Page 110 of Seaborn and the Seven Seas

I glanced around the room one last time at our crew. A pirate captain who was a god. A crown prince who had just taken flight with Selene. Minha, who fought like she’d been born with a blade. Jina, who’d survived everything the sea had thrown at her. Fraya, who despite her father’s doing, found the courage to stand up for herself. Two gods who owed us a debt. And me—a goddess who couldn’t feel her own power yet—about to walk into the Seelie queen’s territory to take back everything she’d stolen from all of us.

Either our plan would work, or this would be the end for us all.

Chapter Thirty-Four

The village had gone quiet. Minha and Jina had taken the far cots in the room The Priestess had offered us. Rowhan, Palto and Calroy slept in another cabin.

Fraya was asleep before her head touched the pillow. I envied how easily slumber came to her. Restless, I slipped outside.

The cool night air hit my face as I walked along the stone path until the lake appeared ahead. The lanterns along the water burned low, their reflections trembling across the surface. Somewhere a wind chime tinkled.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Calroy leaned against a tree trunk, arms crossed, the moonlight falling along his face.

“No,” I said.

He pushed off and came to stand beside me, close enough that his arm brushed mine. For a long moment neither of us spoke.

“Tell me.” I turned to look at him. “Everything you couldn’t.”

He inhaled a deep breath. “When I saw you at the auction block, I felt a tug,” He kicked a pebble into the water. “But the truth is, I wasn’t even certain it was you, my Yeri. I’d bought so many women over the years and set them free. It was the only thing I could do while I searched for you.” He took a moment to pause, as if to collect himself. “I was so unsettled that day I couldn’t think straight, and then the bidding moved too fast and I lost you to Russo.”

“Go on.” I kicked a stone the way he had, watching it skip across the water.

The corner of his mouth lifted. “I helped Minha first. She needed to get away from Zenito. Then I went looking for you. I found out which ship Russo had taken you on and followed. I tried not to get my hopes up. Even when the boarox bowed to you, something no creature does without reason. I told myself it meant nothing. I couldn’t afford to be wrong. My heart couldn’t take another round of torment.”

I put a hand on his arm, understanding his doubt, and his muscles eased.

“Every pirate wants gold.” He looked at me sideways. “I only ever wanted one thing worth stealing.”

“What would that be?”

“You. A heart that already knew mine.” The lines at his eyes crinkled when he grinned. “Don’t look so surprised, Little Star. I’ve always had excellent taste. I just had to wait to steal it back.”

I laughed, soft and a little broken. “When were you certain who I was?” I asked.

“When you took the pure stone from Mount Keal.” He drew it from his pocket, the one that held Rowhan’s soul. “When you asked me about the gods that night you entered my chamber.”

“You mean when you yanked me inside.” I knocked my shoulder to his.

“I wanted to be close to you.” He shook his head, chuckling. “And I also knew you wanted the same.”

Though I wouldn’t admit he was right, I smiled despite myself. “Everything you’ve been through, that must have been—”

“Unbearable.” His thumb traced my cheekbone. “Being close enough to tell you and having to swallow the words.” Tracing the bridge of my nose, then the line of my jaw, like he was relearning every part of my face. “Worse still, every time you looked at me like I was just a ruthless pirate who had no business being near you. Every time you trusted me a little more without knowing why.” His thumb stilled at the corner of my mouth, gently parting my lips. “And every time I almost let it slip and had to catch myself. Because if I told you, the condition of my rebirth would be broken. And I couldn’t risk losing you. Not after everything it took to find you.”

“You had a condition?” I blinked.

He lowered his hand. “Palto did me a favor, I suppose. My memories came back when I took to the sea and became a pirate at age fifteen. He had told me that I would at the sea. I didn’t know what he meant at that time. I also recalled his last words before I died, that I would remember who I was first, then I had to find you.”

I’d wondered what god of the afterlife had whispered to Calroy before he turned to ash and bone. I finally got my answer.

Anger and gratitude, impossible to separate. Calroy had lied to me—no, not lied, withheld information while I fell for a man I thought was just a pirate with too much swagger and not enough patience. And yet. He had done it to keep me safe, to keep some divine rule from tearing us apart. So I let it go. I would have done the same.

“You said I found you, twice. Once on the ship and once in the woods.”

“I know. I couldn’t help myself. Both times it just came out.”