Page 96 of Stilettos & Secrets on the 7 Seas

“Being locked up has become rather annoying,” I said to the full moon. The moon responded by painting the water with a pearly topcoat, a reminder I only had a few more days to fix everything.

I scanned the dark for Vane’s ship. We weren’t sailing at top speed, more of a casual coast. Vane’s sloop was smaller, faster. I hoped it would catch us by morning. Ace and Marco were still on board and I wasn’t leaving without them.

Of course, I’d have to gain access to Vane’s cabin and steal Marco’s key and Lidiya’s map. I was sure it held the answer to the location of the King’s key.

“Lots of luck getting my hands on those all by myself.” If only I could convince Sasha to help me. Vane didn’t know she wasn’t a clueless cabin boy with bushy brows and a bad attitude.

Seeing no ship-shaped shadows in hot pursuit, I pushed away from the window and removed my dress.

“So many things to fix.” Was it even possible? I guessed Max was lateral jumping on instinct. He didn’t know how he accomplished such a feat. And Rowan, having been by his side for so long, had acclimated to the jumps. Now I understood why the crew called theSea Stormthe ghost ship. They thought their captain was cursed. If they spoke of it, they could be cursed too. The men held some credibility as the crew of the ghost ship.

TheSea Stormsailed silently into the night. From the weariness on Max’s face before he ordered me imprisoned, I assumed he was lights-out in his quarters while a skeleton crew manned the ship. I recognized the dark circles under Max’s eyes and the inability to complete a sentence. I’d had the same results in my first year of time traveling. The fatigue was incapacitating.

It was the perfect time for Caiyan to break out of the cell, but he wouldn’t because he was babysitting Mortas.

Keep your enemies close, lassie.

Everyone wanted to find the lost Spanish treasure. Only a few wanted the bigger prize, and we needed all the pieces of the map to find it.

* * *

I satat the washbasin and removed my braid. “Are we really this close to finding the King’s key?” I asked myself in the mottled reflection. “The key we’d been looking for since Aint Elma died? The key she died protecting.”

I stifled a yawn. I needed sleep. It had been a busy first full day. I’d lied my way on theSea Storm, found Marco and Sasha, convinced an entire fleet of pirates I had special visions, discovered a new time traveler and unearthed a wad of secrets that could fill up Pandora’s box.

I tossed and turned in my swinging bed. I pulled a shirt on over my shift and picked the lock on the door. I’d sneak out and find Caiyan.

“Where ya think yer goin’ witch?” Shrug pointed his rump rifle at me and forced me back inside. Didn’t the guy ever sleep? Possibly, his own stench kept him standing upright. Too stiff from grease and grime to bend. At least he’d found some things to wear. I’d tossed the clothes I’d stolen from him overboard.

Back in my bed, I studied the planks above me. My bed creaked as I swayed back and forth. I had to speak with Max and Rowan. There was no telling what lies Mortas would cobble to turn them against us.

Mentally preparing for the day ahead, my inner voice took out her scratch pad and dipped her quill in the inkpot. I needed to add a few things to my save Marco list, like get the fuck ready to battle Mortas, locate theRanger, get Marco and Ace on board theSea Storm, find Sasha, get the eye, find the treasure, get the King’s key, make peace with Rowan, secure Max’s rank as captain, save Marco from the noose, find Marco’s key, return home with all my favorite guys, and explain to my mother that my engagement to Caiyan was a ruse. This was exhausting.

My brain wouldn’t shut down and let me sleep. I tumbled out of my bed swing. After some mild cussing, I lit a candle and browsed the books on the shelves. Someone liked to read. I chose one and settled at the desk. It was odd reading books typeset by hand. The words weren’t perfect like in the books at home, and they were small and difficult to read by candlelight. I put the book aside.

A feather quill and brass ink pot sat on the desk. I ought to make a real to-do list. Get my thoughts in order. I pulled open the desk drawer and searched for paper, but the drawer stopped halfway, hanging on something. Reaching my fingers to the back, I felt something hard. A chain hung in the drawer. I yanked, and an egg-shaped metal object fell into my palm. I worked it free and stared down at a silver locket.

Inside was a painted portrait of a woman. She was beautiful, especially for this time when many women had lost teeth or had pockmarks from disease. Was this Max’s mom? I didn’t think so. She lacked any resemblance to Rogue, Sasha, or Fredericka.

I thought I knew who this cabin belonged to and the owner of the locket. It also answered why Max told me Rowan disappeared for stretches of time.

Rowan was in love. Hewasthe link to Alexander Hamilton.

I smiled and hugged the locket to my chest. No wonder he grunted all the time. He acted the same way Gertie accused me of acting when Caiyan was in the wind.

Now his words made sense. If he could gain the treasure, he could quit going to sea. Quit smuggling. And if my timeline was correct, he’d have the money he needed to support the family with the lady in the locket. To begin Alexander Hamilton’s lineage.

My inner voice reminded me that in Gertie’s version of the timeline, Rowan died.

I shot upright. “He’s already started his family.” How long did Max say it had been since Rowan had left mysteriously? Months, I thought.

For the first time, I saw the big picture. I didn’t need to save Marco. I needed to save the past. To help them find this lost Spanish treasure. If that included the King’s key, I’d cross more than one thing off my list. But if I saved Rowan, Max could come home with me and maybe live longer than a pirate’s life.

The fictional story of Treasure Island was coming to life right before my eyes.

* * *

I woke with a start.A bell rang. The signal a ship had been spotted on the horizon. Sun streamed into the room, bathing the walls in a golden glow. I rolled out of bed and scuttled to the window. Vane’s sloop was a hundred yards behind us. I let out a happy whoop of relief. He’d found us. Marco and Ace were within my reach. Scratch, scratch. My inner voice crossed two items off my to-do list.

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