Page 29 of Seaborn and the Seven Seas

I couldn’t look away. Something in my chest eased and ached in the same breath, happiness and grief with no reason, like the stars were trying to tell me something I’d forgotten.

But for the first time I let out a full breath. For the first time I’d known peace.

My thoughts went back to Nam and my sisters I’d left behind. I wanted them to know what it felt like to be free. To stand on a deck like this one, wind in their faces, no guard at their backs, no quota of pearls to fill by evening. Just the open sea and the freedom of choice.

“I can’t believe Captain Russo is dead.” Ranis gripped the railing, a grin lighting his face. “I’m free. I’m properly free from that bastard.”

“Nothing is free.” Theron’s voice came from above.

He stood on the upper deck peering down at us, hair swept back from the wind. No coat and no hat. He could look like a being out of a beautiful dream. Except he wasn’t when he opened his mouth.

“What do you mean?” Jina blinked up at him, strands of hair dancing across her delicate face from the wind.

“Exactly what I said.” He flicked dust off his tunic and stared down at Ranis. “You most of all should know what I mean. Life is a debt you spend your whole life repaying. The sooner you accept that, the less it stings.”

Ranis’s grin faded. He looked down at his hands still on the railing, the easy joy of a moment ago gone.

“That’s a terrible thing to say,” Jina said softly.

“It’s the truth.” Theron’s eyes moved from Ranis to her without apology.

“Maybe.” I crossed my arms. “Or maybe some people have already paid more than their share and are owed the rest.”

Something shifted in his expression. Not quite surprise, but close enough.

“Is that so?” A note of humor in his voice I didn’t appreciate.

“It is. So, what is it you think we owe you, Theron?” I put some punch behind his name.

His sharp eyes dropped to mine and stayed there a beat too long. “You two.” He jerked his chin at Jina and Ranis without looking at them. “Leave us. We have business to discuss.”

I gave Jina a small nod. She hesitated, then took Ranis by the arm and steered him toward the lower deck. Ranis went without protest, though he threw one look back over his shoulder at me before disappearing below.

The deck fell quiet, despite the few crew members swiping the boards with mops, some others laughing, chatting, and drinking on the upper deck. Just the wind and the water and the creak of the hull.

I faced forward to the open sea, fingers gripping the railing, and waited.

The thud of his boots against the wood cut sharp through the quiet. He had leapt off from the upper deck and landed beside me.

Show-off.

I didn’t look at him. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction that I was impressed.

“Did you have to jump?”

“Would you have preferred I walked down?”

“I would have preferred you stayed where you were.”

“The dagger.” He held out a hand. “Now.”

I drew it and laid the flat of the blade against his throat instead of his palm.

He looked down at it, then at me, one eyebrow lifting.

“When we reach shore,” I said, jaw clenched. “Not before.”

“That’s not how bargaining works.” He didn’t move, didn’t reach for it. “You’re supposed to hand over the thing you’re bargaining with.”