Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

I t was unnerving to have so many pairs of eyes on me.

“It was lovely,” I forced a smile, hating Bjorn’s probing eyes on me.

“Are you sure? Because it seems you didn’t enjoy it,” he chuckled, amused.

“I promise I enjoyed it. I’m just not a big meat eater,” I lied smoothly and held his gaze, needing him and everyone else to believe me.

“That makes sense.” His smile tipped slightly higher at the corners before turning to Viktor. “You looked like you enjoyed the meat.”

“Yes,” Viktor smiled brightly. “It was the best cut of meat I’ve ever eaten.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Bjorn grinned, genuinely delighted. “We’ll be happy to pack you some to take with you tomorrow.”

“That’s so kind of you, but we couldn’t,” Viktor denied, his tone polite. “You’ve been so kind and hospitable to us. We don’t want to put you out even more than we already have.”

Bjorn made a dismissive sound. “Nonsense.”

“I know we previously discussed leaving in the morning, but I think my crew and I should return to sea tonight. We’re already a few days behind on our mission, and I don’t want to risk falling behind even more.”

“What are you talking about?” For the first time this evening, Bjorn’s smile dimmed, and for a fleeting moment, I couldn’t help but think that there was something sinister about him that we hadn’t noticed before. But it was gone as quickly as I spotted it, and the bright smile promptly returned. “It’s so late and dark already. We couldn’t possibly let you leave at this time of night.”

“It’s not that dark,” Viktor denied with a light-hearted chuckle, and maybe I was biased, but he was right.

It certainly wasn’t as bright as it had been an hour before, but it wasn’t dark enough to call it a night just yet.

“No, but it will be very soon, and I won’t be able to sleep tonight knowing that I let you all leave like this without a good night’s rest.”

Viktor smiled, but I could tell he was getting frustrated. Bjorn wasn’t going to give up, and we all knew it.

“That’s very kind of you, Bjorn.” His smile was tenser than before. “It would be rude for me to turn down the offer once again, so we’ll accept. Thank you for your hospitality. If it’s okay with you, my crew and I will head to bed now. It’s been a long day, and we’d like to set sail nice and early tomorrow.”

“Great.” Bjorn grinned. “Brank, do you mind showing Captain Viktor and his crew to their huts for the night?”

“We’ll be fine. Brank already showed us earlier,” Viktor dismissed casually as he rose to his feet. He held a hand out for me, and I gladly accepted it, allowing him to help me up. The expression on his face remained light and carefree, but the way he squeezed my hand told me how he was truly feeling. Nervous, anxious and all other synonyms of those words.

“That’s brilliant,” Bjorn grinned, not seeming the least bit fazed. “We’ll see you all in the morning for breakfast, then.”

“Good night.”

I waited until we were away from the feast to ask, “They didn’t believe us for a second there, did they?”

“Nope.” Viktor shook his head and squeezed my hand, his grip tight but not painful. I couldn’t bring myself to complain in the slightest. Not when we were all scared for our lives here.

“This way,” Odin directed us, having scouted the area earlier. He took us down a shortcut through the trees to the beaches, avoiding anyone seeing us. We all quietly hurried after him, and true to his word, he led us to the beach in record time. However, we needed to move faster. If the people of Canne realised that we weren’t in our designated huts, they would come down to the beach where The Serpent was docked. We needed to be gone before that happened.

The only unfortunate part of Odin’s shortcut was that it landed us on the other side of the beach from where The Serpent was docked.

“Hurry!” Viktor whispered harshly.

He pushed me forward, making me the first person to walk up the plank. As soon as I was on The Serpent, I rushed to the rail to watch him.

Viktor was the epitome of a true Captain. He made sure that the entire crew got onto the ship before he did, but at that moment, I wanted nothing more than for him to get on before everyone else. Just as he needed to know that everyone was safe, I needed to know that he was safe.

A light shone over the trees leading away from the feast. I watched as it moved away from our huts, quickly following the shortcut that Odin had led us down.

“They know that we’ve left!” The words rushed out of my mouth. “Hurry up! They’re nearly onto the beach!”

They must know that we figured out what they were.

Cannibals.

“Hurry up, men!” Viktor roared, shoving at the few still yet to climb the plank. “I don’t know about you, but I have no intentions of becoming tomorrow’s breakfast.”

Even though the ramp was designed to take only the weight of one person at a time, the last few crew members on the shore rushed up it simultaneously. Two was risky when it was claimed that the plank could only handle the weight of one person–though I had a feeling that the weight of two young teenagers, such as Roscoe and Manny, added together to equate to the weight of one fully grown man. Three would be stupid, and all three of them would end up on their asses, and we would be stuck with the issue of a broken ramp and the prospect of losing three of our men to an island of hungry, bloodthirsty cannibals.

Roscoe and Manny were the last ones onto The Serpent, leaving Viktor the only man on the shore, waiting for his turn to climb up the ramp. The entire time, I willed for them to move quicker so Viktor could follow.

I wouldn’t be at rest until Viktor wrapped his arms around me, assuring me he was safe.

“Hurry, Viktor! They’re nearly here!” I screamed at him as he climbed onto the ramp.

I held my breath the entire time Viktor climbed up the plank. He all but threw himself over the side and onto the ship, and Caspian had The Serpent pulling away from the land before the others could pull up the ramp. I winced at the sound of the bottom of the ramp cracking, no doubt making it difficult for us to use it next time, but that was the least of our worries right now.

We were all safe from the cannibals, and that was all that mattered.

I exhaled in relief and dropped myself to the ground next to Viktor, throwing my arms around his neck and holding him tightly.

“They were so close to getting you,” I whispered, unable to stop picturing some of Bjorn’s men less than a foot away from him. If Caspian hadn’t started sailing away when he did, they would have been able to get onto the ramp themselves…and I didn’t even want to think about what would have happened then.

“I would never let that happen, my siren,” Viktor into the crook of my neck. “I will never leave you.”

“Good.” I pressed my mouth to his in a quick, chaste kiss, not wanting to give the crew a show. “I love you, pirate.”

He squeezed my hips and followed my retreating mouth for another kiss. “I love you, my siren,” he grunted into my mouth.

I pressed my hands to his chest and playfully pushed, wanting to put some distance between us before we got carried away. While Viktor held me, whispering sweet nothings into my ear, I glanced around at all the crew to do a head count, needing the assurance that everyone had made it safely onto the ship.

I counted thirteen, including Viktor and myself, which was correct, but the orange peel on the deck a few feet away made me rigid, and fear washed over me.

Crosby.