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The water is startlingly clear out here. Bright fish in reds and blues and yellows swim in the shallows as we pass by more isles along the way. They’re barren plots of sand without more thana palm tree or two sprouting up. We’ve passed nothing yet containing a freshwater source.
Today I find myself observing the crew at their chores. Radita walks around, checking the rigging, making sure the new fixes hold. Some of the gals swab the deck. Others drape down on the outside of the ship, suspended by ropes to pick off barnacles and other unwanted creatures trying to hitch a ride.
The temperature has warmed even more, making us thirstier with the new rationing. The girls wear their sleeves rolled up and their hair up and off their necks.
Riden is up in the rigging, fiddling with the sails. He’s barefoot, shirtless, and he’s gone a few days without shaving.
Holy hell.
I’m staring. I know it, but I can’t seem to stop.
“I could get used to warm weather,” Niridia says from next to me. “Won’t exactly make everyone smell nice, but the view is vastly improved.”
I should have a clever response, but all I can manage is “Aye.”
We stare a few beats longer, until he’s about to turn around and we’ll be caught for sure.
“What’s going on there?” Niridia asks.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, why don’t I see him waltzing out of your quarters every morning with a spring in his step?”
I laugh. “Because there isnothinggoing on there.”
“Why not?”
I dare a glance back up at him, watch the purposeful way he moves, watch his muscles tense as he pulls on a line. “He can’t handle what I can do. My abilities terrify him.”
“Any person with sense is terrified by what you can do. That doesn’t mean we don’t all love you.”
“Thanks, but it’s different with him. He has a history with people trying to control him. The fact that I can literally make him do things takes his mind back to a darker time.”
“He’ll get over it,” Niridia says with a certainty that surprises me.
“How do you know?”
“Because he’s not an idiot.”
I take a deep breath. “I made things worse.”
“What did you do?”
“The few times that I’ve been able to control myself underwater—it’s always been because of Riden. I wanted to get a better handle on my abilities, so I asked him to help me. I asked him to make himself vulnerable like that over and over again.”
“And he saidno?” she asks in astonishment.
“Of course he did. I shouldn’t have asked it of him. It was wrong—”
“No, Alosa. What’s wrong is you not trying to do everything in your power to protect your crew. You did the right thing. He’ll see that it’s right, too.”
“There’s no way he’ll come around.”
“Well, not on his own,” she says. “Men can be so thick sometimes. They need help every once in a while.”
I smile. I’d said as much to Riden’s face, but when Niridia starts walking off, the smile drops. “What are you doing?”
“Helping.”
