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I wasn’t going to. I didn’t want to see his face any more than he wanted to see mine. But the one face Iespeciallydidn’t want to see was Adrian’s. He wouldn’t apologize for his actions, and he would probably just torture me more if given the chance.
The sea was getting rougher, as Luc had predicted. The storm hadn’t hit yet, but it wasn’t too far off; the wind whipped my hair around into my face as I went from the kitchen to Henrik’s room. I was still in my beer-soaked dress since I hadn’t a change of clothes on this ship. My hair was in shambles, and so I ran my fingers through it frantically, trying to straighten it.
Oh, what was the point? There was no one to impress on this ship. Why did it matter that I was put together? Everything else was falling apart, why not fall apart with it?
I didn’t realize I was standing mindlessly in front of Henrik’s door until Henrik threw it open, startling me.
He looked at me quizzically. “You came.”
“You told me to.”
“I didn’t expect you to obey.”
“I didn’t expect to get trapped on a ship with a bunch of psychos looking for a magic stone. Shit happens.”
I threw a hand over my mouth, annoyed at my sudden outburst of emotion. I never had outbursts like that. It wasn’t ladylike. And I was nothing if I wasn’t a damn charming lady.
A smirk pulled at Henrik’s lips, and he motioned for me to come inside.
I walked in, noticing the piles of books scattered around his desk. Walking in further, I noticed a collection of knives, swords, and strange boxes filled with ingredients I saw in doctor offices. I hadn’t noticed these things the first time Adrian showed me to Henrik’s room.
“Books, weapons, and medicine?” I asked. “Who are you, really?”
Henrik looked over his shoulder as he went toward a pair of swords. “You wouldn’t like it if I told you.”
“I don’t like much of anything these days. Humor me.”
He picked up two swords, walking back to me.
“I think the question is who areyou?” he replied. “A descendant of one of the Guardians, and yet doesn’t believe in magic? I would think that your family would be swimming in it.”
I shrugged. “My mother liked fairy tales, but that’s all they were.”
Henrik must have heard the pain in my voice, because he paused for a long moment before continuing.
“I wasn’t much of a believer in the beginning either,” he said. “My uncle claimed to have connections to the spirit world. We all thought he was crazy. I certainly did. That was until…”
He paused for a moment, looking as if he was deciding whether or not to continue.
“Before what?” I encouraged.
He sighed. “Before the spirit world started talking to me.”
I raised my eyebrows at him as he bounced the swords in his hands, looking at the handles.
“First it was hallucinations,” he said. “Then vivid dreams. Voices of the dead. My uncle taught me how to read stars to predict the future, and I thought it was a useless party trick…until it started working.”
I cocked my head to the side. “You’re an astrologer.”
He sighed with a nod. “An astrologer and an alchemist, thanks to my uncle. I did my best to run from it. Astrology is not a proper pastime for a naval officer.”
My heart skipped a beat. “You’re navy?”
He winced as if I had just jabbed him. “Iwas.”
He held out a sword to me. I reached for it, not sure of why I was taking it.
“You’re giving your hostage a sword?” I asked. “Seems counterproductive.”
