Once we have a plan in mind, I want to execute it immediately. I meant what I said to Corrick: I’d make a terrible spy. I don’t mind stealth and danger, but I’m not a good liar.
But Corrick steps out of the room to talk to Rocco, and when he returns, he tells me to wait.
“The crew is too anxious,” he says. “Rocco believes he had someone watching our rooms all night. We need to find out if those ships have drawn closer. We need Blakemore to lower his guard again.”
“How are we going to accomplish that?” I say.
While I button my vest, the prince glances at the porthole, which is just beginning to reveal the faint hint of a pink sky. “Why don’t you go offer to climb the rigging with him.”
There’s enough of an edge to the suggestion that I study him.
“You were jealous,” I say. “I was.”
“Are you still?”
His blue eyes are dark in the dim light from the lantern. “It’s more than jealousy now.”
I shiver at the warning in his voice. “Do you trust me?”
“Trusting you has never been a problem. I told Rocco to make sure one of the guards is nearby the entire time.”
That’s probably intended to make me feel better. It doesn’t. I fasten the last button, then give my vest a tug to straighten it. I finger-comb my hair and rebraid it loosely.
I peer at Corrick as he buckles his own jacket into place. “Does it ever bother you that the guards see everything?”
A line appears between his eyebrows. “How do you mean?”
I gesture at the door. “They saw me come in here. They know I never came out.”
“Tessa, I’ve had guards outside my door from the moment I first drew breath.” He takes my face in his hands and kisses me softly. “Moments of true privacy are rare and precious.”
I suppose there’s something to that, but I can’t keep the blush off my cheeks. “We … ah, we probably shouldn’t go up together. If you want Captain Blakemore to trust me.”
“I agree. Go ahead.” He lets go of my face, and I turn for the door.
All three guards are still on duty: Rocco stationed between my room and Corrick’s, Silas near the other end of the hallway, and Kilbourne at the bottom of the steps.
I wonder if they’ve all been on duty throughout the night.
“Tensions are high among the crew,” Rocco says. “Kilbourne will accompany you if you go above.”
Even though Corrick warned me, a ribbon of fear wraps around my spine. I thank Rocco, then turn for the steps.
When I reach the deck with Kilbourne at my back, the morning sky is darker than I expect, heavy with pink and purple clouds that obscure the sunrise. Wind blasts my cheeks, sending the sails and rigging to rattle. The water
seemed so calm yesterday, but today, the ocean is choppy, small waves slapping the hull from all directions, making it hard to walk evenly.
Off to our east, those two brigantine ships have drawn closer. I can make out the flag of Kandala now.
That ribbon of fear around my spine seems to tighten.
A flash of motion catches my eye, followed by the smack of boots on the deck just to my left.
I jump a mile, but it’s the captain. He must have jumped down from the rigging, because he’s a little red-cheeked and windblown, his light eyes just as stormy as the sky.
“Rian,” I say in surprise.
He gives me a nod. “Miss Cade.” Without another word, he moves away.
Oh. Well then.
That tightness in my chest goes nowhere.
After a moment, I follow him. He’s stopped near the railing, where the boom is tethered. Sea spray has collected on the deck, but he ignores it, unwinding the rope from the steel cleat. I watch his hands move, the motions tight and controlled.
I don’t know if he’s upset about the ships, or upset about Corrick, or upset about me—and not knowing is leaving me off-balance.
I try to be direct about it. “We’re back to formality, Captain Blakemore?”
“We probably should have maintained formality from the very beginning. Watch yourself.” He nods at the beam.
I step out of the way, but I follow him. “You’re upset with me.”
“I’m upset that Kandalan ships are drawing closer just as we’re going to enter the most difficult part of the ocean.” He follows the swinging beam, then grunts as he digs in his heels to stop at the next cleat, deftly whipping
the rope around the steel bar. “It’s hard enough to navigate this part. I don’t want to do it while fighting off two well- armed brigantines.”
“I don’t have anything to do with those ships,” I say.
He laughs under his breath, but not like anything is funny. He knots off the rope and then strides to the next.
I follow him again. “Don’t do that,” I say. “Don’t treat me like—”
He whirls so quickly that my breath catches, and then the boat is hit by a swell of water, knocking me into his chest like the first night I boarded the Dawn Chaser.
He catches me by the arms, and I can feel the warmth and strength in his hands through the loose muslin of my shirt. But he’s holding me a touch too tightly, and my heart skips.
“Don’t treat you like what?” he says.
My mouth is dry, and I can’t tell what’s driving his temper, whether it’s betrayal or anger. I don’t really like either option.
“Captain,” says Kilbourne. “Let her go.”
In the space between heartbeats, I think Rian isn’t going to obey. His grip is too tight, those storm clouds in his eyes too tumultuous.
But then he does. He releases my arms, then steps back, running a hand across his jaw. “You should return to your quarters, Miss Cade. Or Prince Corrick’s quarters. Whichever you find most suitable.”
Nothing even happened between me and Corrick, but my cheeks flame. I can’t help it. “Why are you acting like I betrayed you?” I demand. “On the day you invited us on board, you knew—you knew—”
“I knew you were involved with a man who has a reputation for treachery and violence,” he says. “I knew you were afraid to speak your mind. I knew—”
“I was not!”
He continues, heedless. “I knew you were determined to help the people of Kandala, risking your life to bring them medicine—which I find admirable. But I also know what it is to be tricked and manipulated, and—”
“I am not tricking and manipulating you!”
“I know,” he says. “I’m talking about what Prince Corrick has done to you.”
“He hasn’t done anything to me. You don’t know him at
all.”
“I don’t need to know him. I know men like him. If he wanted to help his people, he could have boarded this ship with determination and valor. Instead, he views every interaction as a battle that waits for a victor. I hoped Kandala and Ostriary could find a new path to favorable trade, but now I’m worried that I’m delivering a prince who will sow discord and start another war just because I’ve poked at his pride.”
“That is not true,” I seethe.
“Oh, it’s not?” Rian takes a step closer to me, and his voice drops. “He lost a battle to me last night,” he says. “So it comes as no surprise that he sought to win another by cajoling you into his bed.”
That’s it. I’m swinging a fist before I fully think about what I’m doing.
Rian’s hand shoots out and he catches my wrist. The motion is so quick that it steals my breath, especially since his grip is tight, and he doesn’t let me go.
“He invited me to his quarters because he was worried you were threatening me.”
“So he didn’t have to cajole you. He just had to frighten you.”
I jerk my hand out of his grip. My breathing is rapid. I wasn’t sure what to expect from him, but it wasn’t this.
“You know I’m right,” he says roughly. “I expected better of you, Miss Cade.”
He’s not right. He’s not.
But in so many ways, he is. So much of what he said echoes exactly what I said to Corrick in the shadows of his quarters.
Rian turns away. “Tell him that if those ships are coming for his capture, I’ll hand him over, and gladly.”
I’m barely listening to him. My heart is roaring in my ears. My breath is shuddering when I get to the steps, tears hot on my cheeks.
But then I realize that this is the perfect time.
It’s early. Most of the crew is asleep. Rian thinks I’m running right back into Corrick’s arms.
But I think of those ships, and I think of that room, and I think of how much we’ve risked already.
Instead of heading for our quarters, I turn the bend and head down the next set of steps.
Kilbourne moves to follow me, but I stop him. “You need to tell Corrick to go up on deck,” I say to him in a rushed whisper.
“But, Miss Tessa—”
“Now,” I say urgently. I swipe the tears off my cheeks. My chest is full of longing and betrayal and uncertainty, but now is the time for action. “Prince Corrick needs to go pick a fight with the captain. Right now.” He inhales, and I add, “Quickly, Kilbourne! Stay in the hallway before anyone in the crew sees me.”
Then I don’t wait. I hold my breath and I skip down the steps.
