Page 19 of Of the Stars and Sea

“No,” I cut her off.

“He’ll never see us coming,” she argues. “Not in theTrinity.”

“It’s time to go, Rowenya Stone!” Someone behind me yells. Not Grayson, but some other member of his crew.

I grip Amara’s hands and give them a firm squeeze. “Don’t trail us. I can’t risk losing you.”

Amara and Wells look at one another nervously. They don’t like the idea of having no way to track me.

“I’ll do my best to get word out to you when I can. But you must take the crew and leave this place. Red Beard will hear of the developments soon and there won’t be a corner of Esoros you can hide in where he won’t find you and kill you.”

“We’ll head for Emerald Cove and take refuge there until we hear from you,” Amara says.

“Yes,” I respond.

I look behind me to where Raven’s body is still crumpled against the wall. My heart breaks from the look of her. How someone so bright, so wonderful, has been transformed into nothing more than a heap of flesh and bone on a dirty street.

When I turn back to them, I say, “Give her a proper farewell so her soul may rest in the heavens. She doesn’t need to linger here any longer.”

They both nod.

I take in their faces, casting them to memory. “I’ll see you soon,” I say, knowing the words are a lie.

“Soon,” they both agree.

Then I turn my back on them and step toward a fate that not evenIcould see coming.

Staggered in the middle of Grayson’s crew, I follow a few paces behind him as we board theCaelestia. It’s the largest ship in the port by far. Peering over the side of the walking plank, I take note of the three rows of gun ports where countless cannons sleep behind them, ready to fire at Grayson’s will.

“Keep moving,” one of the men behind me growls before shoving his shoulder into the center of my back, nearly making me topple over the side.

I catch myself and turn to sneer at him. “I don’t think your captain would take kindly to you losing his prized possession.” I take the Serpent’s Key from my coat pocket and toss it into the air in front of him. Then I take a step forward until our noses almost touch. “Touch me again and we’ll see who ends up at the bottom of the sea.”

His brown eyes sharpen and there’s a quiver in the muscles to the right of his nose. Just as I suspected, he’s one of the weak ones. Easily angered with little wits. As he draws his fist back, I ready myself to duck from his blow, but right as he hurls his punch at me, a large hand grasps his wrist.

A shadow looms over me from where Grayson’s body blocks the rising sun. “Not this one, Flynn.”

The man named Flynn yanks his arm out of Grayson’s hold and murmurs, “Yes, Captain,” before shoving his way past us and stepping onto the deck.

“Smart,” Grayson huffs at me.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“Trying to seek out which of my men struggle to maintain control over themselves.”

I say nothing and he smirks at me before his gaze shifts, raking over the scene of his ship and crew. “Make no mistake, Little Pearl. I see all that transpires on my ship.” He dips his head so that only I can hear him. “Should you wish to tempt one of my men again, I won’t be there to stand in the way next time. Given the events you saw this morning, I would beverycareful which ones you decide to provoke.”

He runs his finger down the side of my face and I hate how my body reacts. A wave of heat, not from the warmth of the rising sun, cascades down my body. “How many times have I told you to stay away from dangerous things?” I can hear my mother’s voice as though she were standing right beside me.

“I would hate for one of them to ruin such a beautiful prize.”

Turning my cheek away in a rush, I close my eyes against the sun’s assault. “I am no prize of yours.”

With a clasp of his fingers on my chin, I try to resist him as he turns my face back toward his. When I open my eyes, there’s mischief dancing across those blue irises. “We’ll see about that.”

Then he drops my chin and ushers past me, leaving me at the mercy of the rest of his crew.

Taking that final step onto his ship, I roam my eyes over the fine details. Intricate carvings of the moon and stars are etched into the walls of the quarterdeck. Beneath them lies a tumultuous depiction of the sea during a storm. Angry waves threaten to spill over the sides of a ship that must represent theCaelestia, given the uncanny resemblance of the drawing to the ship.

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