Page 76 of Of the Stars and Sea

Everything hurts as I wake to the roaring sound of wind and rain beating against the side of the ship. It’s a feat just to peel my eyes open, and as I do, I start to panic when a thick haze settles over my vision, reminding me of the churning ocean that nearly stole my life.

My breaths come quick as I gasp for air. Each inhale is a burning inferno inside my chest and my lungs can’t expand wide enough.

“Easy, child,” a gurgled voice sounds to my right.

Blinking rapidly, my vision starts to clear as I see Doc sitting in a chair next to my bed. He leans forward, placing a cool cloth to my forehead.

“Breathe, Rowenya. Slow and steady,” he says, peering over the rim of his eyeglasses at me. White spirals of his curly hair jut out in all directions, matching the twin caterpillars that arch over his beady eyes.

It’s him.I’m not under water. I’m not drowning.

Doc is right next to my bed and I feel . . . warm.Verywarm.

Opening my mouth, my tongue feels thick and heavy as I suck in a long slow breath. Then I let it out in a shuddering whoosh.

“There you go. You’re all right now.” He continues to pat my forehead with the cloth and I try to sit up, but he places a hand on my shoulder and eases me back against the pillow. “You need to rest. You’ve caught a chill from the water and we need to get this fever under control.”

Fever. Yes. That makes sense, given that my entire body feels tingly and hot.

“Grayson . . .” My throat is so dry, it feels like I’ve swallowed a pint of sand. I lick my lips and then swallow, trying to work some moisture back into my mouth and throat. “Where is he?”

“Right here, Little Pearl.” Grayson’s gruff voice sounds to my left and I turn to see he’s been sitting on the other side of the bed all along.

Slipping his hand over the sheet, he clasps my hand in his and gives it a squeeze. I smile at him but the smile he gives me back is laced with concern. Glancing around, I note we’re not in the small room I occupied before we made landfall at Emerald Cove. This bed is three times the size and the bedding surrounds me like a puffy cloud—soft and soothing, despite the chills that rake through my body.

We’re in Grayson’s room . . . and I’m lying inhisbed.

“He never left your side, that one,” Doc says. I turn toward him again and he places the back of his hand against my forehead.

“You’re not quite as hot as you were an hour ago, but your temperature is not yet normal. You’re not going to like what we need to do next, but it will help the fever come down faster.”

“What—” I clear my throat. “What do we need to do?”

Grayson rises next to me, his hand slipping away from mine as he starts to move around the bed, coming to stand next to Doc. Relief washes over me as I look him over and don’t find anything wrong. He seems in perfect health, despite the fact that he was in the same frigid water I was.

Doc reaches for something on the nightstand. Then he extends a small vial to me.

Another healing potion.

“If you take this, it will help bring the fever down faster. It’ll help with the ache in your head too.”

Shaking, I try to rise onto my elbows and collapse back into the pillows. My muscles feel like they’ve been run over by a merchant carriage.

“Here.” Doc plucks the cork out of the top of the vial. “Lift your head up just a little.”

I do as he says and he brings the small glass tube to my lips, then tilts it upward. The sweet nectar hits my tongue and I swallow the contents of the vial in one large gulp.

“Thank you,” I mutter before letting my head sink back down. “Did everyone else make it off the longboat okay?”

Grayson’s face softens as his smile returns. “Yes. They all made it onto the ship just fine.” He runs a hand along his jaw, though, and the shadow cast over his face doesn’t fall away, even with his smile. “Although, Collin seemed unusually grumpy upon our arrival back on the ship.”

Burrowing myself further under the covers, I clamp my lips shut, trying to hide my smirk and failing. Grayson’s and Doc’s eyebrows both shoot up in question. I shake my head and instantly regret it as I feel the pull of my neck muscles radiating down my shoulder and spine where I took the fall onto the sand the hardest.

“What do you know?” Grayson asks, his right brow popping up even further.

“It’s not my secret to tell.” The days we sought refuge at Harrick’s inn when Collin wasn’t tasked with watching over me, I noticed he kept finding himself at Collette’s door. It didn’t take long before she would pull him inside and they’d stay within the confines of her room for an immeasurable amount of time.

“Hmmm . . .” Doc murmurs next to me. “Keeping secrets from our captain hasn’t always panned out well for those keeping them.”

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