AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mace inhales deeply, eyes drifting closedas he listens to me. I rest my hand on top of his, looking away from the sky to stare at his profile. At the man who grew from the boy I followed behind, the big brother who brushed me off when I fell, the man who held me while I cried when we found out about our parents. I look at him, and the realization hits me.
"I think I was always meant to serve Viola. And maybe my first task was bringing her to you."
Chapter 20
Viola
Banging on the door is the only warning I get before a keen eye peers through the circle on the door of my room. "Get up, freeloaders!"
Mace groans, "Jaz…" as he pulls the threadbare blanket over his head.
"Don't 'Jaz' me. Get up. It's time for chores."
"We paid for passage, Jaz," I say as I throw my legs over the bed. Mace snakes his arms around my naked waist, dragging me back into the sheets with him and peppering kisses down the back of my neck.
"Stay in bed," he grumbles against my heated flesh. "I'll make it worth your while."
"I don't care if you don't cause storms anymore, no one wants to hear how much you two fuck," Jaz says, jolting me out of the privacy bubble I thought we had fallen back into. "Chores first, dick later, Vi."
"They're never going to let up," I tell Mace, reluctantly climbing out of the bed and getting dressed. Feria had beautiful clothing, but most of the appeal of it was lost on me. However I did pick up a decorative chest wrap and a pair of flowy black pants that sit low on my hips. The wrap isblack with purple flowers embroidered in it and more feminine than anything I've ever worn, but I couldn't pass it up when I saw it.
My father believed in the beauty of flowers. I feel like I've lost sight of a lot of things my father taught me lately.
I don't want to explore the fact that it coincided with Himureal returning.
As I'm lacing up my boots, I notice Mace getting dressed in a pair of pants that stop at the knee and sandals.
"Sandals?" I say, gawking at his feet. "Sandals?"
"What's wrong with sandals?"
"You…" I stutter, unable to express just how strange it is to see Mace dressed in short pants and sandals. "I never thought I'd see the day. Or your toes."
"Stop it!" he chuckles, tossing a dirty shirt at me. "My toes are just fine."
"Your feet are massive," I remark, bending at the hips to peer at them.
"I'm not sure why you're surprised you've seen my -"
"Shut up fuckers!" Jaz shouts from outside the door. Mace and I exchange a tight glance before laughing hard.
"I'm sorry, forgot you were still out there," Mace says sheepishly. He swings the door open to an angry Jaz, and the tips of his ears and the back of his neck pinks up in embarrassment. Jaz stands with their feet spread and arms crossed, looking frustrated and fed up already. Their red hair is wet and slicked back and they are wearing a linen shirt the color of an old book withbillowy olive green trousers tucked into their slouchy brown boots.
"Let's just get a move on you two. Everyone pitches in."
We follow Jaz up the stairs and onto the deck of the ship, and my eyes widen at the skyline. The sun has barely risen, the sky still streaked with pinks and oranges. The sea breeze cools the already warm day, and the air is filled with the sounds of Jaz's crew as they go about their morning activities.
"The sun is barely up, Jaz," a gruff voice says behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I see ragged Morrow and Zeph climbing up the stairs and into the fresh air.
"Well, shit gets started early on a ship, I don't know what to tell you."
"Tell me we don't have to do this because we paid for passage," Tulip whines from a bench that I didn't see when I first came up. "Shouldn't I get a 'you almost died last time so you don't have to do chores' pass?"
"When did you get up here?" I ask her, peering around Jaz to get a better look at my friend. Her wild hair is wrapped up tightly and perched on top of her head and she wears the yellow jumpsuit I was in when I escaped Ytopie. "And who got the bloodstains out of that jumpsuit?"
Plume peeks around Tulip and smiles. "I did! There's a plant that does wonders with stains!"
"They both got up on the first knock, so they've been waiting on the lot of you," Jaz says as they knock the heel of their boot on the deck. "We've got a lot of shit to take care of day to day on a ship,and you lot are going to help." I start to speak and they shoot me a look. "And I don't want to hear fuck all about you paying for passage, Viola Mistflow, because I can and will remind everyone that you're only a God because you stole from me."
