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“Don’t go getting ideas, William. There’s a world of unknowns surrounding that woman.”
“Of course. I would never presume. Is she…” His words trailed off as he glanced toward the door.
I nodded grimly. “Yes, if she is to be believed, she truly is one of Wendy’s descendants.”
“And the madness?”
Something in my chest twinged painfully and I adjusted my grip on the rudder wheel. “No sign, yet. She has, so far, been unwilling to share what brought her here, but I don’t think she used Wendy’s method.”
“How can you be sure?”
“If she was speaking the truth, she arrived at the compass, late last night.”
His eyes widened and his gaze bounced from me to the door and back. “The compass? And she made it to shore?” His voice was threaded with just a hint of awe. “That girl is lucky to be alive.”
I rubbed my hand across the back of my neck. “There’s no way she got there without help, not in the middle of the night.”
“You don’t think the shifters had something to do with it?” he asked, keeping his voice low.
Our long-time alliance with the shifter colony on a neighboring island had grown fragile in the aftermath of Wendy Darling’s chaotic visit. The daughter of the alpha, one of my dearest friends for many centuries, had gone missing the same day that wretched girl escaped the confines of the island. I’d helped search for her for years. Even now I kept a careful watch each time we visited the islands, but there was only so much I could do.
We all suspected Wendy had a hand in her disappearance, but with no proof and no way to track her down, the blame had eventually fallen on me, at least in the eyes of some. I was the one who’d helped Wendy in the beginning. The shifters had helped her too. I wasn’t the only one she’d tricked into believing she was nothing more than an innocent seventeen-year-old girl.
I stared out across the water. “It would be unwise to rule them out.”
Lightning flickered across the horizon, drawing slowly closer to our position. The distant thunder was barely audible over the crash of the waves against the ship’s hull, but I took it as a warning all the same. “You and the men should turn in. I have a feeling I’ll be waking the lot of you before the night is out.”
“I would be happy to keep lookout, Captain,” William said.
I waved him off. “No need at present. Besides, I could use some time to myself.” My mind was churning trying to figure out the significance of Never’s presence. At best, she was a distraction. At worst, well, she was a Darling.
William nodded and pivoted on his heel, leaving me to my thoughts as the sounds of the night sea rushed in around me.
* * *
Two hours later, I shook William awake gently. Not because I wanted to, but because the distant storm was no longer so distant, and the black clouds were threatening to break open directly over the ship.
He looked up at me groggily, blinking against the light from my lantern. “Is everything all right, sir?”
“The storm found us. I need you and the men to stay down here and lock everything up tight.”
He sat up, rubbing his hands down his face. “What about the girl?”
“Still locked in my quarters. Remember the signal, and do not open the hatch until you hear it.”
I shook my head when he tried to argue with me. “I’ll be fine. Not to worry. We both know I can’t actually die.”
“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean being torn apart by sirens won’t have you wishing for death.”
My joints creaked as I straightened, a sure sign the downpour was imminent. “Remember the signal, William. No arguments.” I headed up the stairs and closed the hatch before he could respond. Icy wind yanked at my hair and stung my face as I rapped on the hatch twice with my fist. I barely heard the heavy beams slide into place above the squall.
Waves crashed against the hull, picking up force by the second, pitching the ship to and fro at ever steeper angles. The first fine drops of rain struck my face and dusted the deck. I latched onto anything in my path that would allow me to keep my balance.
The cursed song of the sirens filled my ears a split second before I reached my destination.Almost time.
Pressing my back against my bedroom door and turning my face to the sky, I sent a silent prayer to the powers that be.
If anyone is still out there, please, help me keep her locked in that room.
