Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

Bowen

THE STORM PASSES RIGHT ON SCHEDULE. WE SPEND A full twenty-four hours docked, just long enough for interested crew members to avail themselves to the hospitality of Yaltia. The bar owner will be happy with their income from all the drinking, and I sent Kit to secure proper clothing for Evelyn.

Not that the witch makes another appearance in that time. I tell myself it’s a blessing that she’s not underfoot and causing trouble while we get ready to set sail. It doesn’t stop me from having to forcibly turn away from the door belowdecks over and over again as the storm decreases to a sprinkle of rain and a playful breeze, and then dies away completely a few hours later.

She doesn’t need me to check on her. She’s fine. There’s nowhere more protected from outside attack than the Crimson Hag, and my crew knows better than to do more than good-natured ribbing with each other. The same can’t be said for other C?n Annwn ships, but …

I can control only this ship and this crew. I can’t worry about the others. If I try to battle every injustice in this world, I’ll end up in the sea, feeding the mermaids. Ezra taught me that it’s vital to pick your battles, and protect those you can because it’s impossible to protect everyone in an unfair world. Some times that lesson chafes more than others.

“I got what you asked for, Captain.”

I nod at Kit. Ne has a bag in nir hands, and it looks significantly fuller than I expected. I raise my brows. “Did you buy out the whole place?”

Ne grins. “Not at all. Yaltia gets plenty of traffic through, so they keep a good stock of things for our people to trade with.”

In a realm of constantly moving islands—and portals—stationary trading locations are worth their weight in gold. There are four permanent islands of some size in Threshold—Sarvi, Drash, Lyari, and Three Sisters. The latter is technically three islands, as their name would suggest, but they’re in such close proximity with each other that they gained a single name for all three.

Yaltia sits at a perfect intersection amid the routes between the permanent islands, which means a significant amount of traffic. Its position makes Yaltia an invaluable stop for supplies on some of the longer voyages.

I almost take the bag from Kit, but common sense gets ahold of me at the last moment. I have a ship to run and a crew to manage. As much as I want to lay eyes on Evelyn and see for myself that she’s recovered from the burst of magic that saved us, there are other things that require my focus.

Like the sea monster menacing Sarvi. According to the updated report that appeared on my desk last night, it’s killed several more people. Teenagers who were swimming on a beach that should have been safe. There’s no escaping the guilt that haunts me. We couldn’t have sailed through that storm, and yet our delay feels like a failure. People died because of it. Kids died because of it.

Additionally, the deaths seem to suggest it’s settling into a hunting territory, rather than attempting to go back to whatever realm it came from. Not that fleeing would save it. Once a monster garners enough attention, it requires the C?n Annwn to go hunting outside of Threshold. Even if it never crossed into our territory. I’m sure my little witch will have something to say about that on the rare occasion it comes up.

“Take it to her, please.”

Kit raises nir eyebrows. “You sure you don’t want to hand deliver it yourself?”

I almost choke. Only years of Kit’s ribbing have given me the practice not to react. “I hardly think that’s necessary.”

“Necessary isn’t any fun, Captain.” Ne grins. “We all see how you look at her. How she looks at you. A gift from the handsome captain wouldn’t go amiss.”

I will not blush. I will not. “I am the captain of this ship and fraternizing with any of my crew would be highly inappropriate.” It’s a good thing Kit is human. Ne is without a lick of magic, so ne can’t see the memory of Evelyn’s mouth imprinted against mine from a mere twenty-four hours ago.

“You know that’s not actually a law, right?” Ne shakes nir head. “Live a little, Captain. We might be named for the C?n Annwn, but none of us are immortal. Life’s too short to pass up what little joy it has to offer.” Ne turns and walks away before I can come up to a response to that, which is just as well.

The next few hours are a flurry of motion as we cast off and head north around the perimeter of the island. Then there’s only the open sea from horizon to horizon. Out here, I feel like I can finally breathe.

It’s an illusion.

Threshold is peppered with islands, both permanent and traveling. We’re never more than a few days from one of them. Not all are inhabited, or even contain fresh water, but they serve as a reminder that we’re never really free.

I pause. Where did that thought come from? If I didn’t know better, I’d track down my witch and accuse her of planting it right in my head. It’s a false accusation. She might be partially responsible for the strange thought, but it’s not magic at its source. It’s her incessant questions. Why do we do things the way we do? It’s her grief over the harm she caused a vicious beast intent on our deaths.

I never expected that from her.

She hasn’t done much that I’ve expected since we fished her out of the sea.

“Good winds.”

I watch Miles walk up, my mood souring. “We’ll make good time to Sarvi despite the delay.” I haven’t seen much of my quartermaster in the time we were trapped in Yaltia’s bay by the storm. He went ashore with a good portion of the crew. No doubt he used that time well to continue to gain favor among them.

The vote is coming. I can sense it the same way Dia can sense weather patterns. I do my best to operate above reproach, but I’m only human, and the code of honor that Ezra instilled in me doesn’t sit well with some people. It will take only one moment, one bad choice, and Miles will have his victory.

The thought should fire me up, but I’m so fucking tired. I want to blame it on being worried about Evelyn sneaking out again, or on the hundred other little details and concerns that go with running a ship and keep me up at night.

I’m starting to wonder if this exhaustion isn’t years in the making. Evelyn’s presence on board didn’t cause it. She only revealed what was already there, simmering below the surface.

Miles stops next to me and turns easily to face the same way. I nod to Sarah and she gives us a little boost with her magic, filling the sails and sending us skimming across the waves away from Yaltia. I tell myself I don’t breathe easier with each league between us, but it’s a lie.

Seconds tick by, and then minutes. This is the longest Miles has spent in my presence in weeks. I glance at him. “You need something?”

He shrugs. “Just making sure the plan for Sarvia hasn’t changed.”

I don’t like the casual way he asks that, as if there are layers beneath the seemingly simple words. Miles speaks plainly most of the time, which makes the times he doesn’t all the trickier. “Why would something change?” I finally ask.

His tail flicks, the smallest movement but telling nonetheless. “The woman is in your head.”

“She’s not in my head.” I speak too quickly, too harshly. He’s not saying anything I haven’t thought myself, but hearing it from Miles sets my teeth on edge.

“Are you sure?” His voice is bland. “Nothing worth reporting has happened since she came aboard?”

Something like guilt blossoms on the back of my tongue. There’s no way he could be talking about the cat-sìth. It wasn’t an official hunt, and the only witness to what happened was Evelyn. She didn’t tell anyone; of that, I’m sure. Miles is trying to trap me into admitting I’ve done something wrong. I make an effort to loosen my grip on the helm. “You obviously have something you’re chewing on. Spit it out.”

“Lucky woke up to find their bunkmate missing. No one saw the witch for several hours that first night on Yaltia … not until Sarah witnessed you coming back aboard with her. If she broke her vow—”

“She didn’t.” I can’t let him pursue that train of thought. I might be willing to give Evelyn the space to come to terms with her new life, but Miles won’t. He’s more than proven that since we pulled her out of the sea. “She wanted to see the island, so I took her on a quick tour.”

“In the middle of the night, while we were trapped by a vicious storm.” His disbelief might as well be a physical thing between us.

If I let him chase down this argument, he’s going to catch me out. There’s no good reason for Evelyn—or me—to have gone ashore when we did. Not unless we were up to no good.

Or she was, and I was hauling her back before anyone could notice she’d slipped out.

Better to change the subject entirely. “While we were in the woods, we happened across a creature I’ve never seen before. It could shift planes. Have you ever heard of a giant cat that can do that?”

Miles flicks out his tongue, tasting the air. As if testing for a lie. “Is it something we need to take care of?”

“No. We handled it.” Let him read what he will from that vague statement. He’ll assume we killed it. We didn’t, but with it being so injured, it’s sure to leave the village behind and move on to easier—less dangerous—prey. It’s not a sure thing, but …

The line of thought makes me uneasy. It feels like mental acrobatics, and that’s not something I usually indulge in.

“But no, to answer your question, I’ve never come across such a beast.” He narrows his beady dark eyes. “Why do you ask?”

Because apparently I’ve heard of this creature. I know its name and far too much information about it. Information I have no right to. Not that I’m going to admit as much to him. He’s already feeling me out for weakness to exploit. There’s no reason to hand him one for free. “If it’s something that’s more common than I realized, it would be useful to train the crew in how to deal with it.”

“No reason for you to worry about it. You won’t be captain for much longer.” He turns and walks away without another word.

I watch him go, dread weighing my shoulders down. If we’ve moved to overt threats, then he thinks he’s all but assured the vote. I’ll have to deal with that soon … but not yet. First, we have people to save.

I turn my attention back to the horizon. I’ll deal with Miles after we handle the sea monster. Even without knowing the full details about what we’re about to hunt, it’s likely to be some kind of serpent. From the most recent report, the teenagers were killed on the beach itself, which means the creature came out of the water, at least partially. That, combined with the fact that it’s attacking in the shallows, removes a number of options.

Sea serpents are common enough in Threshold, but all of our native ones stick to the depths, except during breeding season. Even then, they historically stay clear of the islands with people. The ones who haven’t end up dead. Which created something of a natural evolution, I suppose.

It’s the transplants we have problems with. While the islands are the only places where portals exist, over the generations, some of the islands have descended beneath the waves. Our records are clear enough when it comes to the ones we’ve lost for one reason or another, but just because the island is inhabitable to nonaquatic people doesn’t mean their respective portals stop functioning. When monstrosities from the sea arrive, those are the portals they use.

If I feel pity for them, I remind myself that I have more responsibility to the citizens of Threshold than I do to some creature who’s lost its way. There’s no good method of returning it to the realm where it came from, and even if there were, that’s not what the C?n Annwn do. We hunt. We kill. End of story. It weighs on me, but I owe everything to them.

These thoughts do me no good. There’s no problem to solve here, for all that Evelyn would have me believe there is. She’s working an angle, and I have to remember that.

And I do … right up until I see Kit stride back onto deck. I motion nem over, even though I have no good reason to do so. Ne knows it, too. Kit grins and ambles over. “What’s up, Captain?”

I’m in danger of making a fool of myself, and I can’t seem to stop. “Did she get the clothing okay?”

If anything, Kit’s grin widens. “Of course. She oohed and aahed over all the pretties. I made sure to tell her to give her thanks to you, not anyone else.” Before I can come up with a response to that, ne gives me a finger wave and heads toward the stern.

I didn’t give her clothes so that she’d have a reason to seek me out or thank me. And yet I’m looking forward to being in her presence again all the same. I can’t get the memory of her in my arms out of my head. Her absence over the last twenty-four hours should’ve been enough to banish the worst of it, but it’s not the case. If anything, I crave her more.

This is a problem.

I’ll just add it to the list.