Page 16 of Tik-Tok

“Do you feel anything?” he asked breathlessly.

North dropped the compass to the bed and tugged the ring off, handing it back to him. “No. Should I?”

Tik-Tok never removed his eyes from the compass as he slid the ring back onto his finger. “I don’t know,” he admitted. Whether she felt it or not, the compass had responded to her when they shared his magic. “We’ll begin training soon.”

“Training?”

He made a lowmmmsound. “How are you with a sword?”

“I trained with an axe.”

“We don’t have those here. You’ll need to learn how to use a sword, or a dagger at the very least.” He nodded to himself. In case there was ever a time someone attacked her and he wasn’t immediately there to help, she should know how to stab someone. Perhaps it would boost her confidence too—sometimes it was as simple as the lack of self-assurance that kept a fae’s power dormant. There were a lot of things they could try. “And we’ll continue to practice with … this…”

“What isthis?” she asked, sounding a little more nervous.

“Magic.” He swept the compass up, the needle spinning once more. “Drink your tea. I’ll be back later.”

He didn’t wait for her to refuse the drink or for her to tell him to stay the hell away from her. Honestly, he couldn’t give two shits about the tea that Kaliko prepared. And it washisship. He would go where he wanted, when he wanted, and no spirited—albeit extremely attractive—female would tell him otherwise.

The door to North’s room had barely shut behind him before he shouted for Rizmaela. A moment later the dwarf appeared at the top of the stairs leading to the storage rooms. “Man the helm,” he ordered.

“Aye, Captain,” she said. “Where to?”

“Northeast.”

“You sound certain. Did the female have a breakthrough?” she asked, walking beside him to the helm.

“Something like that. For a descendant of Thelia and Reva, her lack of power is surprising,” he admitted, spinning the ring around his finger. “Tin has portal magic, so it makes sense that his daughter would too, but speaking truthfully, I’d expected someone with a bit more flare, given her mother’s lineage.”

“Her father is the assassin?” Rizmaela rasped.

“Former assassin.” Tik-Tok shrugged. There was something to be said about a male who could completely turn his life around. The memory of Tin’s attack back in the Emerald City made him smirk. “His axe seemed well-kept as he swung it at my head though.”

“I see.” She placed her hands on the helm, eyes unfocused, and cleared her throat. “Captain?”

“What is it?” He couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face. This was good. Very good. If he had to pry the lock off North’s magic, he would do it.

“Should we go around The Palace of Romance?”

“The Palace of Romance? Why?”

“It’s … just that if we head in that direction, from where we are now, it will send us straight through Captain Salt’s territory.”

Fuck. His old captain—the one he’d stolenThe Temptressfrom, along with his entire crew. The fae who went along with the mutiny were long gone, not that it mattered. Not to him and certainly not to Captain Salt. The old bastard was a cutthroat with absolutely no morals, so when Celyna told him to take the ship and leave the overbearing fae behind, it had been no hardship. Disloyalty sat uncomfortably with him for a few years, but once it faded, he had vowed loyalty to himself alone.

But, despite the rumor that Captain Salt had reformed himself, Tik-Tok knew that sailing through his territory wouldn’t go unpunished. He already had a metal arm—he wasn’t keen on having a matching set, if he even lived through the experience. But going around Salt’s territory would take an extra three weeks.No.Twenty-two years was long enough.

“It’s only a problem if he catches us,” Tik-Tok mumbled, more to himself than his first mate. “No detours.”

Chapter Eight

North

North lay in bed, throwing her imaginary axes at the ceiling, only this time it didn’t help her fall asleep. She’d been down in this room for a week now, pretending it was her sanctuary instead of her prison.

Only a brownie named Kaliko and Rizmaela had made appearances. Kaliko had dropped off her food then left, while Rizmaela would open and slam the door throughout the day—North assumed to make sure she was still there. But where else would she go? Dive over the ship and swim until she either made it to land or drowned? Whichever came first. North, of course, had thought about it.

Until a few hours ago, she still hadn’t seen Tik-Tok since the day she’d arrived. The prick had been as cocky as ever. Still, he stirred something in her that no one else had—not even Birch. She feltimportantaround the pirate. There’d been a moment where she believed him, that there could be a touch of magic within herself, that perhaps he wasn’t mistaken in taking her aboard his ship.

---