Page 11 of Of the Stars and Sea

He’s close to passing out. I can feel the fight leaving his body and I almost let go right then as my arm slips a fraction, but I keep my hold.

“That’s it,” I whisper into his ear, giving my arm one final tug against his neck until his eyes close and spittle runs down the side of his mouth.

Heat pumps through my veins from what I’ve just done. Time is running out and Amara and Wells’s distraction won’t last much longer.

My knees start to buckle under the weight of him as I slip my arms under his and slowly set him down on the deck, careful not to let the sword at his waist bang too loudly against the wood floor. Knocked out cold, his head lulls to the side as I lay him flat on his back, hoping the chokehold and his drunken stupor will keep him out for me to make it up the mainmast.

Another crash of a bottle hits the inner stern wall, making me jump. Glancing over my shoulder, I check to ensure no one has made their way out. My heartbeat is a thunderous thing in my chest, but thankfully no one takes notice of me through the windows.

Crouching low, I head toward the rigging of the mainmast and start my ascent toward the hoisted sails.

Every member of my crew has a part to play tonight and if I cannot destroy the sails of theReaperin time, then we’re good as dead as soon as Blythe discovers Raven has stolen the Serpent’s Key from him.

The night’s cool air sweeps through my hair, leaving a trail of goosebumps down my back as I unsheathe one of my daggers and place the blade between my teeth. My mother’s pearl swims across my vision as the wind picks up the further I climb, whipping the small braid in my hair in every direction.

Rising to the top of the rigging, I pray to the heavens that the drunken bastards inside won’t hear me slicing through the fabric of their mainsail. Taking the dagger into my hand, I grip the top of the rigging firmly with one hand while sliding my knife across the thick white fabric with the other. The wind rips through thehole I create in the bundled sail and all I can think about is the roar that will tear through Blythe’s lips once he releases it upon his escape only to find the sail has been desecrated.

A wicked smile forms on my lips at the thought, which only has me tugging my knife through the fabric quicker. Extending my body outward from the rigging, I cut as far along the sail as I can manage without falling to the deck below.

With one final sweep of my dagger, my part of the plan is complete. And not a second later does the door at the stern swing open, banging against the wooden wall as three of Blythe’s crew members stagger onto the main deck.

“Fucking hells,” I mutter before holding my breath and stilling my movements. They don’t seem to notice me at first as they move toward the starboard side.

I try to calm my racing heart, but it’s no use as I watch the three men amble slowly toward their crewmate. His body still as stone on the deck where I left him.

“Aye! What happened to Edric?” the one in the middle hollers louder than necessary before shoving his boot into Edric’s side. Edric’s body jostles with the assault, but he still doesn’t awaken.

Tilting my head toward the stars, I send a silent thank you to the heavens and immediately take it back as the middleman meets my gaze the moment I look down at them.

“You! What the hells are you doing up there?” he screams at me the same moment the city’s alarm bells start ringing across the entire kingdom.

The one thing we did not account for was Blythe’s robbery being discovered so quickly.

Fucking hells.

Chapter 4

“You aren’t supposed to be up there!” the one to the right hollers, his words a slur.

I steal a glance toward the docks where Amara and Wells are staring at me. I give them the signal to head into the city to shadow Raven back to our ship in case she needs help. Amara nods once, her gaze lingering on me for a moment as Wells pulls on her arm for them to leave.

A whoosh of air strikes the side of my face and when I look behind me, I see a dagger arch through the air and land with a clattering thud onto the deck.

Time to go, I think to myself as I cling to the post of the mainmast, trying to steady myself in the growing wind.

“Intruder!” the man on the left shouts. “There’s an intruder on our ship!” He barely gets the words out before he hiccups from whatever spirit fills his belly.

Clutching onto the wood, I start moving to the outer edge of the mainsail. Going back down the rigging isn’t an option any longer as more of Blythe’s crew spills onto the deck from the stern quarters. Keeping the post of the sail between my legs, I carefully scoot along the top. Most of them seem to be deep in the bottle as they haphazardly buckle their weapon’s belts onand a few of them nearly fall over from lacing up their boots. But their drunkenness doesn’t stop them from trying to land their marks as they start throwing their daggers at me.

I dodge each one and watch the men clamor about the deck to retrieve their lost weapons.

“Bring her down!” the one who kicked Edric screams, pointing at me. He must be a higher-ranking member because he’s less intoxicated than the rest and they all seem to listen to him as they try not to trip over one another while collecting their daggers.

Heat builds in my legs from the effort of staying upright on the mainsail’s post, but I continue to scoot along, keeping a watchful eye on the chaos below.

One of the younger crew members retrieves his dagger from the deck, stumbling forward over his unlaced boots. He manages to stay upright and takes his dagger, lining it up with my slow-moving body. With a flick of his wrist, it releases into the shadowy darkness.

Time slows as I watch the moonlight glimmer off the metal blade. Once it nears me, I know his strike will ring true if I don’t move. Quickly, I tilt forward just as the blade slices through the side of my shoulder.

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