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I scrub my hand down my face, knowing I've lost this battle, and gesture silently for Jaz to continue. "Right then, Tulip and Plume you're on food prep. Go help the cook."
"Yes!" Tulip exclaims, jumping up. "I can handle some chopping. And I got Plume with me to heal my cuts if the waves get too rough."
"No blood in the stew!" Jaz shouts after them as they turn and head below deck to the galley. They turn on Morrow and Zeph and peer at both of the Summer fae, eyes narrowed. Eventually, they nod to themself as if they had made up their mind. "Zeph, you're gonna help the bosun. We've got some sails and rigging that could use some attention, and your fingers look nimble."
Zeph shrugs and trudges off in the direction Jaz pointed him, his eyes still glazed from sleep. Mace leans over to me and whispers, "Zeph's all thumbs, Jaz made the wrong choice there."
Jaz pretends not to hear him. "Morrow, go below deck and find Kira. She's brewing ale and could use some help." Morrow's face lights up as he darts off as if afraid to stick around and risk getting a worse job assignment. Jaz plants their hands on their hips, and the look they give me is all I need to know about what's coming up for Mace and me.
"What are we scrubbing, Jaz?"
"Everything," theysay with a laugh. "You two are the cleaning crew. Have fun!"
We watch them disappear below deck and listen to the crew's snickers as they man the masts and sails as we look around, dumbfounded.
Mace breaks the silence first. "So we're just cleaning? That's not too bad."
"It can't be that simple," I mutter, poking around until I find a couple of mops. I toss one to Mace and stare at the one in my hands, sucking on my teeth. "I wish I could make this thing mop on its own."
"Magic doesn't work like that," he says, rolling his eyes and leaning his elbow on the mop handle.
"Okay, Sandals, I know that."
"That better not become a thing."
The wind carries my laugh, and I feel lighter than I have in ages. Being here, on the open sea, with all of the people I care about, has lifted a weight from my shoulders. Shadow wraps around my ankle, having crawled out of a shadow nearby the moment my thoughts went to the ones I care about.
I guess my magic includes the snake in that group.
"But why can't we use magic?" I say, propping my broom up. With little thought I bring water to the deck, a layer of it covering the deck. Before I have the chance to do anything, a crew member with hair so long he can nearly tuck it into his pants splashes down, nearly falling on his ass. He glowers at me as he gestures at his wet clothes.
"What in theworld? Why is there so much water on the deck?"
"We're cleaning it," I tell him, crossing my arms and squaring up in front of him.
"How do you plan to get all this water off, Shadowweaver?"
My thoughts didn't get that far, and it's clear Mace knew this was coming, his face tight with restrained laughter. The crew mate, whose name I suddenly remember is Boris, sighs and shakes his head. "Let me put you out of your misery. You're going to have to dry it the best you can and push the rest overboard. Quickly, because this is a slip hazard." He stomps off, grumbling to himself under his breath, and I am sure it's something derogatory, but who can blame him at this point?
Mace and I stand shoulder to shoulder, looking at the mess I made. "Numen, your use of non-offensive magic is nearly nonexistent. What is your plan here?"
"Now would be a great time to have Spring magic."
"And yet you don't. So consider this a chance to flex your magical muscles." He points at the water on the desk that moves with every slight motion of the ship. "We need to get rid of this quickly. What can we do to do that?"
"Fire can make it evaporate," I tell him.
"And it can light the fucking ship on fire, Viola."
"Minor detail."
"Try again." His voice has a soft laugh under the surface and I wrack my brain for other ways I can use my magic to achieve our goals.
"What aboutLight? If I combine Fire with Light, could that keep the Fire from lighting the ship on fire?" I try to picture the magic in my mind, what a fireball would look like encased in Light. "That will work," I say, without giving Mace a chance to answer. I feel his hand press on my lower back as I feel the two Summer magics twist together inside me, manifesting in a flaming ball of light that floats over the deck.
"You made a fucking sun," Mace says breathlessly. "A miniature sun."
"Huh, I did, didn't I?" I know I'm cocky, it's apparent in my voice, but I have every right to be. This was a great idea, and now I can say I've all but held the sun in my hands.
