There wasn’t much more to say. Climbing forward, I stood with my hand resting on Cormorant’s mast. Now that the danger was over, my whole body shook. I closed my eyes.
God of my father. God of my ancestors. Carry the Emparchess on your current. Help us. Help us. Help us.
When all was quiet except for the sprinkling rain, I strained outward with my whole being. The world became the space between my breaths. I listened so hard I thought the blood vessels in my ears might burst.
And heard—
Nothing. Rainwater dripped from the leaves, and a fish flipped over on the surface of the pond with a soft plop. Unseen creatures splashed along the bank. If this was the language of small things, it wasn’t something I could understand.
Eight generations of Oresteias were favored by the river god, so why not me? Was it something I’d done? A tear squeezed out of my eye to spill hotly on my arm.
Back inside the cabin I changed into dry clothes, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders. Rain battered the windows. For the first time since my fingers closed around that blasted letter of marque, I felt truly hopeless.
The curtain dividing Pa’s bunk from the rest of the cabin was pulled all the way across. Fee fixed a mug of tea with a dash of brandy and knocked on the beam next to the curtain. Tilting her head to one side, she chirped.
Markos didn’t answer.
I propped my head up, watching the tea grow cold on the table. I uncorked the brandy bottle and took a chug. My throat burned, but the heat was only superficial. It did nothing to thaw the chill in my heart. Fee slipped up the steps to go sit in the rain, leaving me alone. Frogmen aren’t bothered by being wet the way human people are.
The clock had ticked almost to midnight when the canvas curtain slammed across, rattling its rings. I jumped at the sound.
Markos slid into the bench across from me, a bundle tucked under his arm. Noting his red-rimmed eyes and clenched jaw, a wary fear crept through me. Something about him put me in mind of a rope stretched taut. Sooner or later, everything meets its snapping point.
“I just wanted to thank you for conveying me this far.” He took a ragged breath. “I’m leaving. For Casteria. Tonight.”
I snorted. “What are you going to do, wade there?” I rubbed my aching temples. “What’s so important about Casteria?”
He was quiet for a moment. “If I were to tell you, would you consider taking me there?”
“No.”
“What if someone’s life depended on it?” He added, “Not mine.”
I bristled at that. “What do you mean, ‘Not mine’? Do you think I would let you die, just because I don’t like you?”
“I don’t think that,” he said quickly.
“Yes, you do.” I was determined not to let him see how his words had hurt me. “Or you wouldn’t have felt you had to say it.”
It was true I hadn’t been very nice to him, but I was still responsible for him. He didn’t know the riverlands, and he wasn’t good at—well, anything. If he left Cormorant, he’d likely end up lost in the marshes. Or killed.
“What is this anyway?” I seized the bundle, dragging it across the table. He reached out to stop me, but I was too fast. I flicked the rope that bound it together, and the knot fell apart. “That’s not even a real knot.”
I unrolled the bundle, revealing two shirts, a loaf of bread, and Pa’s flintlock pistol.
My mouth fell open. “How dare you steal from us?”
“I—I’ll reimburse you, of course,” he stammered. “For these things, and for—for the oilskin coat.”
I stared incredulously at him. “You can’t take the oilskin coat.”
“It’s raining.”
My throat tightened. “You think I care about this—this stuff?” I swept the bundle onto the floor. “What about my father? How can you be so selfish—”
“I’m the one being selfish?” he roared, lunging to his feet. “They burned my mother alive!”
I was certain he could hear the rapid thump of my heartbeat. “Your parents are dead.” My voice was suddenly thick. “My pa isn’t. I made a promise. I’m taking you to Valonikos.”
He loomed over me. “So that’s it, then.” Muscles stood out in his hands as he gripped the table. “You don’t intend to let me leave.”
An uneasy feeling skittered through me. Tension breathed in the air between us. I swallowed. “No.”
We both dove for the gun at once.
He beat me to it, yanking it out of my reach. “I told you I need to get to Casteria,” he panted as he scrambled to his feet. “Perhaps you’ll take me seriously now.”
I took a step back. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of green on the cabin stairs.
Markos reacted immediately, pointing the pistol at my head. His blue eyes were like ice. “Sorry, Fee. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, but you’d better keep out of this.” I inhaled, my breath a strangled gasp, as he stepped toward me. “Or I will have to shoot her.”
Coming that close was a mistake. I kicked him between the legs. He grunted, grabbing himself with one hand. I seized the barrel of the pistol, jerking it away. He made an off-balance pass at the gun and missed, hitting me hard in the face.
Reeling back, I slammed into the sideboard.
Markos lunged after me, but I twisted to the side. The latches rattled as he hit the lockers. I sidestepped across the cabin, putting the table between us. Snarling, he advanced on me again, only to be brought up short by Fee’s knife, its point hovering between his ribs.
She shot Markos a reproachful look. It was the same one she gave me when she was disappointed in me.
I wiped blood from my lip. “Nice try.” My breath was coming hard.
His eyes widened in shock at the sight of the blood. I supposed he’d never hit a girl before. Too ungentlemanly.
He inhaled through his teeth. “A man of honor wouldn’t do that,” he muttered, adjusting his trousers. “It wasn’t a fair move.”
“Ayah?” I glanced at Fee. “Well, I try never to get into a fair fight.” And I was not a man of honor. Not even close. I swung the flintlock open. “The gun’s not loaded. And there’s a safety lever, which means even if it were loaded, it can’t be fired.”
His chest heaved. “Is there anything I can say that will convince you to take me to Casteria?”
“Yes,” I said, my throat knotting up. “Tell me the truth.”
“Caroline, please.” A strange ripple of surprise went through me. It was the first time he’d ever called me by my name, his accent rolling the r in a way that made it different from how everyone else said it. “What is it you want most in all the world?” he whispered, studying my face. “Is it coin? Your own ship? I’ll give you anything.”
I swallowed hard. “The. Truth.”
Fee cocked her head, chirping encouragingly at him.
Markos’s eyes met mine. He took a deep breath.