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I’ll work on my personality alright, and I’ll use it to sink the captain right along with his ship.

Chapter

Eight

Ifinish braiding my hair as another strike of lightning fills the sky outside, like an arrow of light shooting across the world. Storms have always sent a trickle of awareness down my spine, and it’s no different today. The bad weather hasn’t changed since I woke up. I lean back on the deck steps, halfway between the covered main deck and the open-air deck. The steps are damp and smell like the sea as crew carry their bags up to the deck, some casting a look at me, but most of the men pretend I don’t exist. I figure the captain has paid or scared them enough to look the other way when it comes to me. The storm rages outside like we aren’t going to hit land at any moment. The angry rain patters and trickles down the steps one by one as I watch. “Stormy day today, all gray.”

“That rhymed,” I quip to Tracker, who comes down the stairs, shaking his head like a dog, and I frown at him as water sprays on me from his hair.

“The weather doesn’t mean you’re getting out of training with me this morning. If this is your hiding place, I’m getting concerned about you.” He leans against the other side of the stairs. “Considering you haven’t improved much, I think we’ll leave training today. We’ll be landing soon, and it’s risky to have you up on deck while the men leave.”

“Morning, both of you.” Freckles jogs up the steps. “Neither of you were at breakfast, so I brought you some.” She hands us both some of the pastries. I’ve learned that there are two cooks, Winter and Summer, and they both can’t speak. As sure as Noctaris rules the moon, they do not like guests in their kitchen, and Freckles told me they are harmless enough.

“Thank you, Freckles.” He nods at her, and I copy the thanks. “Chaos was looking for you earlier. You’ll find him by the wheel.”

“Oh, right.” She looks confused. “He’s never in a good mood when there is a storm. He can’t hear everything with the rain.” Good to know. She runs up the steps and out into the storm, pulling up her cloak at the last minute.

We eat in silence until I have to ask. “Freckles tells me you can feel and track movements through the sea. Does that work on land?”

“No.” He looks uncomfortable at my question. “My power is limited to the sea where I was born. I can’t track anything on land, and I don’t prefer to be on it. I almost feel weak and⁠—”

“Mortal?” I end his sentence, which was beginning to sound like an insult. “What’s that like? To have magic?”

“It’s quite like having a map drawn over every inch of your pretty skin.” He arches an eyebrow and I smile at him. He is pretty for a guy, not in a rugged sense, but there is something easy about Tracker that makes me want to smile his way. The way he looks at me right now makes me wonder if he is thinking the same thing.

“Tracker, you’re needed above deck.” Draven’s growl makes us both jump, and I nearly fall off the step.

Draven’s eyes are fixed on Tracker, who looks down first. “Of course, Captain.” Tracker nods to me before going back up and into the rain.

Silence echoes between us and I’m not sure what to make of what just happened. He looks angry as he leans against the wall, hands slid into his trouser pockets. “You’re not leaving the ship. Sleeping with Tracker isn’t going to make him suddenly break my command for you.”

I climb to my feet. Thunder echoes outside, clanging across the sky. “You sound jealous, Captain.” I walk down the steps towards him. “I’m not running from you or begging anyone to let me off the ship. I’m certainly not sleeping with anyone on this ship.”

“Technically, you sleep with me every damn night, Map.” He straightens, a challenging glint in his eyes. “But good, you’ve finally learned your lesson.”

Every damn morning, I wake up in his bed, but he’s never there, and it’s easier to pretend he doesn’t sleep next to me in the bed than admit he does. Every night, I go down to the bottom floor of the ship and go to sleep in a random crate, making sure to hide myself in blankets or straw. Sometimes Mellyn’s there singing to himself. His words are so quiet I can’t even hear them most nights. But somehow Draven comes and finds me every night, doesn’t wake me, and puts me in his bed. I really, really hate that I’m a heavy sleeper.

I taunt him. “I’m nothing but agreeable.”

He laughs low. “I don’t think I’ve seen you agreeable to anything, Map, and I like it that⁠—”

A scream erupts out of my mouth as I grab my burning shoulder. It feels like it’s on fire. Ren’s there in a second, right before my legs give out, and he catches me, holding me to his chest as I cry out in pain and the burning doesn’t stop. The world spins and turns, his soft words in my ear. “It will pass, Map. Focus on how much you hate me. Focus on me and not the pain.” He carries me straight back to his room and gently sits me on the bed. I sway a little bit, but the pain is fading.

“What happened?” I whisper, tentatively touching my shoulder.

Draven tilts my chin up with his hand. “The map is changing and glowing. I can see the glow even from underneath your top.” Well, that’s just great. “Can you trust me to look?”

“I am not taking my top off for you,” I snap, my face burning red. “Get Freckles in here and she can look.”

He rubs his face in frustration. “She won’t know what she’s looking at. I’m the one that studies maps, books, the world; therefore, I need to see. I won’t touch you.” He waves at the bed. “I promise it. I’d wager that I’ll only touch you when you beg me to.”

I arch an eyebrow. “That will never happen.”

“It will. You hate me, right?” He steps closer and leans into me. My breath hitches and he smirks, looking at my lips for a second as he grabs a blanket from my side and straightens. “Hate is an obsession, Map, and your obsession will land you in my bed for an entirely other reason at some point.” He hands me the blanket. “Now, I need to see the map.”

Trust him? I don’t think the arrogant bastard has ever had a woman not want him. I’ll admit, to look at, he has it all. Tall, muscular, strong, and handsome. It’s more than that though, it’s something about him that drags you closer, and it’s alluring. I’m never letting myself go there, but the fact he is thinking about it? Well, that I am going to use to my advantage. This will make him think I trust him. I nod, taking the offered blanket, and he looks surprised, but he turns around. Ren doesn’t move as I pull the shirt over my head and wrap the blanket around my breasts to cover up. “Turn then.”

I look in awe at the upper part of my arm where I can see how the map has changed a lot. It’s like looking through a magnifying glass, which now shows Havenward Island in full, and a path leading from it goes to my shoulder and some way down my back. It’s all faintly glowing blue, fading slowly.