Twenty-One

TWENTY-ONE

Lamplight still glinted on the docks, reflecting in the glass of shop windows on the hill. West stayed close to me, his long strides hitting the wood planks beside mine. He’d said almost nothing since we left Azimuth House, but the air between us rang with his silence. He was angry. Furious, even.

I couldn’t blame him. He’d left the Narrows to come find me, and I’d trapped him in Holland’s net.

Clove had been enraged when I told him, too. Mostly because he was the one who’d have to deal with my father. He followed us through the narrow streets, his precious chest of coin still pinned beneath his arm. I hadn’t seen it leave his hands since Holland gave it to him.

My stomach was in knots as we stood at the entrance to the harbor and my heart jumped into my throat when the Marigold came into view.

She was beautiful, her honey-hued wood aglow in the morning light. The sea was clear and blue behind her, and the new sails were as white as fresh cream, rolled up neatly on the masts. More than once, I’d wondered if I’d ever see her again.

That same feeling I had each time I saw her at the barrier islands—deep relief—came over me, making my bottom lip tremble. When he realized that I’d stopped, West turned back, looking up at me from the bottom of the steps. His hair caught in the wind, and he tucked it behind his ears before he pulled the cap from his pocket and tugged it on.

I took up the skirts and followed him. The docks were bustling with inventory to be logged and helmsmen waiting for their approvals from Bastian’s harbor master. He stood at the mouth of the longest slip, bent over a table of parchments as I passed. The ledger he’d shown Holland was open, recording the ships that had come in through the night. In another hour, the logs would likely be sitting on Holland’s desk.

My steps faltered when a face I recognized was lit with the glow of a barrel fire. Calla had her head wrapped in a scarf, the muscles in her arms taking shape under her skin as she pried the lid off a crate with one hand. The other was still tucked into a sling from where I’d broken her fingers.

I searched the other docks for any sign of Koy, but I didn’t see him. He and everyone else on the Luna would be looking for work like the harbor master said, scraping together what coin they could until they got onto another crew or purchased passage back to the Narrows.

Ahead, the bow of the Marigold was dark except for a single lantern that flickered with a yellow flame. A slight silhouette was painted against the sky.

Willa.

She leaned over the railing, looking down at us. Her twisted locks were pulled up on top of her head like a coil of rope. I couldn’t see her face, but I could hear the long exhale that escaped her lips as she spotted us.

The ladder unrolled a moment later, and Clove climbed up first. West held it in place for me to take hold of the rungs. When he didn’t look at me, I squared my shoulders to him, waiting. “Are we all right?” I asked.

“We’re all right,” West said, meeting my eyes. But he was still cold.

I wished he would touch me. Ground me to the dock so the feeling of the restless sea inside me would calm. But there was a distance between us that hadn’t been there before. And I wasn’t sure how to close it.

I climbed the ladder and when I reached the top, Willa was standing before the helm, staring apprehensively at Clove. But he was entirely uninterested in her, finding a crate at the bow to sit and prop up his boots.

When she looked up at me, her face was twisted up, her mouth hanging open. “What are you wearing?”

I looked down at the frock, mortified, but before I could answer, a wide smile spread her lips. The scar on her cheek glistened white. I dropped over the railing and she threw her arms around me, holding me so tight that I could hardly breathe.

She let me go, leaning back to look at me. “It’s good to see you.”

I nodded in answer, sniffling, and she grabbed my hand, squeezing it. My eyes burned at the show of affection. I’d missed her. I’d missed all of them.

Footsteps pounded below and a moment later Paj was coming up the steps, Auster behind him. He was missing his shirt, his long, shining black hair spilling over his shoulders.

“Our bad luck charm is back!” Paj called to the open door of the helmsman’s quarters as he crossed the deck toward me. “And she’s wearing a skirt!” He clapped me on the back hard, and I stumbled forward into Auster’s arms. His bare skin was warm as I pressed a flushed cheek to his chest. He smelled like saltwater and sun.

Behind him, Hamish was glowering at Clove from where he stood in the breezeway. “What is he doing here?”

“Come for a cup of tea.” Clove winked at him.

Hamish tipped his chin up at me and then at West. “You’re late. Two days late.” The set of his mouth was grim.

“Things didn’t exactly go as planned,” West muttered.

“We heard about Zola,” Paj said. “People on the docks have been talking and yesterday someone came to tear apart the Luna.”

“Bastard got what was coming to him.” Willa huffed. “Where have you been?”

“You can tell us later.” Paj started for the helmsman’s quarters. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Willa nodded, moving toward the mainmast.

“Wait.” My hands clenched into fists inside the pockets of my jacket, and when I felt West’s eyes on me, I didn’t look up. I didn’t want to see his face when I said it.

But he cut me off, stepping forward to face the crew. “There’s something we have to do before we go back to Ceros.”

“West—” I grabbed hold of his arm but he pulled away, turning to Paj.

“Set course for Yuri’s Constellation.”

Each of the crew looked as confused as I was. “What?”

“Yuri’s Constellation?” Willa glanced between us. “What are you talking about?”

“West,” I lowered my voice, “don’t.”

“And what exactly are we doing in Yuri’s Constellation?” Hamish asked, with his best attempt at patience.

“We aren’t doing anything there. I am,” I answered. “It’s a dredging job. A one-time thing. When I’m done, I’ll find you in Ceros.”

“What’s the cut?” Hamish put his spectacles back on, comfortable as long as we were talking numbers.

I swallowed. “There isn’t one.”

“What’s going on, Fable?” Paj took a step toward me.

“As soon as I take care of this, I’ll be back in the Narrows. You can take my share of the Lark and—”

“Fable made a deal with Holland,” West’s voice rolled over the deck between us.

The confusion in the crew’s eyes instantly turned into suspicion.

“What deal?” Auster pressed.

“I’m going to find something for her.”

Paj scoffed. “Why?”

I ran a hand over my face. “Holland is…”

“She’s Isolde’s mother,” Clove finished, exasperated.

The four of them looked to West, but he was silent.

“Holland is your grandmother?” Hamish pulled the spectacles from his face. They dangled from his fingertips.

“I didn’t know until the night of the gala,” I said, staring at the deck. “She’s after Saint and I told her I’d find something for her if she left him alone.”

Another sudden, howling silence fell over the ship.

“You can’t be serious,” Paj rasped. “Is there a bastard from here to the Narrows you’re not related to?”

“No way are we taking on a job to save Saint’s neck,” Willa snapped.

“I agree,” Hamish echoed.

“I know.” It was exactly what I expected them to say. “That’s why I’m doing this on my own.”

“No, you’re not. And we’re not taking a vote,” West said. “Set course for Yuri’s Constellation.”

Every eye snapped up to him.

“West,” I whispered.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Willa almost laughed.

“We’re going to Yuri’s Constellation. We’ll do the dive and then go home.”

Paj pushed off the railing, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are you telling me we don’t have a say in this?”

“No. That’s not what he’s saying,” I said.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” West interrupted. “The Marigold is going to Yuri’s Constellation.”

“What are you doing?” I gaped at him.

“I’m giving orders. Anyone who doesn’t want to follow them can find passage back to the Narrows.”

The crew stared at him in disbelief.

“Do you have any idea what we’ve done to get here? To find you?” Willa spat. This time, she was talking to me. “And now you want to save the man who’s made our lives hell for the last two years?”

At the bow, Clove watched with an air of amusement. He crossed his arms over the chest in his lap, eyes jumping from West to the others.

“You still haven’t told us what we’re supposed to be dredging,” Auster said calmly. He looked as if he was the only one not ready to punch West in the face.

“Before my mother left Bastian, she stole something from Holland,” I said. “Midnight.”

Paj’s eyes went wide, but Willa’s narrowed.

Auster laughed, but it bled to silence when he met my eyes. “What, you’re serious?”

“It’s in Yuri’s Constellation. All we have to do is find it.”

“There is no we,” Paj growled. “Not in this.”

I bristled, taking a step back. But Paj didn’t blink.

“No one’s even seen it!” Hamish shrieked. “It’s probably not even real. No more than a story some drunk Saltblood bastard told at a tavern.”

“It’s real,” Clove said, his deep voice silencing them.

Hamish shook his head. “Even if it is, another piece of midnight hasn’t been dredged since it was unveiled by Holland.”

“My mother found it. So can I,” I said.

The familiar fire reignited in Willa’s eyes. “You’re insane. Both of you.”

“I want everything together by the end of the day. We shove off at dawn,” West said.

All four of them stared at him, furious. After another moment, he pushed off the mizzen, running one hand through his hair before he started for the breezeway. I watched him disappear into the helmsman’s quarters before I followed.

The light from the room crept through the open door and the floorboards creaked as I stepped inside. The familiar smell of West’s cabin poured into my lungs, and I wrapped my arms around myself, eyeing the string of adder stones hanging in the window.

“What was that?” I said.

West pulled a green rye glass from the drawer of his desk and reached up to the bulkhead, feeling down the length of it. The hem of his shirt came up, showing a sliver of bronze skin, and I bit the inside of my cheek.

His hand finally hit what he was looking for and pulled an amber bottle from the rafter. He uncorked it, filling the glass. “I’ve been having this dream,” he said. “Since Dern.”

I watched him pick up the glass and the uncomfortable silence stretched between us.

He shot the rye, swallowing hard. “About that night that we killed Crane.” He held the glass out to me.

I took it, wondering if that’s why he’d woken with a start this morning in Azimuth House.

He picked up the bottle, refilling the glass. “We’re standing on the deck in the moonlight and I pry up the lid of the crate.” He set the rye onto the desk, his jaw clenching. “But Crane’s not in it. You are.”

The cold pricked my skin, making me shiver, and the rye shook in the glass. I brought it to my lips and tipped my head back, draining it.

“You’re angry at me. Not them.”

He didn’t deny it.

“You can’t make them go to Yuri’s Constellation.”

“Yes, I can,” he said firmly. “I’m the helmsman of this ship. My name is on the deed.”

“That’s not how this crew works, West.”

He looked past me to the dark window. “It is now.”

The ache in my throat made it hard to swallow. He’d made up his mind the moment I told him about my deal with Holland. Nothing I said was going to change it now. “This isn’t right. You should take the Marigold back to the Narrows.”

“I’m not taking the Marigold anywhere unless you’re on it,” he said, and it looked as if he hated the words.

This is what he was talking about when he said we were cursed. West was willing to defy the crew if it meant he didn’t have to leave me in the Unnamed Sea. He was already paying the price for that day in Tempest Snare and that night in his cabin, when he told me he loved me.

We’d both be paying as long as we lived.