. “You just said our ship.”
I did, didn’t I? What a strange little slip, but it fills me with warmth. Last night I promised myself I would stop fighting this, but it still feels a little odd to look into a future where Juliette is at my side. Where I can sail from one side of our realm to the other, showing her all the secret little paradises I found over the past ten years.
No, my ship is not a castle, and my crew will hardly dance in attendance the way her staff did, but maybe I need to start giving Juliette the benefit of the doubt. And believing her when she says this is what she wants.
“I did.”
“Do you mean it?” For once, there’s none of her bravado or cheery chaos present. This is the Jules I fell in love with ten years ago, soft and sweet and so filled with hope that it makes my heart ache. “Really mean it?”
“Yes. But I need you to stay here and stay safe so we can make that a reality. Can you do that for me, Jules? Promise me.”
She doesn’t look happy, but she nods all the same. “I’ll stay here, but don’t you think it’s a little strange for me to be lurking? Won’t it raise suspicion?” She asks it so innocently, but I see right through her.
The problem is that she’s right. There’s no one behind the buildings, which was ideal when we were sneaking, but sneaking meant we were on the move. Standing around is hardly stealthy.
I worry at my bottom lip. I can’t take her into the inn with me. If I were the hunter, that’s the first place I would start questioning people. Juliette is beautiful and vivacious, so people are guaranteed to remember her. I look around, searching for a good solution.
My answer comes in the form of whistles and squawks. I barely registered the sounds previously because I was so focused on the threat of attack. Now I wonder how I could’ve missed them in the first place. They seem to be coming from the building we’re standing next to. I frown. “Is that a…parrot shop?”
Juliette’s eyes light up. “I could wait in there. I didn’t even realize parrot shops were a thing.”
Truth be told, I didn’t realize it either. There’s a strange sort of mythos that says pirates and parrots go together, but when you’re spending weeks and weeks at sea, any animal that is not serving a purpose is a liability. At this point, we don’t even keep a cat on board because we have spells to ward against rodents. And parrots live for decades.
I weigh my options, but really, it’s no choice at all. Juliette can’t stand around, appearing to lurk, without drawing attention to herself. But a shopper, taking her time and browsing the wares? That’s a thing that exists everywhere. Even here. Probably especially here, since there are plenty of things your average pirate does not see every day.
All that being said, there’s one last thing to address. “That will work, under one condition.”
She blinks those big dark eyes at me, the very picture of innocence. “What condition?”
“You will not, under any circumstances, purchase one or more parrots.”
Her innocent look takes on an element of mischievousness. It’s in the twinkle of her eyes and the curve of her lips. It means trouble. That doesn’t stop me from wanting to kiss the look right off her face. Juliette grins. “What makes you think I’m going to purchase a parrot?”
“Call it a hunch.”
If anything, her grin widens. “I could teach it to sound like me, and we could use it as a diversion.”
I am nearly certain she’s teasing me and doesn’t mean it. But not 100 percent certain. “Promise me, Jules.”
“Fine.” She rolls her eyes. “If you insist on being reasonable and taking all the fun out of the situation, I promise not to purchase one or more parrots.”
I’m not sure I believe her, but it will have to do because we’re out of time. I peek around the corner of the parrot shop and eye the square. It’s much the same as the last time I looked, with people meandering about. There isn’t a crimson cloak in sight. We won’t get a better chance than this. “You go first. Walk purposely and keep your hood up.”
