Page 125 of Fallen Stars

“Are all pirates so arrogant?”

“Only the best,” he replied, smirking.

“I find…peace up here. Something I can’t say I’ve felt in a long time,” Oceanne admitted.

Adrian nodded, though he knew she couldn’t see him.

“I’ve felt trapped Below before,” he admitted. “But now, I have the whole world to roam should I wish it.”

“Where would you go?” Oceanne whispered, almost longingly, Adrian thought.

“Well, the rainforests of Verde first. A few members of our crew are Verdan, and they say it’s a paradise. The moment you enter, the world falls away, no sound outside entering through the thicket of trees, no scent save for the fragrant flowers that bloom in there. And apparently, the trees can talk.”

“I wonder what stories they’d tell,” Oceanne replied.

Adrian settled back with the stew, still piping hot. “I wonder,” he mused. “So yes, that’s where I’d go. You?”

There was a long pause. “I like the sound of Verde too. More animals and less people would suit me just fine.”

Adrian chuckled. “Verde then. If you stay by this ship, perhaps I’ll take you.”

Before Oceanne could reply, he heard the unmistakeable sound of a stomach rumbling. He narrowed his eyes, rising.

“Have you eaten?”

“No,” came the reply.

Adrian tutted, looking at his bowl. “Well, we can’t have that. Not in the presence of such a good cook, anyway.”

“You cook? I thought you were a captain.”

“Are the two mutually exclusive?”

“It’s just…people in power tend to make others do the work.”

“Not me,” Adrian replied. “I love cooking. It soothes me. Here,” he said, manoeuvring the crab cage closer. He opened it and slotted the bowl in carefully. “You can have my supper.”

“Oh no—”

“Oceanne, you will eat. It’s that or I clamber over the side and force-feed you myself.”

He heard a small huff. Sweet.

“What is it?” Oceanne’s voice sounded filled with awe.

“My famous fish stew.”

Oh shit, was that cannibalism? Would the mermaid be completely affronted and never speak to him again? He warred with himself as he waited for her to reply.

“Sounds delicious.”

“Oh, thank gods,” he breathed, pulling the ropes so the crate began to creak down to her. “I didn’t know if it was frowned upon for your kind to eat fish.”

He heard a loud laugh and startled. Her laugh… It felt like sunlight dancing upon waves.

“We have a varied diet,” she drawled, and he settled back onto the net, watching the stars as the rope levered down with her plate. He heard the scrape as she pulled it out, the sound of surprise as she smelled it, and finally a moan as she took a bite.

“This isdelicious.” She moaned again, and to Adrian’s surprise he felt heat begin to thrum through him. The sweet clarity of her voice as she moaned made him begin to think of sinful things.

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