Page 44 of A Tribute of Fire

But he went up the stairs before I could ask.

“He wants to talk to you,” Quynh offered. “Alone.”

“Why would he want that?” I asked.

“Maybe you should go and find out. He might have answers.”

I hated not knowing things. Even when I’d been a little girl, I had constantly pestered my tutors and parents to fill in the gaps in my learning. I wanted to know everything, to understand exactly how things worked and why, and hated when people couldn’t explain it to me.

It was one of the reasons why my brother’s death haunted me. No one could give me any details so that I could arrange the pieces together to my satisfaction.

Quynh could be right and Jason might have answers about what had happened tonight. I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to get them, especially since he was probably the only one on the ship who would share what he knew with me.

“If I go, I’ll lock the door and leave you both of my throwing knives,” I said.

“All I want to do is sleep.” Her voice sounded anxious and stressed, and again I wished that I could take this burden from her. That I could run through the city alone.

Today had been just a small taste of what we’d be facing. The worst was still to come.

The splashing had stopped and I heard the men settling into their hammocks in the decks above us. Jason had mentioned that during the day the rowers worked in shifts so that each man was given a chance to recuperate and rest. The rowers sang the same song over and over again in a foreign language. Since I’d been forced to listen to it all day, the melody had been seared into my brain. Eventually I was able to phonetically sing along, even though I didn’t understand what the words meant.

I knew from my interactions with the traders that nearly everyone on board slept at night, except for the men who kept watch.

And tonight Jason would be one of those men.

Within minutes Quynh was fast asleep. I eased her onto the floor and put the knives far enough away from her that she wouldn’t accidentally roll over on them while sleeping but could still easily reach them.

I got up and let myself out of the cell, ensuring that the door latched before I locked it. I had put my xiphos back into my thigh sheath and kept the key in my hand. I didn’t want anyone to be able to get into the cell without me there.

I went up the stairs quietly until I reached the top deck, half expecting a guard to jump out or to question me.

When I stepped foot on the planks, there was a granular feel there. As if someone had spread sand all over the deck. It was odd.

There was a lighthouse off to my right. I’d never seen one in person before, only drawings. I knew they used mirrors to reflect the sun during the day, and fires to light them at night. It looked as if we had anchored not far from the shoreline.

“Over here.”

I couldn’t see Jason, but I followed his voice. He was sitting in between the two steering paddles at the back of the boat, hidden in shadows. I approached him carefully, keeping an eye out. I didn’t see anyone else. I crept over until I stood directly in front of him.

“You should try to sleep,” he said.

It was an odd thing to say, given that he had essentially invited me to join him. Unless Quynh and I had misunderstood. “I’m too worked up to sleep.”

He nodded. “So am I. It’s why I volunteered to take this watch. If I’d been on watch earlier, maybe I could have prevented all this. Kept everyone safe.”

Some part of me liked the idea of Jason watching over me, protecting me. I was also thrilled by the knowledge that he could have torn those three men apart with his bare hands if he’d chosen to.

“I’ve never seen anyone move the way that you do.” The words were out before I could recall them. I didn’t want him to know that I admired something about him.

“You’ve seen me move that way before. When I had you in my arms.”

His silky, seductive words made the back of my neck prickle and sweat break out along my hairline.

“I’ve always been handy in a fight,” he added, dismissing his skill as if it had been nothing.

Demaratus had trained with the greatest military the world had ever known, and even he did not move as quickly or as lethally as Jason had.

Although I told myself I was only here to find out what had happened, the truth was that I was drawn to him. He was my enemy, had been paid to bring Quynh and me to our deaths, and still I wanted him. The sheer deadliness I’d seen from him earlier should have terrified me, but it had only served to make him even more attractive.

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