Page 21 of Seaborn and the Seven Seas

“The sea monster.” Jina’s voice was lost to the wind and the sound of chaos.

“It doesn’t want us. Don’t worry.” I didn’t know how I knew, but I did.

I grabbed Jina while holding on to the edge, finding the right moment to jump.

A second spear whooshed overhead, then a wet crack as it drove through the center of the arm wrapped around the bow. A sound rose from beneath the water, older and deeper than a scream. The arm convulsed, splintering the railing where it gripped—blue blood trailing into the water where the spear had pierced—then recoiled back into the water taking the spear with it.

The same blue as mine. I didn’t have time to think about what that meant. Perhaps nothing at all.

The ship swung hard in the opposite direction, and the sea came over the railing in a sheet, taking my feet out from under me. I went down hard on the slick deck, Jina’s hand keeping us connected. Water filled my mouth and I spit out as I stood upright.

“We’re jumping,” I said.

I had no idea if this was the right decision. The ocean was dark and the oclego was somewhere beneath the surface. I had no plan beyond the next ten seconds, but Jina and I couldn’t stay here.

Whatever waited in that water was at least a choice I was making. Russo was not a choice. The empty oyster shells, the cold porridge, and his hand at my throat—none of that had ever been a choice.

This was.

I pulled Jina toward the railing. Before I got the chance to throw us both over, arms wrapped around me from behind and wrenched me back, along with Jina. I fought with everything I had, but there were two of them. The deck was tilting and my footing gave way beneath me.

I wrenched my dagger free, only for the man holding me to knock it from my hand. No!

“You don’t throw yourself overboard. You do it on my terms.” Russo’s words were the last thing I heard before his fist connected hard with the side of my face.

The pain reeled through me before darkness took me under.

Chapter Eight

Cold seeped through my bones before my eyes opened. I pushed up, my arms shaking with the effort. My jaw ached where Russo had hit me. My clothes were stiff with dried salt, clinging to my skin like a second layer.

Hay and animal smell filled my lungs. Pale light bled through the cracks in the boards overhead. A barn. How did I get here?

Jina was beside me, still asleep, her breathing slow and even. Ranis sat against the far wall, knees drawn up, watching us.

“You’re awake.” He said it like he’d been waiting a long time.

“What happened?” My voice came out rougher than I expected.

He exhaled. “When the oclego released its hold, the captain docked the ship to the nearest port to fix damages. His men loaded you onto a wagon.”

“And we’re in a barn while he’s warm in a tavern somewhere,” I scoffed. The bitterness came out sharper than I intended. “How long was I out?”

“Since yesterday. It’s late morning now.”

“Why are you here, Ranis?”

I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. But I didn’t know what to say to someone being kind without a reason.

He picked up a piece of straw, face flushed, not meeting my gaze. “His crew is dishonest. They sometimes do things to women without their consent.” He turned the straw over in his fingers. “I told the captain I’d keep watch so he wouldn’t send anyone else.”

I had underestimated him. Every interaction on that ship I had read him as compliant, weak, someone caught between loyalty and guilt. But this boy sitting on a cold barn floor through the night to keep two women safe, I hadn’t expected from anyone on that ship.

There were good people. You just had to be lucky enough to find them.

“Thank you. I hope one day I can repay you.”

He finally looked up and reached into his shirt and held out my shell dagger carefully, two fingers wrapped around the handle, keeping well clear of the blade. “I picked it up off the floor during the chaos. Thought you might want it back.”