Page 80 of Seaborn and the Seven Seas

When it was my turn, I swung one leg over the rail, found the first rung with my foot, and climbed down. The ladder swayed with every wave, and for one heart-stopping second my foot missed a rung before I caught myself.

“Got you.” Ranis’s hand closed around my arm, hauling me the last few feet into the boat as he wrapped his arms around me. “Careful, Star.”

“Thanks.” I said out of breath, but the kids smiling and giggling stopped me short.

A voice cut in from behind me, “There’s too many of you on this boat. Little Star goes with me.”

No one else called me Little Star. How did he appear behind me? Did he jump? That would be him showing off. No wonder the kids looked amazed. And so was I by the sight of him.

He wore a fine naval coat with gold buttons, a white shirt tucked in at the waist, dark pants fitted clean to his frame. Every inch of him looking exactly like the prince I suspected he was.

Gods, he was infuriatingly handsome. And I might have stared at him a bit longer than I should have. That smirk he wore so well beamed bright as the moonlight.

I would have said something about him being infuriating, especially since there was one seat left, clearly for me, but I let it go. Not in front of the kids.

“Can I go with you, Star?” Hope rose from her seat.

“Take her or I’m not getting on the next boat,” I said to Theron.

Theron lifted Hope, then me, into the boat beside ours, where Minha and Jina were already seated with some of the elders. My sisters gave me a funny look, glancing between Theron and me, then giggled to themselves.

Fraya pursed her lips and dipped the oar into the water.

I dropped onto the bench and looked back up at the ship towering above us, lantern light spilling from her deck, growing smaller with every push of the oar toward shore.

Jimin waved to the kids, blowing kisses at them. “I’ll miss you, my little pirates.”

The kids waved back, laughter bursting deep within their full bellies.

Theron’s arms flexed, muscles bulging as he rowed, the oar cutting clean through the water with each pull. The closer we got to the port, the brighter the candlelight seeped through the windows. Theron guided the boat alongside the dock and looped the rope around a mooring post, pulling it tight with a few tugs before reaching back to help the rest of us out.

Several large carriages waited at the port, and a short distance away fishermen sorted through their day’s catch, scales flashing bright under the lantern light. What did they catch in the darkness?

“Wait here.” Theron raised a palm, looking directly at me.

Theron approached the three drivers waiting by the carriages, handed them what I assumed were bags of coin, then we climbed into ours. Fraya managed the second one, and Ranis did the same for the last.

The carriage was bare-bones—hard wooden benches, a lantern swaying from the ceiling, the canvas sides flapping loose at the corners. But the three of them fit all of us, though cramped, shoulder to shoulder.

The carriage rocked on the bumpy roads like the ship on the waves, the wheels groaning with every uneven stone. I pressed my hand flat against the wall to steady myself, the seat creaking beneath me. Once in a while, I’d catch Theron, sitting across from me, looking at me with that unreadable expression, then he’d turn to glance out the window.

The city slid past the window—narrow streets climbing steep between buildings stacked close together, candlelight spilling gold from the windows.

Hope had fallen asleep against my shoulder somewhere along the way, and I didn’t have the heart to shift her even when my arm went numb.

The carriage slowed, then stopped, the wheels finally going still.

“We’re here,” Theron said, reaching for the door, then helping us out. Hope, rubbing her eyes, and I were last.

Warm light poured from every window of the two-story tavern, built from stone and timber. The low hum of voices and laughter spilled out each time the door swung open. A wooden sign creaked overhead, swinging slightly in the breeze, though I couldn’t make out what was painted on it in the dark.

“We’ll stop here for the night,” Theron said. “The kids need rest before we go any farther.” He turned to Fraya, Minha, Jina, and Ranis. “Go on inside, get yourselves a drink. I’ll find you once I’ve settled the children.”

Minha didn’t need telling twice, heading for the tavern door with Jina close behind. Ranis lingered a moment, glancing between Theron and me before he followed them in.

We made our way around to the back of the tavern, the noise of the main room fading behind us. We stepped on a narrow wooden staircase that clung to the building’s outer wall, leading up to a second-floor entrance lit by a lantern hung beside the door. We climbed single file, the steps creaking under our weight.

At the top, a woman waited for us, and I knew before she even spoke who she was.