17. Chapter 17

The wind ruffling through my hair sends a shiver down my spine, but the good kind. There is an air of excitement around the crew today. As dawn broke this morning, we got our first glimpse of our destination. And just in time for my birthday, too. According to Pete, anyway.

The small cluster of islands, known as the Caelum islands, is home to all the men and women on my crew and their families. Along with an assortment of rag-tag individuals who found our home more inviting and accepting than the outside world.

Everyone is excited to return home after a long, successful voyage. Along with the gin distillery, we filled our storage with much-needed provisions. From what Pete, Jack, and Drake told me, the population on the island is mostly self-sufficient. The cluster of islands hosts a wide variety of farms to feed the people, and the older men and women who stayed behind fish the closer waters.

Along with the wives, children, and elderly, Caelum is home to people from all walks of life. They have builders, doctors, cooks, artists, and obviously the requisite whores. They laughed at my dislike of the word, but no matter how I tried to explain to them about it being derogative in my world, they wouldn’t change their tune.

So instead of bringing the residents food, we’re bringing in materials, medicines, and such. And obviously the means to make their own gin.

“Alright, princess,” Drake whispers as he slips in behind me to wrap his arms around my waist. “We need to bring down the sails and drop anchor. We can’t go in any closer than this with the tide this low.”

A loud, shrill whistle rings through the air, and the crew looks toward us.

“Lower the sails and drop anchor men!”

A loud cheer moves across the ship as the men jump to follow my order. Watching them move has a grin widening on my face. I can get used to this.

We come to a slow stop, and the crew chat amongst themselves, telling each other what their first action on land will be or which girl they will go visit first.

As we wait for the tide to rise enough for us to slowly make our way to the cove where we can lay anchor, the nerves start building inside me. When I created the island, it was something in the abstract. I remember making a mental note to fill in more details later when Vixen and her crew made it there, but now I’m facing it and I’m terrified of what I’ll find.

“You know they’ll love you, temptress. They already do. You turned us from a group of people coexisting into a big family.” Pete’s grin is present, but his eyes are filled with the understanding that I’m close to freaking out.

“What if they realize I’m not me?”

I’ve asked this question so many times I’m surprised they don’t roll their eyes at me.

“What if they do, and they don’t care?” Pete returns with the same response he gives me each time. I can’t fathom the thought of them not caring that I’m an imposter.

“How? How could they not care?”

“My heart,” Jack scolds and knocks Drake aside so he can hold on to me. The grumpy pirate puts up a token fight, but he knows he’s been monopolizing my attention for the last few hours, so he rolls his eyes before mumbling something about getting our stuff together.

With my head leaning against Jack’s shoulder, I look up at his bearded jaw. After a beat, he turns his attention to me, granting me the pleasure of looking into his beautiful blue eyes.

“They won’t care because you love them even more than Vixen did.” His tone is firm, the delivery curt and no-nonsense. It’s pretty clear he won’t listen to any argument against his statement, so I opt to keep quiet and admire him instead.

His patience and steadfast reliability has made a lot of this much easier than it had any business being.

“You know I love you too, right?” The words are barely a whisper, the breeze carrying it away, but I know Jack heard me. His arms tighten around me, and his eyes soften even more.

“Yes, my heart. As I love you. Now stop fretting and enjoy the last few moments of peace. The tide is nearly where it needs to be.”

***

A cacophony of instruments fill the air with joyous music. The inhabitants of Caelum have a lot to celebrate, and they’re doing it in style. Large bonfires litter the beach where the partygoers have set up shop and revelers move from one fire to the next, sharing bottles of booze, stories of their time apart, and some of them even share a few kisses with their neighbors.

The villagers quickly took to the idea of a reverse birthday celebration, and everyone worked together to get a huge feast set up. All present ate their fill, children laughed and cheered at the exchange of random gifts and fun was had by all.

Now, it’s getting late, fires are dying down and children are asleep in their beds. But I’m not quite ready to call an end to the night. I’m not sure what it is, but something inside me feels unsettled, like I have some kind of unfinished business to take care of.

“What the fuck!” I cry out as I’m thrown over a shoulder. The action pulls me from my disquieting thoughts, and laughter rolls from deep within my chest when I realize it’s Pete.

“You were looking way too morbid, temptress. I think it’s time we go for a dip. Maybe my siren needs to get back into the ocean for a bit.”

My redhead walks down to the shore, where the small waves break over the sandy beach.

“Don’t you dare, Pete!”

“Well, now. Those were the wrong words, weren’t they?” Pete says, just as I realize the same thing. Daring him is like asking for something to happen. He speeds up and runs into the ocean at full speed, the water splashing up to meet us as his legs hit the water. The water splashes my face and the moment he’s deep enough, he dives in, submerging us both.

“You’re an ass!” I cry out amongst the laughter that won’t stop.

“Again with the donkey stuff.” Pete rolls his eyes, diving for me again before I can move too far away. “You know what, though?”

Shaking my head no, I wait for him to respond.

“You’re not feeling upset anymore.” A triumphant grin spreads across his face before he pulls me in for a kiss. With the moonlight shining down on us, and the waves softly swaying us from side to side I’m quickly lost in the moment.

The night is cool enough to not be too balmy, and the water is just the right temperature. Everything is just… perfect. But somehow I still can’t shake this feeling. Like an itch, I can’t quite place. However, I don’t want to ruin the evening for the men so I keep the smile plastered on my face when Pete pulls away from our kiss.

“Shall we go see what the other two are up to?” I venture and my handsome companion nods his agreement before lifting me up in a bridal hold to carry me out of the water. The uncomfortable clinging of linen and leather isn’t the best, but with what I have planned I won’t be wearing my clothes for long anyway.

“So what do you want for your birthday, temptress?”

I close my eyes and rest against his shoulder, letting the sound of the ocean carry away my worries and fears.

“I just want you to hold me. Hold me till I fall asleep, and don’t let me go.”

“Never.”