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Whisking the basket of eggs out of my hand, he grabbed the top of my head and spun me around, shoving me forward. With a scowl, I complied, going to the stove to ladle soup for the men.
The men ate in shifts. Half ate at one time, and then the other half ate after them. This meant that I had the displeasure of dealing with Captain Adrian one hour, and First Mate Henrik the next.
Today, Henrik ate first.
He didn’t even acknowledge me as I set down the soup in front of him. He was deep into a book, also ignoring the men around him, who didn’t seem interested in him either.
There were graphs and charts on the page he was reading, along with the header,History of the Winged Islands.
“Swashbuckler and scholar, eh?” I asked without thinking.
He raised his head, his lips flat, but his large eyes piercing through me.
I cleared my throat. “You know, my father served in the navy near the islands. I always wanted to visit them, but I didn’t have the chance. Is that where we’re going?”
He pursed his lips. “We go wherever your blood tells us to go.”
“Yes, I was thinking about this, and I was thinking, do youreally need myblood? Can’t you just take a lock of hair or spit, or something less—”
“The spirits demand blood. I don’t make the rules.”
“Yes, but you’re a pirate. Can’t you break rules?”
He slammed his hand on the table, jumping to his feet to meet me in the eyes.
“Never call me a pirate!” he growled in my face. “I have never once betrayed my king!”
Stunned, I could only stare at him, his eyes filled to the brim with anger and resentment. They were honest; however, his tone and words reminded me of my father’s own loyalty to the king. A sense of guilt washed over me, seeing his patriotism.
“Forgive me,” I said meekly. “I hadn’t realized.”
His face paled, his eyelashes fluttering rapidly.
“No, that was inappropriate of me,” he said, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t have raised my voice at a lady in such a way. None of this is your doing. I…”
He stammered, trailing off as his face contorted into a thousand emotions. I opened my mouth to reply, but before Icould say a word he gave a bow, not making any further eye contact as he scrambled to pick up his book and walk off. I only stared, unsure of what had just happened.
One of the men at the table chuckled. “You poked the volcano.”
I came out of my daze and focused on the man who spoke. “What do you mean?”
“One wrong word and—pow.” He made an explosion gesture over his head. “Be careful, Miss. Many a man has lost a digit or two by the first mate.”
He wiggled his fingers for emphasis. I squeezed my hands into fists, confirming that all my fingers were still there.
Luc had called Henrik honorable, and yet, the crew seemed to have an opposite opinion. Even Adrian seemed to have mixed feelings about his brother.
Adrian, on the other hand, seemed practically useless. He was good at managing the crew and keeping them in line, but he had no input on how to do things on a ship that needed to be done. He was like a boy playing with a toy boat, enjoying the adventure and avoiding all of the work.
Adrian had threatened me, but all of his threats proved empty. From the sound of it, Henrik didn’t have the same methods.
One brother pretended to have power. The other actually did.
So why was Adrian the captain and not Henrik?
FOUR DAYS
CHAPTER 6—SUFFERING
